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Sam.
His sweet Sam.
The flames caught the edge of the photo, the paper curling.
"Run, Gary! Get out of here!"
"I can't! I'm tied!" He pulled, the rope just beginning to blaze.
"He's mine!" screamed the Penny Man.
"No. Mine." Zeke's words were snarled and there were more thumps and he couldn't see them,
couldn't see what was going on.
Another shot rang out and all the noise stopped.
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Chapter Twenty Two
The sound of his last shot rang in his ears, time seeming to stop as the long, lean body suddenly
became heavier. Zeke grunted and pushed, and the Penny Man crumpled to the floor at his feet.
Flames licked at his gun and he dropped it, the metal suddenly burning hot, and time snapped
back into place.
"Gary! Baby!" The flames were everywhere. "Baby, where are you?"
"Zeke..." He saw something moving toward him, bloody and burning, swaying. "Run."
"Not without you, baby." He nearly tripped over the body at his feet, but he managed to keep his
balance and he grabbed at Gary, burning his hands as he smacked at the flames. Finally, he just
picked Gary up and headed down the stairs. He met Watson on the way down.
"Get everyone out! This place is going to go up!"
"HE IS MINE!" They all stared up at the huge man standing at the top of the stairs, burning.
Jesus fucking Christ. Melting. The bastard was& Blisters started forming, as he just stood there,
the paint on the body warping and swelling, shifting just like the wallpaper flaking and peeling
off the walls in the&
Oh.
Oh, god.
Just like the wallpaper. Zeke groaned as the fake wainscoting painted at the man's waist seemed
to buckle.
"MINE!" Burning hands were held out, flames dropping from those outreached fingers.
Zeke couldn't think about what was feeding those little, dripping flames.
"I am NOT!" Gary's words rang out like a shot.
"That's right, baby. You tell him." He held on tight. He wasn't letting that monster have Gary. No
fucking way.
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They turned the corner even as the burning, bloodied mass of flesh toppled forward, almost like
it was chasing them.
He kept running, Watson just ahead of him, Gary clutched tight in his arms. "I've got you," he
said, repeating the words over and over.
"Zeke. Zeke. Run." Gary's eyes were huge, pupils dilated, but there.
"I'm running, baby." They ran through the house, the boxes beginning to catch fire, some of them
exploding. It seemed to take forever to get to the door. The night was taken over by lights and
sirens, the smell of smoke driving him faster and faster. They tumbled out of the door, all of
them coughing and running.
There were lights and sirens, a fire truck just pulling up. Zeke didn't see any ambulances. "I need
some help over here!" He needed someone to check Gary out.
Gary looked up at him, eyes rolling a little. "You came."
"Of course I did, baby. I promised, didn't I?" He pressed his mouth to Gary's and he'd never
tasted anything so sweet.
A roar sounded and he spun around, meeting furious, near-black eyes. "MINE!"
The monster took a step forward and a single report sounded, Rog standing there looking pissed.
"Oh, I don't think so."
Zeke stumbled the few steps to Roger's side, clutching Gary tightly against his chest. "That
motherfucker just doesn't want to die."
"He's dead now. Sorry about your house, man." Rog looked at Gary, winced. "Medic!"
"Let the fucking thing burn." Gary nodded once, and then his head rolled on his neck as he
passed out.
Zeke just kept on holding on, staring down at the burned and bloody body of the Penny Man.
Finally he turned to Roger and nodded. "Thanks."
"Anytime, buddy. Go on, he needs help."
"Yeah. Yeah." He nodded and headed for the fire trucks and the ambulance that had just pulled
up behind them.
It was over.
It was really over.
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He watched the chief's car pull up across the street, the man hauling his bulk out of the car,
slamming the door closed.
Oh.
Except for the ass-reaming he had coming, it was over.
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Chapter Twenty Three
It was the sound of beeping that woke him and he coughed, shoulder and arm screaming with
pain as he did.
