Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse-Chapter 263: Not Waiting Around

The long sigh that escaped my lips was practically silent as I tried to reign in my frustrations. It wasn’t like I wanted random strangers to declare their undying love for me.

Seriously? His dying breath? Did this man in front of us really think that he stood a chance against any of my men? Just because he had the numbers on his side, that didn’t mean he was going to win this battle.

"That seems a bit sketchy," grunted Salvatore, his voice carrying over to where Luca and the man stood. "Like something a child trafficker would say."

The man held up his hands, an easygoing smile on his face while his eyes screamed out all the thoughts in his head. He thought I was the weak link on this team. That if he controlled me, then he controlled the guys at the same time.

Stupid man, thinking that I was something or someone to be controlled.

"Daddy," I whimpered, sending all the men around me into alert. "I don’t know what to do," I continued, my voice high and uncertain as I pushed tears up into my eyes.

Chang Xuefeng looked down at me before snapping me out of Dante’s arms and into his. Lifting me up so that I was perched on his forearm, he pointed to the man. "He is a stranger. If you don’t know their name, never go with them. Even if we get split up, you can be assured that we will always be able to find you."

I loved how well Daddy was able to act with me now. When we first met, he was so uncomfortable with the D word, but now he was rocking it like a champ.

"My name is Captain Gideon Mercier," introduced the man, smiling gently at me. "But my friends call me Grim. Since we are now friends, and I am no longer a stranger, you can call me Grim, too. What should I call you?"

"Grim?" interrupted Chang Xuefeng, his eyes narrowing on the poor human. "You actually call yourself that?"

"Not even a bit," assured Grim as he smiled sinisterly. "My kills speak for themselves."

"Your kills," snickered Dante, shaking his head as I couldn’t help but bury my face in Chang Xuefeng’s neck.

Yeah, comparing kills with the actual Grim Reaper might not be the smartest thing he could have done.

Gideon’s face turned black as I felt his eyes on my back. "Not anything we should talk about in front of a child," he snapped, clearly mistaking the reason I was ’hiding’ against Daddy. "What are your names? Or should I just give you numbers? They are easier to remember, especially when people die so fast in this day and age.

"You could try," replied Ronan, his eyes glowing blue as Sloth pushed forward. "But Imma not worried about us dying."

"I’m tired," I grumbled, now even more cranky that I wasn’t getting a severed limb or a dead body. "Can we hurry up and get to your home... or whatever you call it?"

"Of course, Sweetheart," purred Gideon, my voice calling him away from the others and directing all his attention on me.

However, if he was going to keep staring at me like that, I was going to end up ripping out his eyes. And going through the apocalypse blind really wasn’t that easy.

Been there, done that... couldn’t find the T-shirt.

"But before we get there, we have to do a supply run. With all ten of you, we don’t have enough supplies to feed everyone. Besides, it’s an unspoken rule to never return empty-handed back to base," the man explained, even as he continued to stare holes into the back of my head.

"Supply run?" repeated Luca, his voice smooth as if he didn’t have a care in the world. However, I could easily hear the threats beneath his two words. "You didn’t mention that before... Grim."

The way he called Gideon ’Grim’ made me want to smile. Leave it up to Greed to want to poke Daddy Bear.

As if it took a Herculean effort, Gideon finally took his eyes off me, and I could breathe again. "Like I said, we’re low on supplies. I am sure that you guys would like to eat tonight. Or are you okay with your daughter starving?"

"We come with our own supplies," shrugged Luca. "It’s about the only benefit of being a space user... the fact that I come with my own supplies. I can more than take care of my... daughter."

"There is no way in hell I am calling you Daddy!" I called out, my nose wrinkling in anger. Chang Xuefeng was the exception to the rule... Greed would just have to deal.

"Can’t fault me, little bit," purred Luca, smiling over his shoulder at me. "I’m always greedy for more."

"You get enough," I replied, wrapping my arms around Chang Xuefeng’s neck.

"I don’t get nearly enough," laughed Luca before turning his attention back to Gideon. "But I am more than happy to wait."

I could feel Gideon’s head snapping back and forth as he read between the lines of Luca’s statement before simply shaking his head. "That’s beside the point. We are getting supplies, or you can just stay here and hope to God you see the zombies coming in the dark."

"And just what do you want us ta do?" asked Dimitri, cocking his head to the side as he smiled with far too many teeth. "Carry your bags?"

Gideon’s face dropped, and the men around us shifted nervously, and I could feel the tension in the air rising. "What are you going to do about it?" he asked, throwing down the gauntlet. "You’re not exactly in a position to negotiate."

Now it was my men’s turn to stiffen as Luca and Gideon engaged in a schoolyard stare-down.

"Cut it out," snapped Chang Xuefeng, his words cutting through the tension. "Hattie needs a place to sleep. If you want to measure your dicks to see whose is the biggest, be my guest, but I’m not waiting around."