A small business in legal trouble.
A town harboring another deadly secret.
Two men once again called to fight a frightening creature.
Best friends turned husbands Cody Bower and Demetrius Singleton have seen a dip in their business since the zombie uprising earlier that summer. The family of one of the zombies dispatched by Cody has filed a civil lawsuit against him and their Critter Catchers business, and the case is causing more than a little stress. While it has yet to affect their relationship, it is definitely affecting their income.
When two people drown out at Parson’s Pond, Sheriff’s Deputy Lucia Durant comes knocking at their door asking for their insight. Reluctant at first to get involved, the two soon realize they may have no choice as mysterious incidents continue to occur throughout town.
Finally, with some help from their dependable friends and family members, Cody and Demetrius dig into the cases. As the date for a verdict on the civil case closes in, they come face to face with a dangerous and insidious monster which has set its sights on them and everyone they know.
Cody Bower was dying.
Sweat dripped from his nose, prickling across his scalp and under his arms. His heart pounded, and gasping for breath had set his throat afire. He’d flirted with death more often than he liked to count in recent years, but this time truly felt like the very end.
And all he could think about was Demmy. He’d been doing this, all of this, for Demmy. He’d been lucky so far, they both had, but it seemed Fate had finally caught up with him. This was one fight too many, his final battle. After this, Demmy would be alone. If only he could have one more night, hell, one more minute, with Demmy, Cody would bare his soul. He would say everything in his heart, no matter how vulnerable it might make him feel. All he wanted, needed, was a little more time.
“Are you taking a nap, Bower?”
READ MORECody flinched. Keeping his eyes closed, he turned his head toward the sound of the voice that was, as usual, tinged with gleeful brutality. The plastic indoor/outdoor carpet scratched pleasantly across the back of his head, and he deliberately refused to contemplate how many soles and sweaty asses had touched the same spot.
“Hey, Bower—”
“I heard you.” Eyes still closed, Cody gave a feeble wave. “So what if I am?”
“This is interval training, not nap time. If you want nap time, go back to kindergarten.”
Dear God, if only he could. He’d do things so differently. For one, he’d actually ask Demmy out on a date when they were in high school. Or maybe middle school. Hell, he could just swing for the fences and ask him out in elementary school. Be one of those couples who has always been together.
But that would have just given him more time to fuck everything up and lose Demmy for good. Some days, even after everything they’ve been through, it felt as if he were on the cusp of that anyway. Throw some monsters into the mix, and the probability of that happening really escalated.
“Bower!”
Gathering every ounce of strength remaining, Cody struggled into a sitting position. He glared at the handsome and so-very-in-shape Jordie, who wore tight shorts, an equally tight tank top, and had his long, thick hair pulled back into a man bun. Jordie glared right back.
“I’m up,” Cody said.
“You’re sitting,” Jordie shouted back, then he turned his attention to shaming a woman doing her best on the pull up bar. “It’s supposed to be a pull-up, Hannah, not a dangle. Come on!”
Cody groaned as he got to his feet. Everything hurt. Even things inside of things hurt. He glanced at the clock and groaned when he realized he still had twenty minutes remaining in this current torture session.
“Bower,” Jordie barked. “Jump rope. Fifty in a row. If you miss, start counting over.”
“I’d rather deal with a herd of zombies again,” Cody muttered as he moved slowly toward the jump ropes in the corner.
COLLAPSE