Slow Burn: Dead Fire, Book 4 Read Online Free Page A

more Smart Ones out there or because there are too many of them, or because they’ve already figured out a way to attack us. If we’re going to do it, then it’s got to be preemptive. If we move the Humvees to block the gate, then sending Zane over the wall is a necessary step.”
    “You’re downright loquacious when the spirit moves you, Dalhover.” I slapped him on the shoulder.
    Dalhover looked at me in way that said “Don’t touch me again.” It didn’t look like we were ever going to be best buddies.
    “And how will you get over the wall and back in again?” Steph asked.
    “We can figure it out,” I responded. “I think the primary question to answer is whether we should do something, not whether we can. We can figure out the how-to later. But you’re the boss. What do you want to do?”
    Steph propped up a hard façade in front of emotions that were starting to frazzle. “Is that what you want to do, Zed? How many times can you roll the dice and win?” Steph took a long breath to collect her thoughts, looked up at me, and spoke. “Let me ask you, if we take the risk…no. Zed, if you take the risk, what do we gain?”
    I didn’t need time to think about it. I’d already assessed the situation. I knew the answer. “Maybe everything. Maybe nothing.”
    “ So you understand where I’m going with this?”
    “Yeah,” I said. “Best case , I go over the wall, kill the Smart One, distract the mob and they move on. We stay here and live happily ever after. Worst case: I get killed. That’s the worst case for me, anyway. But somewhere in the middle, there’s the most likely case.”
    “Which is?” Dalhover asked.
    I answered, “We get rid of this group, and eventually a larger group shows up, with too many Whites or too many Smart Ones to get rid of. So we bail out and head upriver. The thing is, I don’t doubt that will happen. I just don’t know when. It could be later on today, or next week, or next month.”
    “Sounds right,” Dalhover agreed.
    “And if more show up this afternoon?” Steph asked. “Is risking your life worth a few more hours of luxury?”
    “It’s not about that,” I argued.
    “What, then?” she asked.
    “Murphy.”
    “Murphy?”
    Serious and calm, I answered, “Like you said, we don’t know how bad Mu rphy’s injury really is. If jostling him around on a boat for a couple of hours could put him at more risk, then going over the wall is worth it to me. It’s that simple.”
    Steph couldn’t find a good response , so she remained silent.
    “Why?” Dalhover asked unexpectedly.
    “Why?” I shot back at Dalhover, more harshly than I wanted to.
    Not affected by my emotions, he repeated, “Why?”
    “I need to.”
    “Why?”
    I looked around the room, maybe looking for an escape from the suddenly, uncomfortable question. But the need for secrecy with my motives was a childish remnant of junior high social dramas. I answered, “I would do anything for Murphy.”
    “You’d even risk your life?”
    I nodded.
    “ You’d die for him?”
    I thought about it for a second, or pretended to. I knew the answer as soon as it was asked. “Yes.”
    Dalhover didn’t take his eyes off of me, but took his time pulling out another cigarette and lighting it. “Why?”
    I was getting a little irritated and snapped, “Because Murphy and I would both be dead if it weren’t for each other. He saved my life, more than once. He…” I wanted to say he cared about me. I wanted to say he loved me like a brother , but those words just couldn’t come out of my mouth.
    Dalhover stared at me.
    I looked over at Steph. She watched, but was unable or unwilling to intercede.
    It took me a minute for me to put some thoughts together. “Murphy and I work well together. We…care for each other. Murphy will do anything for me. I’ll do anything for him.”
    Dalhover nodded, “And what about the rest of us?”
    “What are you asking me?”
    “How do you feel about the rest of