by Azure Boone
It was distracting, slightly annoying. "Uhh, yeah. No. Not really." He wished she would let go of his arm.
Her fingers slid up the inside of his sleeve, nearly to his armpit. "Where's your church?" Excited giggles seemed to accompany her every question.
He fought the urge to jerk his arm out of her grasp. If he hurt her feelings or angered her, she wouldn't let him help her. And Devyn. "I—no, I don't have a church. I mean… I go to church, I just work alone."
She sucked in a breath. "All alone." She made pitiful moaning noises. Nice to see she could do something other than giggle.
"It's not bad, I like it that way." Also liked not having strangers running fingers through his armpit hair.
"No girlfriend?" Karly leaned her head, peering up into his face.
"Uh, no. No girlfriend." Why did he feel like she was trying out for the position?
"You like it that way too?"
Good God please, help here. "I'm not really alone."
"Oh? Who lives with you?"
"Karly," Devyn sighed, not breaking stride or turning. "Jesus does, okay? The man is married to Jesus, now stop drilling him before he throws holy water on you."
Troy chuckled, then regarded Karly's blank how do you marry Jesus look. "It's only metaphorical," he explained. "I'm committed to serving Him."
"Oh." She leaned her head against his arm. "That's sweeeeet."
He rolled his eyes, wishing Devyn would call her off.
"Mmmm, you smell so yummy!" Karly's squeaky words came with one hand landing on his chest. She sucked her breath in. "Oh my. You work out?" Her fingers probed the muscles along his torso.
"Karly, stop groping the man will you? He's taken." Devyn spoke over her shoulder and continued walking, spine perfectly straight.
Karly's laugh was a little too deep. "Metaphorically."
"I'm celibate." That word should put an end to her molestations. They drew to a stop at the coffee shop and Troy pointed to his little black car across the street.
"Celibate?" Karly looked from him to Devyn, waiting for an explanation. Troy silently prayed Devyn would give it. He really didn't want to go there. Not with Karly.
"That means he doesn't fuck, Karly." Devyn headed toward the car.
Troy's ears stung with the crass term while Karly pouted like a child who was told she couldn't ride the…well.
Not like he expected or wanted Devyn to pretend to be somebody else, but she didn't have to take such pleasure in shocking or embarrassing him. Her tone more than hinted that she relished in his discomfort. A purposeful aggression. Almost testing him. How much could the pristine preacher boy take before he covered his ears and ran off?
It was suddenly a damn good question.
Damn, when would The Preacher get enough and get lost? The man irritated Devyn just by drawing breath. The way he tried to keep the dimple in his left cheek from showing when he smiled and that little habit he had of sweeping his tongue across his full lower lip when he was trying to decide what to say—he was trouble. Wasn't sure exactly how yet, but he was. Nobody was any kind of good without strings attached, Jesus boy or not.
And yet she couldn't help wondering if she'd be with a man just like him if her parents hadn't been killed when she was twelve. Not that anything ever worked out that way. In her current life, instinct screamed at the stupidity of letting a strange man—in his own freaky little goody way—know where the hell she lived.
Devyn tried to stretch her legs in the cramped back seat of Troy The Preacher's absolutely spotless little car. She could appreciate the new car smell, even though it was a couple of years old, but damn! The back seat wasn't big enough for a Barbie Stripper, let alone a real live one. Hopefully, that vouched for Troy not being a serial killer. He certainly couldn't use that car to haul dead bodies around before dumping them by the interstate.
"Take the next left, and our building is on the right." Karly's directions seemed too normal to have come from the giggling, slightly flaky whore who'd been trying her best to get in Troy's pants from the moment she laid eyes on him.
Devyn quelled her annoyance at Karly's behavior reminding herself she'd kind of put her up to it. After his offer to drive them home, she couldn't help being wary. He might not murder 'exploited' women, but that didn't mean he was a saint. Karly was a natural at bringing out a man's true nature but she sure as hell seemed to be enjoying herself – maybe a little too much. And so far he hadn't cracked. Not even a little. The man was clearly just tolerating Karly's presence, rather than jumping on her not-so-subtle offer.
Troy successfully avoided the worst of the potholes and swung his car into the parking lot. Watching him, Devyn noted his interest in their surroundings. He stayed away from the overgrown shrub that surrounded the parking lot, and pulled into a space not far from the main entrance. Not entirely stupid, at least.
As soon as he put the car in Park, Karly opened her door and hopped out. Devyn pushed the front seat forward and started to claw her way through the crack. Halfway through, Troy was there, offering a helpful hand. She wanted to ignore it, but getting into that car was entirely different from climbing out. Devyn placed her hand in his, swallowing some pride.
Troy wrapped strong, warm fingers around her hand and steadied her ascent from his car.
Finally on her feet, Devyn thanked him and drew her hand back, resisting the urge to rub his warm strength from her tingling palm. "We appreciate the ride home, Troy." The least she could do was thank the man. "Maybe we'll see you again sometime." She gave a little wave and pried a protesting Karly from the Good Samaritan's arm and led her toward the building. Karly was definitely having too much fun trying the man.
Just short of the stairwell doors, a slender form staggered out from the shadows on the unlit side of the entryway. Ratty hair that might have been blonde straggled over bony shoulders. An odd angle of the security light gave the illusion of grinning death approaching them.
Running footsteps drew Devyn's attention behind her. Troy. Jogging up, he stopped beside them. Somehow, his presence made her feel just a little safer.
The skeletal crystal meth face teetered before them, thin lips marred by sores pulled back to show teeth gone dark and barely hanging in place. "Hey, d'ere, Karly." The raspy voice and slurred speech grated on Devyn's nerves. "Ya ole man sent ya a message."
