Die For You

Previously…

Negan pursed his lips. "Good." He smirked and turned to me as we got rolling. "Excited to go home?"

I shrugged, returning his gaze. I hadn't eaten anything, just had a mug of coffee. My stomach was a mess. Usually I could compartmentalize my nervousness, but I was having a hard time holding on to my training in the face of this new enemy. "It will be good to see everyone." I murmured, careful to remove the emotion from my voice. He didn't need to know that I was ready to puke all over his shoes.

"Yes, it will." Negan chuckled, turning his gaze to the window. "I'm sure Rick will be ecstatic."

Chapter 9

We arrived at Alexandria and I joined Negan at the gate after Spencer refused to let him in. "Can you believe this guy?" Negan scoffed, turning around to address the waiting vehicles.

I stepped out of the truck, shaking my head, giving him an apologetic shrug. "C'mon Spencer, open the gate." I ordered, joining Negan at the fence.

Spencer's eyes widened at the sound of my voice. "Yes, ma'am." He answered automatically. After Deanna's death, I'd taken on the role of head of security for Alexandria. Spencer was one of my men, he rotated between gate duty and clocktower watch. With Rick going on runs, I was left to keep homebase secure. Commanding our little security force was a lot like commanding a squadron of fighter jets.

"Wowza." Negan exclaimed, eyes sliding sideways to look at me, then back to Spencer. "Trained him good, eh, Roz?" He scoffed, "Yes, ma'am." He mocked, leaning back with a laugh.

I just shrugged and strode through the gate. A small crowd of Alexandrians began to gather at the gate, the commotion drawing them out.

Rick appeared behind Spencer. "You said a week." He addressed Negan. "You're early."

"Awww, Rick." Negan smiled, "I missed ya." Suddenly a walker appeared between the trucks, shuffling towards the now open gate.

I rolled my shoulders and cracked my knuckles. "I got it." I murmured, unsheathing a knife. I held it easily in my leather clad palm, my bare fingers brushing the cool metal blade and took a deep breath.

"No." Negan spoke, hand shooting out to stop me from throwing the knife. "C'mon out here Rick, you gotta see this!" He exclaimed, striding back out of the gate. "Calling it!" He unshouldered Lucille and wound up. He swung at the walker, clocking it over the head and it fell to the ground with a sloppy thud. "Ha, ha!" He laughed, turning back to Rick. "Easy peasy, lemon squeezy."

I looked around the crowd that had gathered. These people were in for a rude awakening. This wasn't going to be a nice and polite supply grab. The Saviors were going to tear this place apart.

"Alright everybody, let's get started." He motioned for the Saviors to gather just inside the gate. "Big day." He turned to Rick, "Hey Rick, you see that, what I just did?" He asked, eyes gleaming, "That is some service." Rick looked pained. "I mean we almost get turned away at the gate, who is that guy anyway?" He asked and I just shook my head and crossed my arms. He was being such an asshole. Negan took a breath and continued, "Do I get mad, do I throw a fit? Do I bash some ginger's dome in?" He asked rhetorically. No one moved. "Nope." He shook his head, "I just take care of one of these dead pricks that could've killed y'all." He bowed mockingly with a hand flourish, "Service." Then he strode forward through the gate and handed Rick his precious Lucille. "Hold this."

Rick took the bat and I watched the emotions ravage his face. I could tell he was trying his damndest not to just take the bat and hit Negan over the head with it. Lord knows I would have. I also didn't have two children and a group of people depending on me for protection. Negan definitely was one sick fuck.

Negan threw his arms wide, "Hot diggity dog, this place is magnificent." He turned to look at Rick, "An embarrassment of riches, as they say." He sighed, "Yes sir, I do believe you are going to have plenty to offer up." He chuckled, surveying the area.

Rick ignored Negan's smug grin and pulled me into a fierce embrace, holding Lucille down at his side."You whole?" He asked, pulling back to look me in the eye.

I sighed, "Yeah, I'm good, Rick." I assured him with a smile. "Negan's got me playing Sheherazade, got a room to myself and I'm working at the infirmary."

Rick's eyes widened at first with confusion, then they narrowed with understanding. "Hmmm." He mused with a slow nod. "How's Daryl?"

I bit my lip. "See for yourself." I stepped back revealing where Daryl had come up behind us, like a faithful servant.

Rick let go of me and immediately turned to his best friend. "Daryl, hey-"

"No." Negan cut him off. "Nope." He commanded, stepping between Rick and Daryl. "He's the help." He motioned to Daryl. "You don't look at him, you don't talk to him and I don't make you chop anything off of him." Rick turned away obediently. I put a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of support. I tried to convey that I was working on getting Daryl free and that I had a plan all in one look. Rick still looked lost. Negan smiled, turning to Rosita. She continued to stare at Daryl, arms crossed in defiance. "Same goes for everyone." Negan instructed in a sing song voice. He leaned closer to her. "Right?"

