He’d helped her—potentially saved her property or even herlife—long, long before she’d attempted to save him. And he was telling her because…
Because he didn’t want her to leave without knowing he valued at least one other person in the entire world. Her.
“I can show you the footage.” He didn’t sound panicked, exactly. But he certainly didn’t sound dispassionate. “I saved it.”
“No need. I believe you.” Her lips curved, because now she’d have one last pleasant memory of him, of caring, before she met her fate. “Thank you.”
Impatiently, he waved that aside. “I don’t want your gratitude.”
“Then what do you want?” A farewell hug? Maybe even a tiny little k—
“I want to accompany you,” he announced.
Her brows slammed together in shock.What the—“Why?”
“Because…” He hesitated and shifted his weight, the muscles in his jaw working. “Because…”
After a few moments, she let him off the hook. He’d already revealed much more of himself over the past twenty-four hours than she would have predicted, and definitely more than was comfortable for him. His exact motivation in this instance could remain fuzzy.
He cared about her, however unwillingly. And with him at her side, she might actually survive the upcoming trek. No matter his reasoning, that was a clear win for her.
She offered him a teasing, triumphant grin. “Because you’re finally acknowledging the awesomeness of my kick last night? Because you’re eager to learn from me, your local warrior princess–slash–ninja?”
“Because if all humanity perishes, I’ll starve,” he said dryly.
“Good enough for me!” she chirped, then companionably punched his uninjured arm.
“Ow.” He scowled at her, rubbing his triceps ostentatiously. “Control your bloodlust, human, and give me a minute to put together a pack.”
She snickered. “Fine. I’ll meet you by the ladder.”
Gods, climbing up that thing was going to suck even worse than climbing down.
“I have an elevator,” he told her before striding toward his bedroom.
“What?” It was an outraged squawk. “Then why didn’t we use it last night?”
“We might not have made it there in time.” He smiled smugly at her. “Also, I was curious how long the descent would take you. The answer: forever. A bloodyeternity. It was sad, really.”
Then he was gone, his steps swift and sure, before she could run over and punch his arm again, this time with more force.
“I’ve met centenarian tortoises who move faster than you did,” he called through the closing bedroom door, and she aimed her middle fingers in his direction even as she laughed.
***
In the end,leaving his house took them another full hour.
Once he emerged from his room with a large backpack, they looked at a map of the Containment Zone on his phone. Without needing much discussion, they decided upon the most straightforward route: They would immediately drive to the lone access road that allowed passage over the moats and through the walls to the outside world, where they would contact the nearestauthorities about the latest breach. All while avoiding a roaming pack of zombies and any straggler zombies that might be lingering nearby.
“And helping anyone in trouble along the way,” she added as they studied their path.
He sighed. “If absolutely necessary.”
“Also, if the sirens sound before we make it out of the Zone, we’ll find safe shelter wherever we are.” When he simply looked at her, as if to sayobviously, she spread her hands. “Just making sure our priorities are aligned so we both know what to do.”
The humming sound he made didn’t indicate agreement, necessarily, but he didn’t argue.
She looked down at herself. At some point during the night, Max had laundered her coveralls too, so they were clean and dry, and they were thick enough to prevent light scratches and abrasions. Not damage from claws and sharp teeth, however.
