He sucked on it, savoring her taste, and wondered if she tasted this sweet all over, and if he would get the chance to find out. She did, and he would... They headed north on the lazy, secluded back roads of the Hudson Valley, eschewing the hustle and bustle of Rte. 9 and the New York Thruway. They made easy conversation as they stopped first at the country’s oldest operating vineyard in Washingtonville, where they purchased a bottle each of red and white, and then continued slightly northwest. It had to be. It was fucking crooked for God’s sake! As soon as he subconsciously took the Lords name in vain Deke crossed himself. He gently knocked on the window and gulped as those green eyes filled with pain and loss looked at him. ‘Miss, I got to get you to a hospital. They’ll fix your nose and lip there.’ Nikki hadn’t even noticed the rip in her lip or the broken nose until he said something and the pain flared up immediately. Her eyes were starting to swell shut, so she wouldn’t be able. The road looked well used so I took a punt and started towards Pebble Beach.After traversing the road for a while it deteriorated a bit but nothing of great concern. The road wended its way through scrubby forest and Ti-tree until finally it broke through to clumpy grassland. A few kilometres later I noticed the sea and some houses lining the shore. A notice proudly proclaiming 'Pebble Beach pop 12' someone had crossed out the 12 and made it 11. Looks like someone has left or died I thought.As. It would have to be put up inside the cave and the smell might offend the womenfolk more than reasonable to expect.They moved in with a pincer approach from two different directions. Mike got to the front door first and saw it was still open. The unmistakable stench told him what to expect. The interior was all a jumble with dirt and trash. The old lady was rotting in her bed upstairs. According to Maria, she had died from natural causes and heightened fear when the looters started to show up.