Page 38 of Bitten By Zombie

How in the hell did that happen?

He didn’t have a fucking clue. But at some point between pulling her from the trunk, her climbing on him like a spider monkey in the kitchen, and then sharing her body with him, he fucking fell for her.

Hard.

Now, he was well and truly fucked.

He knew that a surefire way of losing her was to treat her like an outsider. Not tell her what was going on with her own fucking life. And he’d done just that.

It was either lose her in less than twenty-four hours after Stan was neutralized and she went back to her old life. Or lose her in less than twenty-four hours when he was neutralized, and she realized she knew nothing about the timeline.

They were sitting around the kitchen and common area eating another tasty meal Heidi had whipped up for them. Apparently, they owned a huge crock pot, and she knew how to use it.

Of course, the spices faded, and it tasted like ash in his mouth whenever she caught his eye and smiled shyly at him.

Virus made his way in Zombie’s direction while shoveling food into his mouth at a rapid pace.

“Fuck, man. I hope you lock that down because I could go for eating like this all the time.”

Zombie didn’t bother with a snippy retort or “fuck you, asshole.” Instead, he took another bite of ash.

Chew, swallow, repeat.

Not tasting a damn thing anymore.

He wanted to shout at his secretary, “what the fuck do you want?”but he didn’t. He just continued with chew, swallow, repeat until his plate was empty.

When he looked up at Virus, he saw why he’d stepped away from the crowd. It was all written there in his eyes.

They’d already met again and got all the players into place. Santa was at the apartment office. Walt was gone on vacation. Everything was a go except one thing, the meeting with Stan.

“Santa is more likable than he lets on.” He chuckled. His voice was cast low, so it didn’t carry, and he continued eating like they were merely discussing the weather. “Ten p.m.” After stating the time Stan would arrive at the apartment, he casually walked away.

“Compliments to the chef.” He raised his fork as he passed Heidi. “I’m going in for fourths.”

As Virus disappeared into the kitchen, Heidi approached him.

“Fourths? Where the hell does he put it all? It’s not like Sasquatch over there, or me, for that matter. It’s obvious where it goes.”

If he wasn’t mistaken, the clock had sped up.

Tick-tock.

Tick-tock.

Tick-tock.

Zombie placed his empty plate on the side table next to him and tugged Heidi into his lap. He nuzzled her neck and nipped her ear before speaking. “Was that a dig at the body I love?”

He pulled back in time to see a shot of fear cross her hazel eyes.

Love?

Yeah, that’s what it was, love.

Zombie was man enough to admit it. He would tell them all, shout it from the top of Kimball Tower. There was no shame in it. However, as he looked into her eyes, he realized he wouldn’t tell her. Not yet.

He wanted her to stay because she didn’t want to live without him, like he did her. Not because she felt she owed him or worse, because she was afraid he might not help her get her life back if she didn’t say it back.

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