Page 33 of Zombie

Lennie’s breath hitched as she processed my words. “You—what?” She stared at me like she had never seen me before.

I put my hands out as if I were trying to cage a wild animal and inched closer to her. I needed to feel her, needed to hold her and tell her I was so sorry for what I had done.

As I walked closer she stepped back. I stopped moving and let out a sigh before looking at the ground. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you but I knew⁠—”

Lennie cut me off. “You threw a brick through my window, and then invited me to your home when you were the psycho that put me in danger.” Her voice was even and left no room for argument.

“Let me explain,” I tried but my efforts were proved futile when she interrupted me again.

“No,” she said with finality. “You threw a brick through my window, when I was in the middle of…” She glanced away, not meeting my eyes. “I know you saw me, so I don’t even have to say it.” She took a predatory step toward me. Gone was the loving, bubbly girl I knew she typically was. She pointed at me as she walked. “You will never speak to me again, because I assume Kade doesn’t know the truth about the results. So, if you want me to stay quiet, you will leave me alone.”

I gave her a nod before she ran past me and upstairs. Within minutes she was packed and walking out the door and slamming it shut.

I sat on my couch and buried my head in my hands. What had I just done? I’d ruined everything and now I had to deal with the consequences of my actions.

TWENTY-TWO

LENNIE

I walked into my condo after zooming out of Dante’s. Anger, despair, and betrayal filtered through me as I threw my bag onto my couch. Thank goodness I hadn’t hooked up with him or else it would have made everything worse.

Although betrayal filled my veins I couldn’t help but check my phone for the umpteenth time and groaned before wrapping an arm over my face. Why did I still want him so badly? Was it his broody, mysterious persona? Or was it deeper than that? I knew he had to have more to him based on the relationships that he had with his team. And from the research I had done, I knew that he was smart and ambitious.

Despite all of his redeeming qualities, something deep down told me he was dangerous and my gut had been right. My inner monologue had warned me to be vigilant and to not get too attached but it had already been too late. I’d known deep down he was dangerous, but something about his demeanor and how he looked at me like he wanted to consume me had warned me that I hadn’t met the real Dante Spinelli yet. However now I felt like I had gotten a glimpse. Someone who watched from outside my window and got angry enough to throw a rock through my window was clearly unhinged.

After an hour of failing to be productive, I took a nap wanting to forget everything I learned.

When I woke up, I pulled up my conversation with Dante and after a few minutes, I saw the bubble icon on the screen light up.

DANTE:

I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. Quite the opposite. I will leave you alone.

His confession did something to my insides. I couldn’t explain how his words seemed to settle in my body like they were meant to be there. Like he was something to me. I didn’t respond, and instead left him on read.

Before I could dig myself into a deeper hole, I deleted the text thread and changed his caller ID to CRAZY STALKER.

TWENTY-THREE

ZOMBIE

It had been nine long months of wishing I were with Lennie. Nine months of silence. Nine months of hoping I’d hear from her. Lurking in the shadows every night to see what she was doing. I hadn’t sent another text. I had been bold and thought we could work through it, but clearly, I had been wrong. Not that I blamed her. That girl made me lose my head like I never had before.

She spent each night alone at her home. Sometimes the goth woman would come over along with her friends from the Hive. But no men. That last part was a relief. I knew I would do more than just break her window if she had Bohdi over again. Or any other man, for that matter. It was selfish, and I knew it was irrational, but she was mine, even if she didn’t know it.

In addition to pining over Lennie, I had also spent the last nine months working with Sarah and getting intimate knowledge of her operation, which she wanted desperately for me to be part of. One thing I couldn’t figure out after all this time was her endgame; she kept that information close to her chest. However, I knew she was planning something big based on the influx of activity the organization had been running.

When she wasn’t looking, I snuck snacks and water to the women and children who were captured. I also convinced Sarah to let me complete medical examinations on them to ensure that they were physically okay. It wasn’t much, but at least it helped me stomach what I was doing.

I was no closer to getting free of the shackles that bound me to Sarah and Ricci’s operation. And while Sarah had kept up her end of the bargain, and put Cassie and Ryann in a safe house, I knew they weren’t truly safe as long as Sarah had them in her control.

Over the last few months, more bodies had been found throughout the city. All young women and children. Some had been tortured, some raped, and many appeared malnourished and neglected. Most of the bodies I didn’t recognize, so I had come to the conclusion that there had to be another base for the trafficking.

Toby had become more reclusive, and I worried that I would lose him as my assistant. But I didn’t have the energy to focus on him. If he wanted to do this job, he needed to find a way to cope with it. Harsh, I knew, but it was the truth. Though that was coming from someone who still saw their dead best friend every day. So maybe I wasn’t an authority on coping skills.

My team was none the wiser; however, I knew they’d noticed my exhaustion and my distance. I was only going to Oasis tonight to prove I was still around. I needed to appear normal to keep them from prying.

I got into my car to head to opening night of the club Machine and Kade had bought several months ago. Everyone had been invited for the event, as this would be another legitimate business for Kade. My tortuous thoughts were running through my head as I got ready to go. I knew Lennie would be there tonight and I wasn’t sure how it was going to go after our last encounter.