Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse
Chapter 45: First Payment Made

Chapter 45: First Payment Made

Dante looked up at the flickering lights for a moment, his intense blue eyes staring at them as if daring them to try something. As if terrified of the man behind the desk, the lights turned off, plunging the office into darkness.

Turning his attention back to the folder in his hands, he pressed the power button for the lantern on his desk.

Once again, the area around him flooded with light, creating darker shadows where the lantern wasn’t able to reach.

A gentle knock on the door took his attention away from the documents he was trying to deal with. "Come in," he growled low. He didn’t have time for this. There was too much to do and not enough time to make sure it was done right.

Not bothering to see who was seeking entrance into his sanctuary, he looked at his watch. It was precisely 5:00 pm. Not a second before nor after, but the precise time. He guessed if someone was going to hit Country M with an EMP, the least they could do was make sure it was done on time.

"Sir," bowed the man in front of him slightly. "The power has gone out."

"Really?" muttered Dante, raising a brow as he looked at his second in command, Mathis "The Bishop" Duhon. "What gave it away?"

Mathis rolled his eyes, ignoring the cold tone of his best friend. Dante was one of the most feared men in the underworld, and not just in Country M but around the world as well. And with that notoriety came a type of arrogance.

Or maybe it was the arrogance that brought the notoriety.

Either way, Dante had it in spades.

His ice-blonde hair was longer at the top, spiking up as if he had run his hands through it more than once today, and his blue eyes were enough to send anyone running. Dressed impeccably in a three-piece suit and tie, he looked like he should be controlling one of the Fortune 500 companies.

Unfortunately for them, they didn’t earn enough to satisfy his needs or else he might have taken over a few of them as well.

"What about the shipment?" asked Dante, his eyes going back to the document with the full list of supplies that were supposed to arrive yesterday. Due to unforeseen circumstances, they were running a bit behind schedule.

If the world weren’t currently ending right now, he would have had Mathis take them to task, but there was no need. They would get what was coming to him. He had no doubt about that.

"They are in the warehouse," assured Mathis. "With five minutes to spare, I might add. The Lord works in mysterious ways."

Dante grunted and nodded his head in understanding before closing the document and coming to his feet. Buttoning the top two buttons of his jacket, he looked at Mathis.

"Show me."

-----

Isaac led us through the front door of the massive mansion and toward the back of it. Finding the kitchen overlooking the water, he untied the rest of the women and told them to get to work.

"There’s actually food here," murmured one of the women, and I could hear her practically crying in relief.

Elizabeth led me to the table and chairs before helping me sit down. "Rest," she advised, stroking my hair. "I’m going to make some sweet tea."

"If she is one of us, she is going to have to pull her own weight," reminded Jennifer. Seriously, even if she didn’t speak, no one would take her for a mute. I think it would kill her to be nice.

"She is nothing more than a child," snapped back Elizabeth so strongly that everyone seemed to be taken aback. "She is a child," she repeated, a lot calmer the second time than she was the first. "She can rest."

This time, not even Jennifer decided to contradict her.

I mean, I could explain that I was full-grown, that I was considered to be an adult under the law, and all that fun stuff. But why would I do that? It’s not my fault they assumed I was younger. They hadn’t bothered to clarify my age, so it’s not like I was lying about anything.

I used to hate it; how young I looked. Of course, my deep desire to look like a doll didn’t help, but since it made me feel better... prettier... I didn’t care about anyone else’s opinion on the matter.

At least I didn’t put my hair up in pigtails.

But there was one thing I had learned at a very young age. If someone was trying to find fault with you, they would find it, no matter what you did. If you put on too much makeup, you were trying too hard. If you didn’t put on enough, you clearly didn’t care about your image.

If your skirt was too short, you were a slut. If it was too long, you were a prude.

If your hair was too short, you were trying to look like a boy; if it was too long, then you needed to cut it.

If you spoke too much, then you needed to shut up; if you didn’t talk enough, then you were an idiot.

Society seemed to want everyone to live in a very small box, never too much or too little of one thing or another. And if you didn’t conform... well, someone was sent to show you the error of your ways.

Père was the one who had decided everything for me, and since he was dead, I was going to live my life the way I wanted to. No trying to justify anything, no trying to explain. If someone didn’t like it, they could either keep their opinions to themselves or make a wish.

Long story short, if they thought I was a child, I wasn’t going to put forth the effort to correct their way of thinking.

The sound of pots and pans clattering against the glass-top stove roused me out of my thoughts as Elizabeth placed a glass in front of me and helped me wrap my hands around it.

I heard her indrawn breath as if she was going to say something, but she was interrupted by Jennifer’s loud scream and a crash.

’First payment made.’