Chapter 17 #2
“As for what you asked me earlier when we were texting,” he begins. “Dr. Binks did do more than supply us with medication. Not often, though. At least since I’ve been a member of KOAMC.”
“What did he do?”
Zombie returns to the couch, his expression dark and unreadable. “I don’t want you to think less of me if I tell you.”
His earnest tone has me sitting up straight. “I’m not gonna think less of you. Besides, it’s not like I can’t make my own assumptions about what large snack means.”
He takes a deep breath, then another and another. “There were a few times Dr. Binks allowed us to dispose of bodies inside the zoo. Whatever the larger animals didn’t destroy was given to the pigs.”
My stomach rolls as I imagine my animals eating human flesh and bone, and I cover my mouth with my hand. “That’s so gross.”
Surprisingly, Zombie laughs. “It is.”
“So, you’ve killed people?”
“Yes,” he replies without hesitation.
“How many?”
“No clue. Enough that I’m going straight to Hell when my time comes but not so many that my soul is completely black.”
Does his answer shock me? Yes. Does it make me think less of him? Nope. If anything, all I want to do is climb onto his lap and give him a hug.
You also wanna fuck him, hussy. The adrenaline rush that’d come from knowingly having sex with a killer…
I shiver at the thought, and Zombie lifts the blanket I discarded when he knocked on my door and wraps it around my shoulder. “Better?”
“Yeah,” I lie because I don’t know how to tell him that I’m not cold. In fact, I’m so damn hot I might combust. “Are you going to want me to let you dispose of bodies?” I ask in an attempt to get back on track.
“I don’t know. I hope I never have to, but I also won’t make a promise I’m not sure I can keep.”
“Makes sense.”
Silence ensues for several minutes, and then Zombie pulls me onto his lap. “So, wanna get to know each other?” he asks, pressing his nose into my neck and nuzzling.
My smile is instant. “Yes.”
“How about we order a pizza and play twenty questions?” he suggests. “We can watch a movie later, too, if you want.”
“I’m game for the pizza and twenty questions,” I tell him. “But maybe we could get outta here later?”
“Sure, whatever you want.”
What I want is him to take me to his place. He’s telling me things, but he’s not showing me anything. If he really wants me like he says, that means letting me in to his life beyond the sex and felonies.
Thirty minutes later, we’re sitting on the floor with an open pizza box between us.
“Favorite color?” he asks before lifting a slice to his mouth and practically downing half of it with one bite.
“Teal. You?”
“Green,” he says immediately. “More specifically, the emerald-green of the dress you wore to the gala. Morning person or night owl?”
“Night owl. Who’s your best friend?”
“Lyric, our club president.” Zombie pauses for a moment and then says, “But you’re quickly rising up the ranks.”
“Good to know,” I say with a grin. I eat a few bites of the cheesy goodness before blurting my next question. “Missionary or doggy?”
With an arched brow, he smirks. “As long as it’s your body I’m burying myself in, doesn’t matter. That said, I really want to try all the positions at the zoo.”
“I think we can make that happen.”
“Did you always know you wanted to be a vet?” he asks.
I tilt my head thoughtfully. “I think so. I remember this one time, when I was six or seven… I was at a friend’s house for a sleepover, and she had a goldfish that her dad had won her at the local fair.
” I smile fondly at the memory. “Anyway, she kept the fishbowl on her dresser, and when we woke up in the morning, Goldie was floating. My friend started crying but not me. I was oddly calm and lifted the fish out of the bowl and brought it to my lips to give it mouth-to-mouth.” He laughs as I speak.
“It wasn’t like I knew what I was doing, but it felt natural, ya know?
My friend’s dad came in because he heard her crying, and he made me stop.
I was so heartbroken. I think that’s when I made the decision that I was going to do everything in my power to help animals, keep them healthy so they couldn’t die. ”
“I’m sorry Goldie couldn’t be saved,” he says sincerely.
I wave my hand dismissively. “It was a good lesson. Granted, at the time, I was devastated, but I think it helped me recognize that I can’t save every animal. Sometimes, it’s just their time.”
“Like people.”
“Yeah.” I eat the last bite of my slice. “Did you always want to be in an MC?”
“It wasn’t a matter of wanting it,” he says. “I grew up in the club. It’s all I’ve ever known, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
“Not even me?” I tease.
His expression hardens. “That’s the equivalent of asking me whether I want my heart or my lungs cut from my body. It’s an impossible ask because I need both to survive.”
Again, we grow silent. We both eat two more pieces of pizza, and it’s not until we’re done that we continue playing twenty questions. I don’t know how much time passes, but the room has grown darker with the sun setting.
I rise to my feet to turn on a lamp, and then I carry our paper plates to the kitchen to throw away. I’m grabbing another bottle of water out of the fridge when there’s a knock at my door.
“Damn, I’m popular today,” I quip.
“I’ll get it,” Zombie says.
He unlocks the deadbolt and opens the door. I can’t see who it is because Zombie is such a large man, but it takes less than a second to figure it out.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Michael seethes.
Oh, shit. It’s Saturday.
“Just finished dinner,” Zombie says casually, and I can tell based on his stance that he crosses his arms over his chest. “What are you doing here?” I rush across the room and try to shove Zombie aside, but he doesn’t budge.
In fact, he keeps speaking. “I could’ve sworn you were busy with Morris Baker tonight. ”