Kumbaya Much Read online

  Seffy regarded him with jaundiced eyes. “What if I said no? In fact, I probably would've said no. Unless you mentioned the sushi bar, because I do, coincidentally, adore sushi.”

  “See? I must've known that on some inter-galactic level. Somehow you would've gotten the raw fish vibe and said yes even though I wouldn't have actually mentioned the restaurant.”

  She smiled slightly. “A raw fish vibe? That sounds attractive.”

  “That and my movie star good looks...you would've said yes.”

  Seffy felt an unfamiliar stirring in her heart toward him. It couldn't have been easy to fight a heroin habit. It was...nice that she'd somehow had a part in helping him. She thought back to what was her first meeting of him. “Is that really why you were so awful to me at the safe house and afterwards?”

  “Of course. Once I got over the shock of realizing it was really you sitting a few feet away from me—I got kinda pissed when you went all lusty with Clay. My angel ended up having a very tarnished halo.”

  She twisted her mouth, still smarting with regret that she'd swapped spit with a guy who eventually became a zombie—hence her weird blood problem. “Are you ever going to stop bringing him up?”

  He smiled. “Probably not—as long as it's effective.” He trailed his fingers down her cheek making it hard to think.

  She took a deep breath. “Do...I still inspire you?”

  Trent's other hand came up to lightly frame her face as his gaze dropped to her lips. “What do you think?”

  She caught her breath in anticipation of his kiss. Maybe she doubted his motives, but the boy could kiss like a dream, and here she was all half-crazed and needy and...

  A knock sounded on the door.

  Seffy bit back a stab of disappointment as the moment evaporated.

  “Who could that be?” Trent asked, rubbing his face and getting to his feet.

  She hauled herself off the bed, crossed the room, and yanked open the door.

  Seffy blinked. Talk about angelic...

  A russet-haired beauty with a peaches and cream complexion and eyes as blue as non-pink Montana sky smiled up at her. Coupled with that was well-rounded cleavage revealed by a low top and extremely short cut-offs.

  The vision spoke. “Oh, I'm sorry. I must have the wrong room. I was looking for Trent Ellison. You wouldn't by chance know where he is?”

  Chapter Three

  Seffy twisted around to see Trent moving across the room with unusual alacrity. He edged past her—but not so fast that she missed the predatory gleam in his faithless eyes. He smiled into the dazzling face and heightened bosom of...

  “Hello. I'm Trent, and you are?”

  “Brenda.”

  Brenda.

  Brenda pressed a hand to her throat, looking back and forth between them. “I'm sorry, was I interrupting anythang?”

  Seffy rolled her eyes at the light drawl that no doubt Trent, sugah, found charming. Only at the compound could tragedy end with an extra dollop of humiliating insanity.

  “Not at all. How can I help you?”

  Gee, and he used to use that lascivious tone just for me.

  Brenda let out a nervous giggle. “I was told that you're good at helping lost girls, and I am just as turned around as I can be in this big ol' place.”

  Seffy's eyes widened even more. Who the hell told her that? And what did it even mean?

  Trent smiled smoothly. “My reputation precedes me. Allow me to escort you wherever you need to go.” He flashed Seffy a smirk then headed out the door with Brenda.

  The girl's look of relief was comical. “Oh, thank you, Trent. And...”

  He jerked a thumb behind him. “That's Seffy.”

  Brenda tilted her head, her smile apparently genuine. “Thank you, Seffy—what an adorable name!—for letting me borrow Trent for a spell.”

  Seffy crinkled up her eyes in a genuinely fake smile. “You keep him for as long as you need.”

  With a little wave from Brenda, they were off. Trent never looked back.

  Seffy watched them amble down the hall, glaring at Brenda's tan legs and shiny hair. After they turned a corner, she went back into her room and headed for the bathroom. She frowned at the worn-out image in the mirror. Her tan had long-since fled and deprivation and experimentation by compound trolls had taken its toll. She looked more Kate Moss and less Miss Georgia Peach.

