by Layla Nash
It was easier said than done. Tears burned my eyes and nose and throat as I fought down the bile that wanted to escape. “That poor tiger,” was all I could think to whisper. Like he hadn’t suffered enough already. Those bastards would feed him – human meat, and then if anyone found out, they’d kill the tiger.
“I would have pitied the poor son of a bitch getting eaten,” Dodge said under his breath. “But that’s me.”
I must have made a disgruntled noise, because his thumb started stroking the back of my neck and he squeezed my neck and shoulder just a bit. “And poor tiger, too. Can’t imagine that guy tastes very good. From the looks of the meat-heads doing the chopping, he was probably fat and filled with cholesterol. Can’t be good for the tiger’s heart to eat a greaseball who’s been packing in the cured meats, salt, and vodka for fifty years.”
I wanted to laugh and barf at the same time, so I settled on groaning and covering my face. He kept up the gentle caress on the side of my throat, though it turned absent – like he didn’t remember he was doing it. It sent shivers through me, and not in a bad way. There was something very reassuring about a guy who knew exactly what to do in such a fucked up situation. Like not starting the car right away. I would have fired the engine up and peeled out of there like my ass was on fire.
I swallowed the sour taste in my mouth and slowly sat back up, confident I wasn’t going to pass out or barf – at least for the near future. His hand remained on my shoulder, and I resisted the urge to lay my cheek against it. “Why are you doing this?”
He glanced over and then dropped his hand, and my cheeks heated. I cleared my throat and gestured at my shoulder. “I didn’t mean... that. I meant...” And I gestured to take in the car, the sanctuary, everything. “This. Why? They could have seen you, too. They could still see you on the security footage. What if they want to hurt you, too?”
Dodge shrugged and turned his attention back to the road. “Because this is what I do.”
“What does that mean?” I was desperate to understand. He was like someone from another planet. He had a set of skills I’d never imagined existed in the real world.
“This is what I do,” he said, tone sharper than I expected. He didn’t even bother to look at me as he gritted out the words. “I spent years chasing after stupid, idealistic kids who went bouncing off into the worst places in the world because they thought they knew how to save everyone from sin and drug traffickers and terrorists and corrupt governments and diamond smugglers and every other stripe of criminal. Then those stupid kids get themselves tangled up in all the shit they thought would never hurt them. And then guys like me have to go save them. Have to kill and even be killed in the process, all because some entitled little shit thinks he knows better than the people who have been doing the work for decades.”
He ran out of steam and ended with a long, low growl that reminded me of the wolf-man in the Evershaws’ basement. My hands went cold and I sat very still. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. So that’s how he saw me. A stupid, idealistic kid who thought she was going to save the world, one tiger at a time? I swallowed the knot in my throat and managed to speak in a relatively normal voice. “Then thank you. I’ll try not to do anything else stupid.”
Dodge exhaled with a groan, the breath almost whistling in his teeth, and ran his hand through his already mussed hair. “I didn’t mean – I didn’t exactly mean you.”
It was better than nothing. I slowly drew my legs up onto the seat so I could hug my knees, staring out the window without really seeing anything that went by. We were in the city and heading toward my neighborhood. He drove like he knew exactly where he was going. I tried to process, tried to understand. Nothing made sense anymore. I’d met this guy – just that morning. Could it really only have been a few hours since I stood on that porch and petted the cat and thought it might be a weird but lucrative job?
My vision blurred. How ridiculous and naive. I’d been walking around like the only thing that mattered was paying off my student loans and making a name for myself, while there was so much awfulness in the city around me. I shivered and hugged my legs tighter. What the hell was I going to do? How could I just – go on after all of this? If I survived, anyway.
What if Ms. Bridger called? Did she know about what Geordie was doing? Would Geordie check the security footage and realize I’d been there really late?
My breathing hitched and I tried to swallow it down, to sound normal, as Dodge glanced over. The last thing I needed was him thinking I was useless dead weight, some stupid idealistic kid who would get him killed. Except I was, for the most part. I swallowed hard and pressed my forehead against my knees. I just needed to get into my apartment and lock the door so I’d feel safe, and then I could figure out a plan. I could run away. Move cities. If I left fast enough, they wouldn’t track me down.
I rocked a little, needing to feel like I was moving or doing something, but I knew that trying to open the car door, even as the car idled at a red light, would make Dodge react. Given his earlier... efficiency in getting me out of the kitchen, I wouldn’t get very far. I just needed to breathe. Breathe and think. It would all be fine.
It all had to be fine.
Chapter 12
Dodge
Dodge knew the moment Persephone got stuck in her own head and started to lose it. Her breath hiccupped and her shoulders hunched forward. She did a damn good impression of a hedgehog curling itself up into nothingness to hide from a predator. He wanted to reach out, to reassure her, but didn’t know what to say. He’d never been good at the touchy-feely bullshit when the team ended up rescuing hostages, all those stupid kids who thought God or their parents’ money would save them from the militias who didn’t care about anything but protecting their diamond mines. Dodge was better at the practical stuff – getting her out of danger, moving to a safer location, identifying the threats, finding the next step, making a plan. Keeping everything moving. That was his specialty.
