Screechers

ScreechersLove in the ApocalypseCharly J.M / Charly James-Matthews Copyright © 2023 Charly J.M / Charly James-MatthewsAll rights reservedThe characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.ISBN: 9798388252760Cover design by: Charly J.M For all those who hate to choose, here’s a romance for you.Why choose when you can have the best of all worlds?---Reverse Harem/Polyamorous Romance/Thriller Triggers! This includes scenes of a sexual nature, abuse and is not for anyone under 18. Chapter OneI’d always been a bit of a brat, I had to admit it, but coming from a family where my mum and dad were always away at work was difficult. My mum was one of the top surgeons in the emergency services at our local hospital, while dad was an Army Major of the notorious SAS, total badass. I was proud of my parents, there was no doubt about that, but being left behind to be looked after by my older brother, Zeke, made me act out. We both missed our parents, but I’d always taken it harder than he did. “Nichola Foster, don’t you dare step one foot out of that door!” My older brother bellowed at me as I was about to sneak out of the house. “Or what? I’m eighteen now, you can’t ground me,” I snort, throwing on my signature leather jacket that Dad had bought me a couple of years back. “I’m still in charge of you Nicky, just because our parents aren’t home doesn’t mean you can just leave without telling me. I need to make sure you’re safe,” he sighs, booming towards me. He was tall, just like dad, built like a tank with muscles and yet could sneak around as silent as anything, no doubt something he’d learnt off of our father. “I’m eighteen now, just because you’re nine years older than me does not make you the boss of me. Mum and Dad aren’t here, I’m old enough to make my own decisions,” I exclaim, grabbing my car keys. His hand darts out, grabbing my wrist firmly, but not hurting me. His big green eyes look into mine; I can see the pain in them, he’d given up his life to look after me and here I was being a brat… Again.“Nicky, I know. You can go out, but you have to tell me where you’re going, I get you’re an adult now however I’m still your big brother and I love you. I want to keep you safe,” he sighs pulling me into a hug. I sag into it; he wasn’t often cuddly, and I missed this. Wrapping my arms around him I sigh, I really needed to get a grip. “I’m sorry, I got a job, I need to get going or I’ll be late for my first night,” I say as he lets me go. “A job? Where?” He frowns in confusion. “Lumos Nightclub,” I answered. Sure, it wasn’t the best place in the world to work, but trying to find a job right now that didn’t want a ten tonne of experience and would take an eighteen-year-old was rare. It also helped having someone already on the inside.“You are joking, why the hell would you work in that place?” He almost growls. “Your best friend works there!” I snort. “Exactly, so I know exactly what that place is like and it’s not a place you should be working,” he says. His best friend, Kris, had gotten me the job and I was pretty sure he was doing it because I had almost gotten a job at an even shadier place across town. The boys all looked out for me, it was like I had other big brothers… Eww, no, not big brothers. I couldn't think of them like that, not when I’d had a crush on Kris and Mitch, Zeke’s other best friend, for years. We’d grown up together, all our parents were best friends too, Kris’ parents worked with mum at the hospital, Miranda and Johnny were both top doctors in their fields and were always at work just like Mum. Mitch’s Dad, Tony, was in the same squadron as our dad, his second in command, while his mother had been an amazing psychologist. She had been a sweet, loving woman with a confidence about her that I always wished I had. She was the glue for everyone, caring for each of her friends and us kids. Life struck us all hard when she died a few years ago, things were never quite the same and we all missed her. I think it was at that point that Mitch and I got closer, both of us pushing back at the world for taking her too early. He'd taught me all sorts of mischievous things, like how to pick a lock, hot wire a car and we went on long runs every week. He was a bad boy, and it was hot, he never did anything to people that didn’t deserve it though, the cars we hot-wired belonged to people who were cruel or disgusting, a little payback they deserved. That all stopped when Zeke had found out about what he’d been teaching me and put a stop to it quickly, finally snapping Mitch out of his bad habits. Mitch didn’t hang around me so much anymore, barely even looked at me when he was over at the house and I missed him, he didn’t even go out for runs with me anymore, so I’d given up doing that alone. I blamed my brother for losing me one of my best friends too. “Kris will be there to watch over me, I’m working at the bar, so I’ll be right next to him