  But she didn't care. If Trent wanted to say she was beautiful one minute and fall all over himself for someone who obviously was the next, well that was just fine. She'd always suspected that he only pursued her because she was merely available. Now she knew for sure.

  Not that it mattered. She had bigger issues to deal with at the moment.

  Seffy decided to clean her bathroom and rid herself of unwanted Trent angst. Maid service, along with cafeteria privileges, was just another thing she—and she alone—did without. Gareth, Addison and Lani—the Apocalypse Babes as they called themselves—for the most part enjoyed compound privileges. Trent and the people he showed up with when the blast happened—Cynthia, Eve, Jared—also were considered non-contaminating. Cynthia and Eva were spiteful little things, and Jared was a doofus. But they hadn't defied a zombie infection like she had. So she got to be anomaly girl and scrub her own damn toilet.

  Unfortunately Comet and elbow grease did not calm her roiling thoughts. Now that Gareth seemed to be on the mend, her inner litany reverted back to Trent. He'd made her sick with fury, outrage, and of late—longing. For what, she didn't know. How typical that some new female had come on the scene at this moment.

  Ugh, what's wrong with me? I'm having boy troubles while stuck in a time warp with unnamed bad guys on the loose? Get a grip. Fast. She attacked the shower and scrubbed until her muscles ached.

  Seffy was just finishing up when Trent returned. He had a dopey smile on his face that put a big fat scratch in her hard-won groove of resignation.

  He flopped onto his stomach on her bed and propped his chin on his hands. “Wow.”

  Seffy snorted. “Did Daisy Duke find her wittle way home?”

  He grinned. “Not Daisy Duke. Mary Ann.”

  “I thought her name was Bren-da.”

  “She reminds me of Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island—compact and curvy in all the right places. And sweet as pie.”

  “You do know Brenda was wearing a push-up bra. I didn't know you could get those around here.”

  “She's new. A recent arrival escaping the worldly cesspool for some clean livin'.”

  Seffy snorted, louder this time, and plucked at the front of her shirt. “Just for the record, I used to almost be a C cup before malnutrition kicked in.”

  Trent smiled at her, obviously enjoying her discomfiture. “And she's a bit closer than you would think.”

  “What do you mean? We're neighbors?”

  “Yep. She's in the next hallway down. Which is odd, considering we're practically in the crazy wing. I didn't know they were that hard up for rooms.”

  Seffy blew out a breath and sank onto the desk chair. “How did she find my door? And who told her you help 'lost girls'?”

  “I don't know and I don't care. All that matters is that Brenda knows my name.”

  Seffy threw her cleaning rag at him.

  He caught it and laughed.

  Damn him.

  ***

  Seffy spent the next two days struggling to tamp down a general feeling of huffiness. Trent was apparently with Brenda all the time, which made her realize she'd taken his presence for granted. At least he was someone to talk to in this big ol' place. She tried to remind herself that she was too mature to care about something so trivial in light of her circumstances.

  Except she couldn't stop obsessing. Guess I'm not so mature after all.

  Addison and Lani had been aloof lately—well, Addison had been for a lot longer than that. Every day, Seffy visited Gareth, but he had yet to regain consciousness. She held his hand and kissed his cheek under the watchful stares of her friends,
which meant her visits lasted about two minutes. Any attempt at conversation withered and died under Addison's surly look. Lani's blue eyes were wary and apprehensive. Seffy had a feeling Addy kept the brunette on a short leash.

  She left his room incrementally more depressed each time, made worse by the bland ugly halls of the hated compound. There was no point in asking those in 'the know' when they were going to get to leave and go back to 2006. There was always one excuse or another—zombies, time travel glitches, rogue factions, yadda yadda yadda.

  Eugene, the head scientist, was terrified of her apocalypse cooties and Fiona couldn't be trusted ever. The only person who might have answers was Fenn. But he had his own issues to deal with—namely drug addiction and a lousy management style. Seffy fought the creeping weight of claustrophobia. Would she ever get out of this place and back to her own time? And what the hell did Trent see in that Brenda chick anyway?

  Besides the obvious.

