Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse
Chapter 63: Safe And Warm

Chapter 63: Safe And Warm

After a scrumptious breakfast where I only thought of Elizabeth five times, Tank decided to take me around the place he called the ’Dragon’s Lair’.

"This seems somewhat redundant," he murmured as he led me out of the front door. "But there is a reason for it."

"There is a reason for showing me around a place I can’t see?" I smirked back at him. I tilted my head back, assuming that, like everyone else, Tank was taller than me. "I can’t wait."

Tank chuckled and took my hand in his as the door softly clicked behind us. "The plan is that if enough people see you with me, they will know not to fu—mess with you."

It was almost cute how he was going out of his way not to swear around me. But if he was trying to preserve my innocence, then he was about a decade too late. "Swearing is fine," I chuckled as I walked forward, the darkness around me comforting in its familiarity. "I am an adult, you know."

I couldn’t stop the belly laughter that was pulled out of me as Tank practically tripped over his feet at my proclamation. "Sure you are," he replied, rubbing my hair as he brought us to a stop. "And I’m the Pope."

"I will thank God every day that you are not," grunted a voice behind us. Spinning around, I cocked my head to the side.

The man was absolutely silent on his feet, like a cat or something stalking its prey. "Am I prey?" I asked, not thinking through my words. Fuck, I was going to have to do better at censoring my thoughts before opening my mouth.

Using the physical connection with Tank, I looked at the man in front of me. He was wearing black dress pants with a bright red dress shirt underneath a black tweed coat that was a few sizes too small for his muscles. His dark brown hair was slicked back, and his green eyes were dancing with amusement as he looked down at me.

It wasn’t until I saw him that I realized I had a thing for short beards on a guy.

Huh, you learn something new every day.

"Not prey," he assured me, taking another silent step forward until he was standing almost toe to toe with me. "You wouldn’t even be a mouthful."

Nodding my head, I agreed with him. "And that is why most people choke on the fish bones. They underestimate the smaller things in life."

Hearing Tank’s deep chuckle beside me, I turned to look at him.

I must have been struck dumb on my walk not to notice how hot this guy was. He wore a black dress shirt with a black tie underneath what looked to be a bulletproof vest. His black hair was much more styled than someone with the name ’Tank" had the right to be.

But his face was perfectly chiseled to where his jawline was enough to have the weirdest fantasies over. His chin even had that dimple in the middle that my eyes refused to move away from. There must be something in O City where the guys either looked like they crawled out of the primordial ooze or like they crawled out of heaven.

And so far, this place was two for two on hot guys. Maybe I’ll stay here a bit longer before moving on... take in the scenery and all that.

"What do you need, Mathis?" asked Tank once he stopped laughing. However, I noticed that even though he was speaking to the man behind me, his eyes never left my face, his lips still smiling down at me.

"I’m Mathis now, huh," grunted the man, not bothering to move from where he was almost pressed against my front. "What happened to Bishop?"

"If you don’t need me, I have plans," shrugged Tank. They acted like they were friends, but at the same time, there seemed to be a tension between them that I couldn’t put my finger on. Were they friends? Or were they enemies?

"That’s fine. I have nothing to do right now; why don’t I follow along with you?" Finally tearing my eyes away from the dimple on Tank’s chin, I turned back to Mathis and saw him also staring at me.

Did I have something on my face? Was that the reason why both were looking at me?

"I’m sure that as the right-hand man to our Boss, you are busy. There is no need to reschedule your day to accommodate us." Tank’s voice was smooth with a bit of a bite like the bourbon I had stolen a sip of once.

And they both had the same effect on me.

Mathis dipped his head slightly, looking up at Tank from under his lashes as his chuckle had a bit of a threat to it. "I have just as much free time as you do," he replied, a flash of anger appearing on his face before it was instantly soothed away. "And two is always better than one when it comes to showing strength... and protection."

"Ah," nodded Tank with a slight smirk. "I guess you are right. When it comes to instilling absolute fear in the people around you, you have me outclassed in that regard."

"And you have the tenacity and subtility as a rottweiler with a mouth full of a target. Rip anyone apart lately?" purred Mathis as the chime of the elevator sounded behind me.

Tank let out a low growl and I could feel the threats pouring off him as he stared down Mathis.

"Come on, Lamb, let’s get this tour going," announced Tank, completely changing the subject.

"Ah, yet another area where you are lacking... your intellect," chuckled Mathis. "You can’t take this sweet girl out into a blizzard without a jacket." As if his words materialized it, a black tweet jacket appeared from out of nowhere in his hand.

Swinging it around my shoulder, I put one arm into the warm coat before shifting Teddy to my other arm to finish getting the jacket on. "Did you bring one for Teddy?" I asked, making sure that I stared blankly up at the man. "I don’t want him to get cold, either."

The stunned look on Mathis’ face was enough to make me want to smile. I was warm and feeling safe at the moment.

Life was definitely looking up.