Page 116 of Savagely Yours
“Forever and ever?”
“And always."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
DEZ
Larke, stroking her chin, faced me on the passenger seat. “No, a booty call makes sense. I’ve met Edward. He has BDE.”
I frowned. “What’s BDE?”
“Big Dick?—”
“Nope, never mind.”
She laughed.
And I was addicted to the sound.
The rest of our group, which had dwindled to me, Larke, Tamra, and Sabine, were asleep in the back of the van. On the way, we came across another encampment in Richmond, Virginia. There, we ran into a few people who’d escaped from Sanitation. Because of the familiar faces, the rest of the group branched off, and I didn’t fault them for trusting a sure settlement over the uncertainty we were headed toward in South Carolina.
But it didn’t matter whether they trusted me.
It only mattered that Larke did.
“It’s nice to know Mae’s still getting some,” she went on. “Is she okay, though? Outside of the dick she’s getting on the regular.”
“Larke, please.”
She laughed again.
I took a moment to soak it in.
“Yes, I honestly believe she is. The breach that happened before we left, from what I saw when I was looking for you, looked worse than it was. Without Cerner and Neal, I think Totten might have a chance. Wade had talked about stepping up before, and I hope he does.”
Wade had only left his post because his wife had gone into labor. Even then, when he contacted me to let me know that he had to leave his “assignment,” he’d sounded apologetic. I’d reassured him that it was fine. I’d been hoping to find Neal attempting to confront Larke anyhow.
“It wasn’t the right place for us,” I added. “But with some reform, I could see it being a great place for Mae.”
Especially since she didn’t have many years left.
That part, I wouldn’t tell Larke. I didn’t want anything hampering the relief, calm, and ease that continued to bloom and blossom inside her since the day we drove away from Totten. If necessary, I’d shoulder the grief for us both.
“What about the broken gate?” she asked.
“That was part of Dr. Lin’s operation,” I explained. “His people were using that gate to smuggle other people out of Totten. To be honest, I think that’s good information to share with Dr. Diaz. The Infected are attracted to where humans are, possibly as a food source or as a remnant of their humanity—that human need to group up. It might not mean there’s a cure, but if they retain humanlike patterns, it could benefit us somehow moving forward.”
“As terrifying as this is, it’s interesting.”
“I agree.”
She quieted.
I glanced over. “You have that look on your face. You’re about to say something off the wall, and I can tell.”
“No, not really,” she said. “I was just thinking that not even a bad hip’s gonna stop me from riding your dick well into my nineties. I’ll just lean to the other side.”
I shook my head.