  As Seffy turned a corner on the way to her room after her latest 'visit' with Gareth in the Haz-Mat suit, she heard giggling. And somehow it was a distinctly southern sound. Giggling with an accent. Great. She slowed her steps, giving Brenda time to leave the area. But the girl obviously wasn't alone—unless she was having an honest moment and therefore laughing at herself.

  Seffy heaved a sigh, knowing the redhead was probably with her new sugar daddy Trent, that helpful finder of lost girl's souls. She approached the corner and slowly peeked around.

  Her heart skidded to a halt as she took in the red-colored scene of Trent kissing the ginger-haired tramp. Seffy snatched her head back around, breathing hard. That bastard. Her breathing turned to panting as she stared unseeing at the opposite wall. It took her several minutes to recognize what held her in its grip.

  Jealousy. Unexpected and raw and definitely not green. It was black depression mixed with blood red fury.

  Trent was gonna pay.

  Seffy took off down the hall and went another route to their rooms. Coming in the back way, she made sure it was clear before slipping into her room and locking the door. She tore off the Haz-Mat suit and threw it onto a hanger. Her pulse roared in her ears as she hurried through the closet passage to Trent's room. She crossed to his dresser and yanked open a drawer. Shoving aside clothing, she went through drawer after drawer to find what she was looking for. When it wasn't there, she tried his closet shelves. Nothing. Next she pulled open the desk drawer.

  Bingo.

  Seffy grabbed the bag and headed back to her own room.

  ***

  Trent dropped Brenda off at her room and made his way toward his own. A vague sense of guilt hung over him at kissing her. He was so sure it would be Seffy rounding the corner when he heard the footsteps down the hall. Now he'd gone and wasted a perfectly good kiss on a perfectly awful person and no one was there to see it.

  And Brenda was awful. He could smell someone trying to play him a mile away, and Brenda was a player, in more ways than one. Trent suppressed a shudder when he saw the victorious look in her beautiful eyes after they kissed. She thought she had him in her—a vision of her rounded bosom flashed briefly in his mind—er, clutches. He'd played the part of the affable dunce to see what she was up to and so far it seemed to be simply causing discord between him and Seffy.

  But Seffy wasn't there to see it. Damn. That would mean playing along a little longer. Time he could be spending with Seffy, whether she wanted him or not. Trent entered his room and looked around. God, he hated this place. Hated its beige walls and gray tiled floor just as much as he hated being cooped up in a defunct military compound in the wrong decade. The only thing that made it bearable was being with Sef.

  Deciding to take a shower and wash away Brenda's touch, he headed to his dresser and pulled open a drawer. All his clothing looked like it'd been stirred with an eggbeater. His heart kicked up a notch as he checked the other drawers. Someone had been searching his room. Son of a b—

  A knock on his door made him whirl around. What was going on? Trent scanned the room, looking for any clue as he made his way to the door. Bracing himself for a fight, he edged open the door and stared at the wide-eyed Brenda.

  “What?” he said more harshly than he intended.

  Her pretty face was pale. “I found this slipped under my door.” She held up a card, confusion clouding her blue eyes. “Of course I was thrilled that you'd think of me, Trent, but I'm afraid I don't understand the tone of your message.”

  Uh oh. Trent's gut twisted when he saw the familiar Persian kitten on the front of the Hallmark card he'd originally bought for Seffy back in Tangent L.A. At least it explained the state of his messed up clothing. She been looking for it.

  Inside the card he knew was pre-printed the words I love you in curly script. She'd seen it before but, he'd never had the guts to personalize it and give it to her afterwards. He had a strong feeling she'd gone ahead and done the personalizing. He took it from Brenda and opened the card.

  I love youR PUSH UP BRA.

  —TRENT

  As he stared at the words, he had to mash his lips together to avoid laughing out loud. Apparently Sef had seen his little stolen kiss with Brenda. And she was feeling pret-ty scorned. If Brenda wasn't standing right in front of him patiently waiting for an explanation, he would've broken into a jaunty whistle.

  “Such an odd choice of words,” she said in a breathy tone. “Is it from you?”

