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“We can eat some of my stash.” He took out a can of baked beans, a package of turkey jerky, and a small box of crackers. It wasn’t five-star dining, but it looked damn good to her.
She handed him the bottle of water, and the smile he gave her totally changed his hard exterior. She noticed it did seem kind of forced though, as if he wasn’t quite comfortable with the expression. This man was dangerous, and not because he had killed three people right in front of her with little to no effort.
He was dangerous in the way he looked at her and in the way he scanned his surroundings and took every little detail in. The air around him was charged with violence.
This man was used to this world, used to killing without even blinking, and knew how to survive on his own without fearing anything. Rebecca could tell that just by looking at him and by the way he moved, as if he were a wild animal stalking his prey.
They started eating in silence, and just when she was growing comfortable sitting here not saying anything, he spoke.
“This place isn’t safe for a permanent home, Rebecca.” He stared at her and then took a chunk out of his jerky. He pointed behind him at the window. “There are thirty-plus infected out there, and if they realize the sound you make every time you move that ladder is coming from in here, and that coming in here would be easy….” He paused in speaking, maybe for effect, but it had her straightening and thinking of what he just said.
She stared down at her lap, thinking about the times those few infected had come into the warehouse. She had stayed down, tried to be as quiet as possible, because even if they couldn’t see her, any kind of noise this close to them would have sent them into a frenzy.
After what seemed like forever, one of them finally wandered off. Rebecca had taken out the other one with her knife. Yes, she knew she needed to find a place that was safe and protected from not only the elements, but these sick assholes too.
Lifting her gaze back to his, she licked her lips, stared at this ruggedly handsome man who seemed to be able to read her as easily as if he had known her forever, and hated going down this road. She didn’t want to have to air her dirty laundry, didn’t want him thinking she was weak and couldn’t handle herself, because she had, since the world ended in fact. “Even after all this time, after everything… this is still the safest place for me.” She licked her lips, watched him hold his composure, and wondered what he thought.
Was it wrong that just looking at Collin had this warmth consuming her? She shouldn’t want him, shouldn’t want any man for that matter, but he saved her life, acted as though he cared about her safety, and up until this point hadn’t been anything but a gentleman. Well, as much as a gentleman as the end of the world allowed.
“You seem pretty young but have survived being out here alone all this time. What did you do before all this went down?” he asked her and took another bite out of his jerky. He was changing the subject; that was obvious. But Rebecca felt herself start to grow relieved and blew out a breath.
“Nothing that is of much use now.” She stared at him for a second before continuing, “I’m not really that young. I’m twenty-seven, turned it this past summer, although I couldn’t tell you what day.” She thought about how her birthday had come and gone, yet she had lost track of time and didn’t even know what day it was. “I was an accountant for a small laundry service.”
He still didn’t respond but nodded.
“I managed their books for the last three years, and then my boss was the first in the company to get the new flu vaccine. He had made it mandatory for all employees to receive it, but before I got my shot, the news was coming out with the symptoms, the concern, and then the outbreak.” She remembered that day it seemed the world had crashed in around them. “My boss started acting funny at first, like he had gotten the flu, as ironic as that is. But as time went on, he was acting more crazed, manic even.” She pictured that day, the one when she killed her boss. She zoned out as she remembered him coming after her in his office. “He was a pervert anyway, so even though he got infected, I couldn’t feel bad for him.” Gritting her teeth, she thought about all the times he hit on her, threatened to fire her if she reported him. “I could have slapped him with a sexual harassment suit so many times,” she said almost to herself. He had known she needed that job more than she needed anything else. “I was supporting my brother at the time.” She looked up at Collin again, coming back into the present. “It was just the two of us after my dad passed away, and our mom ditched us when we were little.”