Rosita pursed her lips, shaking her head a little. Then she locked eyes with Negan for a few moments before striding away from the gate.

"Whew." Negan exclaimed, silently laughing. He gripped Rick by the elbow like they were old friends. "A lot of suspense there." He smirked, "I don't think she even knew how much." Negan began walking away, "Alright, let's get this show on the road, see what kind of goodies you got in the cupboard."

Rick palmed the back of his neck, "We set aside half the supplies-"

"No, Rick." Negan cut Rick off, whipping back around to face him. "No, you don't decide what we take." He looked between Rick and me. "I do." He smirked. "Arat." He called to one of his commanding officers.

Arat stepped forward. "You heard the man!" She cried, "Move out!" The gathered Alexandrians looked helplessly on as the Saviors swarmed the settlement.

"They're just gonna search the houses, keep the process moving 's all." He explained to Rick. "So, you gonna show me around or not?"

The visit to Alexandria went pretty well until Carl refused to let the Saviors ransack the infirmary. I can't say I would have let them just take all our medicine either if I hadn't spent time at the Sanctuary. After a small confrontation, Negan demanded we surrender all our guns. I helped Arat check Olivia's inventory and we found two pieces missing.

"There's a glock nine and a .22 bobcat missing." I explained to Rick. "Any ideas where they're hiding?"

Rick looked on the verge of panic, especially since Negan was threatening to kill Olivia because the guns were missing. He shook his head. "I'll find out where." He sighed. "Get everybody in the Chapel."

The town meeting that ensued was laughable. People just couldn't get it through their heads that we didn't have an option. Negan was in charge now, and unless they wanted to step up and sacrifice another one our people, they had to get in line. Eugene mused that not everyone was there and a light bulb went off in my head. Rosita and Spencer were out getting Daryl's bike for Dwight. Spencer didn't trust Rick. The weasel probably had the two guns stashed away for a rainy day. I could feel myself on the brink of an outburst so I left the church and went to search Spencer's house before anyone even put two and two together.

Rick found me searching Spencer's living room. "Hey," He said, jarring me out of my reverie. "You okay?"

I sighed, turning from the bookcase to face him, my hands on my hips. "They just don't get it, do they?"

Rick shook his head, a sad smile playing at his lips. "Yeah, their world isn't as big as ours, Roz."

I scoffed, turning away from him. "You got that right." Rick joined me at the bookcase, rifling through the books and knick knacks.

I could feel that Rick's eyes on me. He wanted to know more about Daryl's torture, but wasn't sure how to ask. "He's trying to get Daryl to convert." I murmured, not meeting Rick's questioning eyes. "You know, say the "I'm Negan," bullshit?"

"Jesus Christ." Rick swore, dragging a palm over face, fingers resting on his jaw for a moment. He went back to searching the bookcase. "He's strong."

"The strongest." I agreed. "No offense." I quipped, knocking elbows with him. Rick smiled, shaking his head a little. "I've got a plan."

"Good." Rick nodded, stepping back from the almost empty bookcase, surveying our surroundings. He knelt down on the floor and removed the heat register. I took the cover from him and set it on the couch. There, hidden in the dark, were cans of food, a bottle of top shelf whiskey and a small black drawstring bag. Yahtzee.

"What a weasel." I scoffed, picking up the bottle of whiskey. As much as I wanted to smash it against the floor, I knew I'd never hear the end of it. I guessed it was probably Spencer's Father's. I returned it along with the food to the duct work before replacing the cover.

Rick quickly unwound the tie of the bag and pulled out the missing pieces. "Oh, thank God." Aaron sighed with relief, coming into the room, Father Gabriel on his heels.

"Yeah, thank God." I agreed, leaving the books strewn on the floor, stepping over the piles to make my way out of the house. I needed to get out of there before I did or said something stupid. Being back in Alexandria was part relief, part torture. I let the men take the guns back to Negan. Instead of returning directly to the armory, I headed for the house where Daryl and I shared a room.

I traveled light the day that we attempted to get Maggie to Hilltop, just a small pack with a change of clothes and a toothbrush. I paused at the doorway for a moment and took a deep breath, swallowing the sudden rush of tears. I took note that our mattress was gone, but our pillows and blankets were still there. I moved to the far wall, opening a small drawer. My father's watch and my mother's necklace were still hidden in the dresser. I slid the necklace on, tucking it into my tank top away from greedy eyes.

I took a moment to look in the mirror. My long red curls were tucked neatly in a braid, flowing down my back. My green eyes were wide and searching, pink lips parted in anticipation. My cheeks were losing their natural rosy tint, most likely due to the lack of nutrition of the previous weeks. My face was thinner than I liked, but not having the extra weight on the rest of my body did make me faster. With Daryl's help I'd embraced my thinner frame and worked to build muscle and strength by keeping up with my training, hunting and going on runs.