  “Ah, no, actually. I'm afraid we've both been victims of a practical joke. And it's obviously in very poor taste.” Trent snapped his mouth shut before he lost it completely.

  “Oh, that's what I thought at first, but since it's signed by you...”

  “Someone must've seen us together and made some assumptions. Those pigs.”

  Brenda pressed her hand to her heart. “You don't think it was that sickly girl you were with when I met you? Maybe she's the jealous type.”

  Sickly? Trent had to stifle the urge to snort. Maybe a cat card was appropriate for Brenda after all. “Oh, I doubt it. She doesn't even like me.”

  Brenda laughed lightly. “Now, I know you're fibbing. Not like you. It's impossible, you know.”

  He smiled, trying to figure out a way to get rid of her. “Well, I apologize that you had to be a part of this.”

  “No harm done.” She leaned close, her intentions obvious. “And I wouldn't be averse to receiving...communications from you anytime.”

  How much is Fiona paying you? Trent restrained himself from saying the words out loud. She was good. He struggled to keep his eyes above her neckline, while wondering how he could get a hold of a push up bra for Seffy—or at least help her gain some weight back to fill in her regular one.

  Brenda stepped away. “Well, I'll see you later.”

  He blinked and sent her a crooked smile as she walked away. Damn. Extra food and denim cut offs for Seffy. Once she'd turned the corner, Trent shook his head to clear it and headed back inside his room for that shower.

  ***

  Seffy sat on the edge of her bed, glowering at the closet door. It was only a matter of time before Trent wanted in her room. And it was only a matter of time before he'd want to have a little chat about that card.

  She was ready.

  A feeling of smug self-satisfaction blunted the edge of her fury. She wished she could've seen Brenda's eyes when she opened the card. That would've been priceless. Seffy took a deep breath, wishing Trent would hurry up. She wanted to face him to prove she was not in the least affected by his disgusting snogging with that sleazy tramp Bren—

  A knock sounded.

  Seffy caught her breath and went to the closet door. “Use the main door,” she said, trying to sound calm.

  “I can't.”

  The sound of Trent's voice made her stomach clench in a new, disturbing way. “Why not?”

  “It's so I won't be seen.”

  “By whom?”

  “Sef,” he growled. “Open the door.”

  Seffy made a noisy pr
oduction of sliding back the bolt and opening the door a little. “What do you want?”

  “You know exactly what I want.”

  “What, did someone get dere wittle fweewins hurt?”

  She saw him smile through the crack. “Wow, you are mad.”

  Seffy got herself under control. “I'm not mad about anything, Trent.”

  “So you're not just a little bit jealous?”

  She sent him a gentle smile. “I don't get jealous of tramps.”

  “Except for Tangent Gareth's girlfriend Verity.”

  The smile fell from her face. “Go away.”

  Trent pushed on the door and slid through the opening. When he saw her, his eyes bulged. “Oh, my God, you are furious.”

  Seffy lifted her chin, despising the heat rising in her cheeks as he made his shocked perusal. Now she was regretting her impulse to dress like Brenda, along with the judicious use of a pair of socks to boost her flagging...spirits.

  “I thought you said you couldn't get a push up bra here.”

  His obvious appreciation of her artificially-aided charms only made her more angry. “Did Brenda like her card?”

  Trent took a step closer. “Not really. But don't you really mean did she like my kiss?”

  Seffy's heart pounded so hard she felt faint. “What you do with compound sluts is none of my business, Trent.”

  He came to stand right in front of her. “I knew you were in the hallway. I only kissed her to see if I could make you jealous.”

  She looked up at the ceiling and shrugged. “Um, nope.”

  Trent slid his hands around her waist. “Well, I wasted my time then, because it wasn't any fun with her.”

  Seffy stood stiffly in his arms staring at a point over his shoulder. It took everything she had to appear nonchalant. “Better luck next time.”

  “There won't be a next time.” He bent his head and brushed his lips along her throat, making her feel all mushy.

  She was going to ask him to stop doing that any minute now. Suddenly she felt his lips drifting along the top of her breast. Seffy pushed him away. “Nice try.”