Zombie Games (20 page)

“Well,” beamed Austin, “not only is she beautiful, but she has a lot of fire in her belly. This little philly isn’t afraid of anything,” he said staring at me. “If you ask me it’s quite an honorable trait.”

Everyone turned towards me with amusement, I just shrugged.

Bryce turned back to Austin and snorted. “Are you referring to Cassie or a horse?”

“Listen up kids, let’s get serious here,” interrupted my dad. His patience was wearing thin. “There’s only a few hours of daylight left so we’d better get-a-move-on. Austin, you stay here and watch over Eva and the dogs. If everything goes the way I planned, we should be back in less than two hours with a new vehicle and a full tank of gas.”

“I feel more comfortable coming with,” replied Austin. “I promised your wife I’d stay close to Cassie at
all
times. I’d hate to have anything happen to her. It’s just too dangerous.”

My dad turned to Austin and if looks could kill he’d be deader than anything I’d shot in the last few days.  He smiled coldly. “I think I can take care of my own daughter Tex,” he said in a strained voice.

“For the last time, I can take care of myself,” I stated. “I think I proved that in the last few days.”

Bryce nodded. “She did a great job, too. Tex could probably take some lessons from her.”

Austin shook his head. “I didn’t mean any insult sir. I’m just a man of my word and I promised Kris I’d protect her daughter in anyway I could.”

“That’s very honorable but I think you’d better stay with Eva and Bobby. They need protection.”

“Bryce could stay here,” interrupted Eva. 

Over my dead body
, I thought as she twirled her long red hair around her finger nails and stared at him hungrily. Bryce, as usual, remained impassive.

My dad shook his head. “No, I need Bryce to cover me at the dealership. Unlike Austin, his shoulder isn’t injured and things could get pretty nasty. Cassie needs to come with so she can drive the Sierra back.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’m going to change my clothes,” I said tightly, leaving the kitchen. I didn’t trust myself around Eva, especially with all of the loaded weapons on the table.

220