He really wished he had Silas next to him, though. Silas would have known what to say to make Persephone feel better.
Dodge parked her car in the lot next to the apartment building, making sure it was in the open and easily seen, and turned off the ignition. She moved numbly, automatically, to open her door. His hand shot out to capture her wrist. He leaned over the console, his face very close to hers, as she froze. Dodge lifted his free hand to touch her cheek and kept his voice low. “This is how we’re going to do things. We’re going to pretend that we just had a fun date and you’re inviting me upstairs for a drink, okay? I’m going to walk around and open your door to help you out, because you’re going to struggle a little.”
“I will not,” she whispered, though there wasn’t much heat to it. Her wide eyes, dark and mysterious, stared at him from a few inches away. She was close enough to kiss. He wouldn’t even need to lean very far or put in much effort. Her lips stayed parted as she tried to breathe.
“You will,” he murmured, and caressed her cheek. Dodge couldn’t help himself and tried to justify it as part of the play, in case anyone had followed them or sent a team ahead to monitor the girl’s apartment building. He needed them to think he and the architect were about to go upstairs and have some fun. So he nuzzled against her cheek and breathed her in, grumbling in anticipation as she turned into him, her eyelashes brushing her cheeks as she looked down. He could barely drag his thoughts back to what he was supposed to be doing – saving their lives. “It’s the adrenaline, baby. Nothing’s going to work right. Don’t panic. Just lean on me, maybe gaze up at me adoringly, let me grab your ass, you know. Whatever sells it.”
That got her attention. She blinked and retreated, nose wrinkled. “Let you what?”
Dodge snorted. “Just making sure you were paying attention.”
He kissed the tip of her nose, since it was damn adorable like that, and levered himself out of the car before she got her thoughts together and decked him. Persephone was still sitting there, startled,
as he went around and opened up her door. Dodge winked as he helped her up and shut the car door behind her, looping his arm around her waist to keep her upright as she swayed.
They got about halfway through the parking lot – him carrying her purse, too, since Persephone was still struggling with the adrenaline dump that would have knocked anyone down – before she turned to look at him in consternation. “How do you know where I live?”
“I googled you,” he said under his breath. He couldn’t help it. Her forehead wrinkled as she pondered and he damn well couldn’t stop himself from leaning down to boop her nose. “You’re cute when you’re confused, you know.”
“I’m not confused,” she said, and tried to elbow him away to stand on her own as they reached the door. “I’m mad.”
“I’m sure you are.” Dodge hit the elevator button and hoped it showed up before anyone else did. He didn’t want to share a moment of being with Persephone with anyone else.
She fished around in her purse for the keys, muttering under her breath, and he didn’t intrude. He couldn’t imagine what she was going through, trying to re-orient to a world that had changed significantly in the space of a few hours. Her breathing hitched and her hands tightened into fists, and as he nudged her into the elevator, Persephone gulped for air. Dodge pulled her against his side as she started shaking. “Just a few more seconds.”
“Wh-what?” she said, her voice going high.
“I know,” he said. Dodge couldn’t stop himself from pressing his nose to her hair and taking a deep breath. He didn’t like the hints of death and panic that still clung to her. He even closed his eyes briefly. How the hell was he going to take care of her? “We’re almost there.”
Her shaking grew worse as they stepped out of the elevator, though his senses went into high alert as he searched the hallway for signs that someone else had been there. Her door looked the same as when he’d been there earlier. Her hands shook too much to get the key in the lock, so he relieved her of the keys and did it himself.
Dodge moved her inside before closing and locking the door, then maneuvered her so she was in the adjacent kitchen. Her knees started to give way so he helped her sit on the floor and lean back against the cheap cabinets. He crouched down to murmur, “Stay right here. Don’t move. Okay?”
Her eyes were glazed as shock took over. He cursed under his breath. She’d been doing so well. He hadn’t paid close enough attention to her breathing, her state of mind. She’d been talking, been fine... He clenched his jaw and squeezed her shoulders. “Stay here, Persephone. I’ll be right back.”
She made a small sound when he stepped back, almost reaching for him, and part of Dodge’s stone-cold heart cracked. He muttered gruffly about checking the apartment and fled like a damn coward so the lost look on her face wouldn’t be his undoing. He searched each room from top to bottom, secured and re-secured the window, and checked the vents in case there were cameras or mics dropped in. It didn’t look like anyone had gotten there ahead of them. Either they didn’t know Persephone had been there as they chopped up the bodies, or they didn’t know yet. Either way, he was ahead of the game.
She was still in the kitchen when he returned, which was a good sign, though she was crying big, fat tears that dripped off her cheeks and almost sent the wolf into pure panic. Dodge debated what to do. There was no telling how long she’d stay in shock or whether she’d slide toward being full-on unresponsive. There was also no telling if they’d have to move fast that night. Maybe in the next hour, even. He ran his hands through his hair as he looked down at her. Damn it.
He really didn’t like being a dick to women. He didn’t. But he needed her alert enough to take direction, at least until the immediate danger had passed.