I turned away from the mirror to find Carl standing in the doorway. "You okay, Roz?" He asked.

"Hey," I smiled softly, taking in the boys' ragged appearance. "As good as I'll ever be, kid." I scoffed, turning to the closet. I grabbed a small messenger bag and put a few of Daryl's shirts and a pair of pants in the bottom. I piled some of my clothes on top so if a Savior felt the need to search the bag, they wouldn't find anything suspicious.

"You going back?" He asked as I closed the bag.

I nodded. "Yep." I took one more glance around the room.

Carl's brow furrowed. "To get Daryl out," He stated, not even asking me why.

I nodded again, shouldering the bag. "Not much gets by you, does it, kid?" I'd been calling Carl, kid, for...well, it seemed like forever now. He'd yet to correct me. Probably because I had a nickname for everyone. I sighed, "That's the plan."

Carl nodded. "If anyone can do it, you can." He put his hand on my shoulder reassuringly, very Rick of him.

"Thanks, kid." I smiled, "You keeping your nose clean?"

Carl took a quick breath as he released my shoulder, gaze dropping to the floor. "Yeah." I could tell he wanted to spring into action, rip Negan to pieces.

"Hey," I murmured, taking my turn at playing Rick, placing my hand on his shoulder, getting him to look up at me. "I want to rip him to pieces too, kid." His eyes widened with understanding. "But," I sighed, "We got other people to think about, right?"

He bit his lip. I could tell he wasn't quite convinced. I'd had time to get used to Negan and his bravado. It was another thing to watch him tear apart our home. I had to keep focused on getting Daryl free. Carl didn't have that obligation. "Yeah, I guess." He murmured. Then he locked eyes with me and my breath caught. I knew that look. I'd just saw it in the mirror moments ago; pure determination mixed with rage.

"A'right, kid." I sighed, "A'right." I gave him a quick hug and left the house. I tried to shake away the bad feeling I had as I picked my way down the street back to the armory. I just knew Carl was going to do something stupid. But, I couldn't focus on that. Kid could definitely take care of himself.

Rosita and Spencer returned with Daryl's bike. Dwight immediately stepped up to claim it. After giving Rosita's hat back, he rolled the bike over to where I stood. "Well if it isn't Ms. Foxy Roxy herself." He teased, "You used to ride on the back of this thing right?"

I crossed my arms, "Your point?" I scoffed with a scowl.

Dwight smirked, "Get on." He instructed, patting the bitch seat behind him.

"I'll take a rain check, cowboy." I tipped my imaginary hat, taking a step back. I scanned the crowd for Negan. He looked stupidly amused. Shit.

Dwight sighed, "I'm not asking, sweetheart." He patted the seat behind him again. "Get on."

I crossed my arms in defiance, "And I'm telling you n-"

"Get on, Roz." Negan commanded from across the driveway. He nodded to Dwight before turning back to address Rick and company.

Bastard, I thought, clenching my teeth, hands balling into fists at my sides. I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders, adjusting my bag. I swung my leg over the seat and settled on the bike behind Dwight, careful not to touch him. I locked eyes with Daryl across the pavement and felt my stomach lurch. He looked so disheveled, usually clear blue eyes haunted and full of turmoil. The pain in his eyes wasn't just from the utter humiliation of today, he was having trouble dealing with the reality of our situation. Even I was having trouble seeing Alexandria brought to its knees.

"You got that sweet ass settled, Roxy?" Dwight asked over his shoulder, glancing back to see if I was ready.

I gave him the finger. "Eat me, asshole." I growled, earning a dark chuckle from the blonde. I flicked my gaze back to Daryl. The corner of his mouth pulled upwards into a subtle smirk, eyes smoldering with amusement.

"Anytime, Roxy, anytime." Dwight chuckled some more, like he was a fucking comedian.

Dwight brought the bike to life and we rolled past where Daryl stood waiting to load up. "You can have it back." Dwight said, motioning to the bike, then he rested his hand on my knee for emphasis. "Just say the word." Daryl didn't say anything, but after a moment of staring at Dwight, dropped his gaze back to the ground. Dwight patted my knee before kicking off from the pavement.

The asshole revved the bike, speeding forward with such force that I was forced to wrap my arms around him unless I wanted to tumble off the back. "Sorry!" Dwight shouted back to me. I could practically hear the smug smirk on his face.

Yeah right, asshat. I thought. Before leaning back to put some distance between us, I murmured in his ear. "You're gonna be."

Dearest Readers,

Thank you for your support! All the follows/favorites encourage me to keep going. I would love to hear what you think!

Up next is THE GREAT ESCAPE! I'm so excited!

xoxo

Lumora The White