Page 59 of Bitten By Zombie

Zombie wanted to punch Outlaw in the face and apologize to Heidi, but the truth of the matter was, that if she couldn’t handle this, she would be miserable whenever they had to be at the clubhouse or hosted other chapter members because the rest of the guys were ten times worse.

Heidi turned back to the eggs she was cracking before speaking. “You just wished you’d been attending such an inspirational service yourself.”

“Burn.” Zombie was bursting with pride.

“Yeah, well, hard pass. I don’t want his Holy Spirit in me.” He pointed his thumb in Zombie’s direction.

All three shared a laugh. It felt like Heidi was always meant to be there.

“How many for breakfast today?”

“Just us.”

“Well, shit, I hope you like eggs because I already cracked more than enough and they’re all yours.”

She poured the eggs into the pan and joined them at the counter.

“I just want to say thank you again.” Her gaze was on Outlaw. “For everything.” She reached across the counter and took one of their hands in each of hers.

Tears glistened in her eyes and Zombie fell a little deeper in love. He knew the tears weren’t for her but for what they’d done for her. He had zero doubt that when Santa got back from the hospital, she would be waiting on him hand and foot. Fucker that he was, he would eat it up too.

Outlaw cleared his throat; he was so obviously uncomfortable with her gratitude. It struck Zombie as funny that he was so cocky and arrogant, especially when it came to slipping into lawyer mode, yet so different at the core of who he was.

“Oh.” Heidi jumped up and scrambled the eggs in the pan before serving up a plate for them all. Zombie rose and buttered the toast for her while Outlaw refilled their mugs.

“If you want to molest it with all that shit, you have to do that yourself,” he quipped before returning the carafe and sitting in front of his plate.

They dug into their eggs, but Heidi just pushed hers around and had toast. No chicken periods for her, she’d said. She just nibbled her toast. Something was clearly on her mind.

“What’s wrong, babe?”

Her face took on a reflective look and she scrunched up her mouth. “I’m just thinking if I’m going to be around here more and with what you guys do with helping people. Well, I want to contribute to that in some small way.”

Zombie smiled. Her heart was huge, even if she hid it away to protect it. That just meant when she did show it, she was exposing a vulnerability. To him that meant more than anything, that there was trust. Something she exhibited none of when they’d first met.

“That’s a great idea,” Outlaw said between bites. “What did you have in mind?”

There was some hesitation in her eyes, but she finally spoke. “I’m not sure exactly, but I kind of want to find a way to offer others what you guys did me, but for kids like Lily, whose family don’t want to involve the police.” She paused and nibbled her toast some more.

“What I went through doesn’t begin to compare to what the other victims of Stan’s went through. Not to mention, I’m an adult, so I had some advantages, like a job, money in the bank, stuff like that. They have none of that. You guys gave me more than a place to stay, protection, and um, problem-solving. You gave me a safe place to land. To think and decide what I wanted to do next.”

Once she opened the floodgates, she took off.

“Obviously you can’t give them everything, but I have some money in the bank, and my art does okay. Bringing people here, especially underage girls, is out of the question, I was thinking…” She took a deep breath. “Since I’ll be staying at Zombie’s.” She shot him a look.

Zombie’s heart sped up. While she’s agreed to be his and give them a go, she hadn’t come out and said she’d move in with him when he’d asked, not until right that second.

“We could use my apartment. My rent’s reasonable. Walt treats it like a family, so no creepy maintenance guys or anything. Plus, it would turn something Stan tainted into something positive.”

When no one said anything right away, Heidi looked crestfallen.

“It’s probably a stupid idea anyway.” She grabbed her plate and turned to the sink.

Zombie grinned, and Outlaw patted him on the back. “I guess I know what we’ll be saying to Wall Street’s investment idea.”

Heidi turned with a puzzled look.

“I think that’s a great idea, Rabbit. How about the whole complex?”

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