Dodge leaned down to pick her up, putting her on her feet as the architect stared at him, and walked her through the apartment to her bathroom. He sighed and held her close against his chest, rubbing her back, as he fiddled with the shower knobs. “I’m really sorry about this. I hope you know that.”
She looked up at him, forehead starting to wrinkle, as he put her right into the stream of cold water.
Persephone hollered like a furious cat and practically climbed the wall of the shower as she tried to get away from the soaking spray. She puffed right up and almost line-backered right through him to get out, shrieking loudly enough his ears rang. Dodge bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing as she stood on the rug and smashed her fists into his chest. “Why the fuck did you do that?”
“You were going into shock,” he said, as calm as could be.
She looked down at her dripping clothes. Dodge was only too happy to follow her gaze to where the t-shirt clung to her breasts and waist. Persephone fixed him with a look of pure murderous intent and pointed at the door behind him. “Get. Out.”
“Change your clothes,” he said, trying to be helpful. “Don’t want to catch cold in those wet ones.”
She shrieked again and he took that as a clue to skedaddle. The door slammed behind him, practically bouncing off his ass. He shook his head as he wandered into the bedroom and tried to figure out how to defend it if anyone came looking for them. He’d lost his damn mind.
It wasn’t long before Persephone reappeared, looking furious but much more alert, in layers of pajamas that reminded him of armor. Good. Better that way. He couldn’t afford to think of what she might look like under the cotton and flannel and God only knew what else.
He held out a glass of water and a protein bar. “You should eat and drink. Keep your strength up.”
She scowled at him but took both before sitting on the edge of her bed. Dodge leaned back against the door to watch her, debating. Persephone made a face at the protein bar. “You can sleep on the couch, or you can leave.”
“Not safe for us to split up like that,” he said. “Not if the story is that we came back here to knock boots.”
“No one cares about this story but you,” she said. “And no one is getting into this apartment, so it’s not like –“
His eyebrows rose. “Confident, aren’t you? I broke into here earlier today, sweetheart. It’s not that hard. You haven’t changed the locks and they’re cheap.”
Her jaw went slack and she blinked at him. “You broke into my apartment?”
“This was the first place I looked for you,” he said. How could he make her understand the real danger she was in? “Just like this is the first place they’re going to look for you.”
The reminder of the fat greaseballs who might want to kill her made her tense. He could see her eyes go big and far away as she got caught up in her thoughts again. She still struggled with it, enough that she started following directions.
He let it go, since he needed her cooperative, until he’d bundled her into her bed and kicked off his boots so he could lay down on top of the soft comforter next to her. He listened to her breathe and fidget, and pondered how the hell he could get through the night without wanting to snuggle her close so she felt safe. Dodge couldn’t afford to relax, couldn’t afford to let her relax. If she got comfortable, it would be that much harder to get her moving again.
He needed her mad. Persephone muttered under her breath as she wormed around in the sheets, saying something about him behaving himself. Dodge stayed on his side facing the door, glad she couldn’t see him, and said, “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. You’re not my type. Not even close.”
There was silence, followed by an indignant sound that made him want to roll on the floor. She sat up and glared at him, her hair sticking up, and he glanced back while managing to look confused. “What? I’m an ass man. Yours is nice, but... you know.”
Her eyes narrowed.
A hysterical laugh almost escaped as he watched her try to figure out how to be pissed off that he apparently didn’t find her attractive. He couldn’t help himself from poking the bear just a little more. “I’m looking for a ten. Yours is a solid six, maybe a six and a half.”
Persephone’s hands twitched like she wanted to strangle him. “My ass is at least a nine, thank you very much. I do two hundred squats every day, dick.”
She flopped onto her back, making disgruntled noises and kicking her feet around to make it clear how pissed off she was. Dodge just hoped she didn’t notice the mattress shaking from him trying not to laugh. Her ass was a perfect ten. He’d tell her in the morning, if he managed to keep his hands off it all night. But he needed her mad, ready to fight, not wallowing in fear. Hysteria and exhaustion meant making mistakes, and neither of them would survive even one.
The room was quiet, broken only by the even rise-and-fall of their breathing, when she took a deep breath. “Thank you.”
Dodge’s eyebrows arched as he stared at the ceiling in the darkness. That was unexpected. “For what?”
“For saving my life.” She was remarkably still, though it felt like she’d gotten closer to his side. Her feet were like fucking blocks of ice against his calf, that was for damn sure.
“You’re welcome.” Dodge knew he was going to hell. He’d deserve every minute of it. “You can make it up to me by doing some of those squats, and –“
He grunted as she slammed her fist into his side, furious. “You’re such an asshole.”
Persephone rolled over and faced the wall. Dodge had to pinch the bridge of his nose to keep his shit together. Better for her to be mad. Mad was better than sad and helpless.
He was still going to hell, though, and that would be nothing compared to what Deirdre would do to him if she knew half of what he’d said to Persephone. He couldn’t have slept even if he wanted to.
Chapter 13
Percy
I couldn’t sleep. Despite Dodge’s insistence that we were probably okay for the rest of the night, I didn’t believe him. The clammy feeling of being hunted and chased still lingered, shivering down my back whenever I remembered what had happened in that kitchen. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to think of something else. Anything else.