How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back by Diana Rowland Read Free Book Online Page A

guess I won’t need to have strong words with Pietro after all.”
    Brian grimaced, obviously not
entirely
sure I was teasing. “Not on my account.”
    â€œI’ll behave,” I said. “Don’t worry.”
    He wiped his brow in mock-relief, though maybe not totally
mock.
“Don’t go getting me into trouble,” he said, then stood as a tall, black woman with braids that hung to mid back entered the room. Radiating ultra-confidence with a dash of scary calm, Rachel Delancey was Brian’s second in command, and one of the few female zombies Pietro had working for him.
    Her gaze slid over me as if I was a steaming pile of dog shit on the carpet before it came to rest on Brian. Yeah. We weren’t going to be best buds anytime soon. Her idea of security probably didn’t include a new zombie like me hanging around at the super secret lab. But I had a niggling feeling there was more to it than that. She’d seemed okay with me at first, then gradually went colder than a polar bear’s ass. I’d tried a few times to be friendly but got nowhere. The only thing I could figure was that she’d found out about my loser past and thought I was a security risk. Or maybe she thought I was going to take advantage of Marcus or Pietro or Dr. Nikas. Whatever the deal was, I couldn’t see any way to change her opinion of me. Oh, well. Her loss.
    â€œEverything set for Dr. Charish’s transfer?” Brian asked her, and I realized he was referring to the mental health breaks that Dr. Nikas insisted be provided for Kristi. Pietro would’ve been fine with Kristi chained to a lab station and locked in a cell at night, but that shit wouldn’t fly with Dr. Nikas. At his insistence, and despite Pietro’s grumbling, Kristi was allowed to spend two days every few weeks at one of Pietro’s remote hunting lodges.
    Rachel shot a quick and disapproving glance my way as if she really didn’t want to say anything with me in the room. I kept my smile on my face and resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Who the hell did she think I’d blab to?
    â€œWe’re good to go,” she told Brian. “Simon is driving Chris and Dr. Charish, then the other two on her guard rotation will meet them at the lodge after the security meeting.” She passed him a paper. “Here’s the full schedule.”
    Brian looked over the schedule then passed it back to her. “You’re aware that Mr. Ivanov will be heading up there as well?” She replied with an affirmative, and he glanced at his watch. “Everything looks good then. I’ll see you in about half an hour for the meeting.”
    Rachel gave a crisp nod and threw one last disapproving glance my way before sweeping out.
    I made my best
Bite Me
face at her back. “I can’t get over how warm and fuzzy she is to me. The constant adoration is getting a little embarrassing.”
    Brian stifled a laugh. “She’s opinionated but efficient as hell and damn good at what she does.” He abruptly stood, eyes on the doorway. A few seconds later a scowling Pietro stepped in. Damn, Brian either had a super-senses mod working or was seriously tanked on brains. I hadn’t heard, seen, or smelled whatever Brian had. But in the next instant I remembered the dude had a wicked sense of smell. Like,
crazy
good—he could even tell by scent alone if someone was lying.
    â€œAny changes, sir?” Brian asked Pietro.
    Pietro shook his head. Whatever the chat with Dr. Nikas had been about, it hadn’t left him in a sunny mood. “I’ll meet with Kristi at the lodge as usual, then go out to dinner with Ari. I’ll call you after I leave Kristi, as we need to discuss some matters.”
    â€œYes, sir. I’ll be clear of the security meeting before you leave the lodge.” Brian checked his watch again. “Speaking of which, I should get going unless you have anything else for me,