7. Zombie
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:
Hey, don’t forget to take your meds every four to six hours. I want to make sure your pain is under control.
It seemed too personal. Too in her face. But then again, part of me wanted to bring it up. Be in her space. Help her move on from the horror that she had experienced.
After spending a couple of hours at the gym and checking in with Toby, my assistant, at the lab, I finally went home to decompress.
It took everything in me to avoid texting Lennie and keep myself from going to her home to ensure her safety.
It wasn’t my place to question Kade, but I thought it was strange that he didn’t have guards protecting her.
But then again, I didn’t know all the men that were under Kade.
He could very well have men watching her and I would be none the wiser.
It wasn’t my place to tell Kade what to do or ask questions.
But something inside of me nagged to know the answer.
“You could always just go and check on her just to be sure,” Arrow said as he stood leaning on my kitchen counter. I knew he was a figment of my imagination, but he looked so real, especially since he used to lean on my counter all the time when we would chat.
“I can’t do that, it’s fucking creepy,” I said out loud.
Arrow shrugged. “True, but this overthinking thing you are doing is driving me nuts, so would you figure it out?”
I huffed. “It’s driving you nuts? How do you think I feel? I’m talking to my dead best friend while I obsess over a girl who is completely out of my league.”
Arrow just laughed. “Easy there, Z, you’re starting to sound crazy.”
I was, in fact, probably going insane as I talked to myself in my empty home. But I carefully avoided looking too closely at that.
I went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Steam soon filled the room and fogged up the mirror. Climbing into the water, I let the warmth drown my thoughts.
Halfway through washing myself I began to picture Lennie undressing.
Envisioning her nipples hardening as the air touched them.
From what I could tell, she had just enough breast for a handful.
Exactly what I liked. I imagined her doing a striptease for me as she took off her pants and then panties, swaying her ass from side to side.
My dick hardened at my thoughts, and I couldn’t help but begin to stroke it.
The vision escalated to her bound in my red rope, suspended in the air in a straddled position, giving me easy access to what I wanted.
I would take my time teasing her wet pussy and swollen clit with my hand first until she was begging for my cock.
But even when I gave it to her, I would go slow, edging her to the point of ruin.
My fantasy continued to her coming around my cock, making my orgasm build at the base of my spine.
I envisioned pistoning into her, filling her with my cum.
Just as I pictured it, spurts of my seed splashed onto the wall of my shower and I groaned as the wave of bliss filtered through me.
God, I needed this girl in my playroom, now.
Resting my head against the tiles, I took a minute to catch my breath.
I absentmindedly cleaned myself as I continued to picture the cute blonde. Robotically, I dried my body off and got ready to go to bed.
I was just about to close my eyes when I got a text on my phone. Hopeful that it was Lennie, I was surprised to see a text from an unknown number giving coordinates. Another text followed it.
UNKNOWN:
Tonight. 9 PM. Don’t be late, Zombie.