Page 11 of Zombie

Dante stood and sat next to me on the couch. “I can understand that. But your body needs time to heal. Are you having any nightmares from the trauma you experienced? I know of several good therapists that could⁠—”

I shook my head vehemently. I’d hated shrinks ever since I was a young girl. My mother put me in therapy after the car crash that killed my father. It felt less like my mother wanted to help me and more like she wanted me to be someone else’s problem; a feeling she cemented when she left.

“No shrinks. I’ll be fine,” I bit out more forcefully than I meant to.

Dante nodded. “I just want to check your wrists and the bruising to make sure everything is starting to heal.”

“Okay,” I responded.

Methodically, he took off my bandages and inspected my wrists where the red marks were fading to pink. He lifted my shirt slightly to check the bruising on my side and along my back, then checked my breathing again, the whole time not saying a word. When he was done, he disposed of his latex gloves and wrapped the stethoscope back around his neck.

“Everything looks as it should for this point in the healing process. If you don’t take the pain medication I gave you, please alternate Tylenol and Ibuprofen to help with inflammation and some of your pain.”

I met his cold, steely blue eyes. “Okay, I will.”

He gave me a nod of satisfaction, and, with a curt goodbye, he was heading out the door.

I wanted to find a reason for him to stay longer, but my mind was dulled by exhaustion. One thing was certain; I wanted to get to know Dr. Dante Spinelli.

SEVEN

ZOMBIE

I left Lennie feeling lighter than I had in a long time. For the first time since Arrow had died, I didn’t have him in my head. The happiness felt foreign and almost unwelcome. I was used to being the surly asshole who constantly got shit from his teammates for being too rigid and matter of fact. Now, I smiled as my mind replayed how cute Lennie looked in her corgi-printed pajamas and her pink-tipped hair in two short braids.

I headed to the gym that we were using for training as our new facility was being built. When I entered, I saw Buddha and Chief talking while Buddha lifted weights. Badger was still healing from smoke inhalation after the blast at Dominos, so she was home resting; and Phantom was nowhere to be found. I had been a ghost around my team ever since Arrow had died. They understood, and gave me the space I was silently asking for.

Buddha and Chief stopped their conversation as Buddha sat up on his bench with a broad smile. “There he is! I was wondering if I was going to have to send out a search party for you.”

I rolled my eyes and put my bag down on one of the seats next to the doorway. I walked toward the men and gave each of them the fist-bump they always insisted on. The action felt weird, but the more normal I came off, the less likely they were to ask questions. Of course, out of all days, today I had forgotten to bring my folder for Chief. I had been so consumed with my lusting over Lennie that I wasn’t thinking about the life-changing secret.

Chief looked at me as if he were trying to read my mind, just like he had been doing ever since Arrow’s death. I shrank away from his calculating gaze.

He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Buddha and I were just talking about the new headquarters. What do you think about us building your lab next to the new gym?”

“A morgue next to a gym?” I scoffed.

“Just think, it will be great for advertising. A workout so killer you’ll have to go next door!” Buddha quipped.

I couldn’t help but smile at the stupid joke. I knew they just didn’t like having me further away. Chief preferred us all being close together and me being further away than the rest of the team, especially when we had teammates down, was not something he enjoyed. No matter if we had an active mission or not the goal would always be to have us close together. We were a family.

“Badger does run some killer workouts, so maybe it will be needed,” I joked back.

Both men beamed with happiness as if I had just said the funniest thing. My smile faltered as I remembered how Arrow always made everyone laugh and smile. I wasn’t him.

“Do you want to spar or were you planning on doing weights today?” Buddha asked as he stood from the bench. I could tell he was trying not to make note of my unusual joke by asking a question that was on safer grounds.

I shrugged. Both men looked at me, perplexed. Usually, I came to the gym with a plan, but my thoughts had been consumed by the minx with the pink-and-gold hair.

“I was thinking I would do some weights and end with some cardio today,” I said quickly.

Both men nodded before letting me get to my workout. They walked to Chief’s makeshift office, no doubt to continue their conversation about the new facility.

The whole time I was working out, I wanted to know what Lennie was doing. Had she taken the pain pills as I instructed? She seemed like a rule follower to me. So, if she wasn’t taking the pain medication, there had to be a reason why. I wanted to find out what it was. If I were reading the situation correctly, which I thought I was, I had a feeling she wasn’t taking them because she was having some post-traumatic stress from the kidnapping. That was the most logical conclusion I could gather. If she was asleep, she probably was reliving those horrific moments when she was kidnapped. But regardless, I wanted her to have some relief. Maybe I could bring it up to her?

No. I fought myself until ultimately, I sent her a text.

DANTE: