Zara held Leo close in the backseat of the silent transport, her arms wrapped protectively around his trembling frame.
Leo clung to her like a lifeline, his small hands fisting the fabric of her shirt, his breath warm but uneven against her neck.
She hated how it reminded her of their life outside the "safe zones" and now they were no safer here with humans than they were with zombies outside.
Across from them sat Adrian.
Composed. Clean. Unrattled.
He looked like he had just stepped out of a boardroom rather than forced a woman and her child into a black van at gunpoint.
The silence stretched between them, taut and unnatural. His bright green eyes never strayed from Zara and Leo.
Leo also kept glancing at Adrian. Every time Adrian's eyes flicked toward him, Leo flinched and buried his face deeper into Zara's side.
"Is Uncle coming?" Leo's voice was a whisper—fragile and hopeful.
