"I sure as hell don't want to be stuck here with you all day," was her only response to his words about her own lengthy list of faults. She wouldn't (and probably couldn't) argue that she had many faults of her own.
Admitting to the Frenchman's allure was something Leah would never do to anyone, least of all herself. All of his obnoxious qualities weighed against him in terms of how attractive he may or may not have been. Disgust won out against her prior amusement, and she nodded her agreement to his joking remark. "Truer words were never spoken, Marchand. The day I start flirting with you will be the day I completely lose my mind." Shame that they both had filthy minds. Made it all the more difficult to argue with the people who tried to call them out on their supposed flirting. It hardly mattered. They both had their respective not-quite-boyfriend and not-quite-girlfriend to flirt with.
"That wasn't whining," she snapped. Whimpering, maybe. On the verge of panic, definitely. When it came down to it, 'whining' was probably the most closely appropriate word she was willing to admit to, when it came to the terrifying realization that zombies might drag her underwater. "It was no worse than your fucking shrieking when those bugs attacked you."
Leah rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't miss you at all. My days would be so much more pleasant without you, Frenchie."
The idea of a sparring ring was an appealing one. Fighters getting to show off their strength and skill on neutral ground. Leah knew such things went on in a few of the safehouses, but she'd never actually participated. Maybe she would one day. Especially if it came to pitting her strengths against Marchand's. "Kinda like a Fight Club type thing," she mused, dragging her the short nail on her index finger absently across her chin. "I like it."
She let out a sigh of relief when Evan assured her he wouldn't go spreading the news around that Brandon was responsible for inciting the destruction of the Liberty safehouse. As grateful as she was, Leah didn't feel the need to thank him for his discretion. The threat still stood, whether it was necessary or not. Such was her paranoia and protectiveness over her brother.
"It was our fault," she said abruptly, finally looking up at him. "Or, should I say, my fault, since I was the one who told Brandon about our idea to use Ellis as a base of operations. I should've known it was a bad idea, mentioning it to him like that... He went off with a half-cocked idea that he could investigate the place. He took West and O'Brien with him. Their intrusion pissed off the Ellis natives, and the Ellis natives took it out on Liberty..."