Oh.
Oh, ow.
He.
Wait.
"Zeke?"
"Right here, baby." Something warm and good squeezed his hand on the side that wasn't hurting.
"Oh. Oh, you're okay?" He coughed again, moaned, his eyes blinking open. "You're okay?"
"Yeah. I've got sore ribs and sore lungs from the smoke, but I'm okay." Zeke's other hand slid
over his cheek. "How are you feeling?"
"I hurt. What... My shoulder hurts."
"Yeah, he cut you, and you've got some second degree burns, too. As well as too much smoke
inhalation. You're going to be okay, though. Make a full recovery. And we got him. The Penny
Man is dead and you're still here."
"I want to go home."
"Yeah, I want you home, too. As soon as the doctor gives you the all clear we're out of here."
Zeke paused for a minute. "Um..."
"What? What's wrong?"
"I want you to come live with me. And... well, your house burned down, baby. All those boxes
caught on fire just like that."
"Oh." He closed his eyes, took a deep breath. Thank God. Thank God it was gone.
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Zeke's fingers felt good against his cheeks, the touches gentle. "I'm sorry, baby. Well, no, that's a
lie. I hated that house. I hated that you were trapped in it. But I'm sorry you lost your home, you
know?"
"I'm not. I hated that fucking place. I hated it. It's all gone; you swear?"
"Down to the ground. I had them take those horrible sculptures away to the scrap yard."
"Thank God." He started shaking, his breath coming quick and hard.
"Shh. Shh. Gary. You have to calm down, baby, or the nurses will come." Zeke's voice was soft
and calm.
"I... I can't. I don't know. I. Help me." Free. Free. He was free.
Zeke's lips closed over his, but the kiss wasn't calm, it was hard and so real.
Oh.
Oh, please. Yes.
He met Zeke's eyes, begging for that strength.
Zeke growled and rubbed their noses together. "Wanna do things to you I can t do here, baby.
Wicked, wonderful things."
"You'll let me come home with you? He's really dead? You saw the body. You saw?"
"Roger shot that motherfucker dead, Gary. I swear to you he's dead." Zeke sealed the words with
another hard kiss. "And yes, I want you to come home with me. I love you, baby."
"He's dead. His name was Ygevny. He killed them. I remembered." It was so horrible. He hadn t
wanted to remember, to keep seeing it in his mind.
Zeke nodded. "I saw the file. We got him now, though. He's not going to kill anyone else. And
he's not going to follow you around or make your life miserable."
"I..." He used his whole arm to tug Zeke closer. "I don't know how, love. I don't know how to
live without him watching me."
"That's okay, baby. I'll help you." And then Zeke was kissing him again, hard and strong and
undeniable.
"Oh my God! Oh. My. God. Gary Short! What are you doing?" He winced as Linda stormed in,
hands waving. "You have a deadline and you get mixed up in a MURDER!"
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"Make her go away, love."
"My pleasure," growled Zeke. Lips pressed against his a moment more, and then Zeke got up
and took Linda's arm in one big paw. "You know, he 's just not ready for visitors, yet. You'll
have to come back later.
Yes. Gary thought maybe much later.
Once he'd taken Zeke and run.
"But. He's my writer! I need to see him!"
"You've seen him," growled Zeke. "Now it's time to go. Don't make me literally throw you out of
here."
He waited until the door was closed, locked. "I don't suppose you want bodyguard work? I know
this former junkie author who needs a firm hand."
Zeke turned around and grinned at him. "I want to guard more than just your body, baby. I want
the whole package."
"It's a deal. Name your price."
"That's easy, baby. I just want you, for the rest of your life."
"It's a deal." He held one hand out, fingers shaking.
Zeke took his hand and shook it, and then came back in for another hard kiss.
"Tell me I can come home now. Please."
"Yeah, baby, let's go."
He nodded, pulling the IV from his arm, reaching for Zeke's neck. Zeke grabbed him, making [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]