Devyn didn't miss the flinch in Karly's frame before she pulled on the bravado act. "Yeah, bitch? What he say?" She sidled up to the smaller woman, crowding into her face.
"He say tell ya' you ain't goin' nowhere, bitch, 'cepta hell." With a hacking sound that might have been laughter, or coughing, the skeletal whore limped away.
Devyn grabbed Karly's arm and pulled her around. "Karly, what the hell was that? How did he find out?" She resisted the panic riding her spine.
"What was that? Is everything okay?" Troy watched the meth whore round the corner of the building.
"Is it, Karly?" Devyn waited, impatient.
"I'm sorry, Devyn, I had to call him. I couldn't just walk away like that. I love him."
Devyn let go of Karly's arm. The chill spread from her spine to her internal organs. "Shit, Karly!" She turned her back, putting one knuckle to her teeth to keep from knocking the piss out of her best friend. What the fuck were they going to do? A deep breath gave her enough distance to think. She turned to Troy. "Can you give us a ride?"
"Absolutely." He seemed relieved. "Where do you need to go?"
"A motel, I guess. We'll be right back down. I need to grab a couple things." Snatching Karly's arm again, she pulled her toward the door.
"I'm going up with you." Troy came after them, right on her heels.
Devyn started to argue, but thought better of it. When it came to that Jake fucker, there was no place for pride. Only survival. By whomever or whatever, it didn't matter and Preacher Boy would have to do. Devyn nodded and let him through the so-called security door into the stairwell. Damn, she wished she had a gun.<
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Heading up the last level before their apartment, Devyn had to admit, Troy must be fit. He wasn't even breathing hard, and they'd moved pretty fast.
He waited, silent, while she unlocked their door. Shit, she didn't want him to see the little rat-hole she lived in, or their meager, ragged possessions. A guy like him, he'd be used to far better. Oh well, nothing she could do about that. She gave the door a hard shove with her shoulder to get it unstuck from the frame. The screaming of hinges accompanying the door's slow swing open set Devyn's teeth on edge.
She froze, fighting the urge to run. Karly gasped a curse and Devyn swallowed more panic. Holy fuck! The threadbare little couch was overturned, its upholstery shredded. The afghan Devyn had crocheted from thrift store yarn to hide the worst stains lay in strips with huge clumps of knotted yarn.
Devyn looked over her shoulder when Troy tugged on her arm. "Let's go back downstairs and call the cops."
Fear made her damn near nauseous, but she had to get her stash. "I need to get some things first." Devyn started through the door, but he caught her arm.
"They could still be here." The incredulous note in his voice said intelligent people didn't just walk into an apartment that might still hold burglars/vandals.
"No, they're gone. The whore downstairs was to let him know the message was delivered."
Troy frowned but didn't try to stop her again.
Devyn walked slowly into the apartment, taking in the destruction, one piece at a time. Contents of the fridge strewn everywhere...their few dishes reduced to shards on the floor. Karly's old mattress and springs, torn apart.
Devyn didn't notice the tears rolling down her cheeks until Troy offered her a handful of toilet paper he'd gotten from the roll on the holder still attached to a chunk of wall. She absently wiped the tears and blew her nose. Something on the plaster above where the couch should have been caught her eye, and she blinked, looking more carefully.
Words, or what passed for them, were scrawled there in some material she didn't want to look at too closely. U aint gone nowere bitch.
Devyn turned to Karly. "Grab what you have to have. We can't come back here. Bastard'll end up killing us both." When Karly nodded and headed toward the tiny bedroom, Devyn turned to Troy. "Look, you don't have to wait for us. You don't want to be here if Jake shows up. He's a mean motherfucker. And he's never alone." She crossed to the kitchenette and reached into the back of the top shelf of the single cabinet, already emptied of its contents. Damn it, she wasn't tall enough without something to stand on, and their chairs lay in pieces on the floor. She glanced around.
"I'm not leaving." Troy approached her, stepping around the mess. "Let me help."
The begging in his deep tone nearly reduced her to tears. Fuck, she didn't need to break down here—now. Especially in front of him. "Think you can reach the very back of the top shelf?"
Troy crossed to the cabinet and easily touched the back of the top shelf. After following a series of instructions to get her stash, he handed her a little rusty square candy tin. Fingers trembling, Devyn pried the squashed-in lid off, then sagged against the counter. They hadn't found her measly hundred bucks – all she and Karly had to start a new life. Devyn clutched the childhood tin to her chest. The four delicious chocolates it held for her tenth birthday and the loving father who'd given it to her were suddenly a bitter reminder of life's cruelty.
Devyn threw the tin that held all her broken dreams onto the floor with the rest of her pathetic life, shoving the money in her back pocket. "I'm going to grab a couple things before we go." She cleared the emotion from her throat, and headed to check on Karly. Her best friend had been too quiet for too long – not a good sign, considering the kind of stress the girl was under and the shit in her head.
In the little bedroom, Karly sat on the floor, legs sprawled in front of her, staring at something that lay between her knees.
Devyn moved in for a better look then froze. Fuck! She'd thought she got rid of all that shit! A worn old leather belt, a spoon with the handle bent to an odd angle, and a plastic syringe, stained dark from the residue of whatever poison it had last delivered, all lay neatly side by side in front of Karly.
She looked up at Devyn, pale blue eyes turned into bottomless pits of misery.
"I'm sorry, baby. I thought I got rid of it all while you were in Detox." The seven days Karly spent in the County Hospital's Substance Abuse unit had been rough. Devyn had torn their apartment to shreds to find every single rig, every tooter, every cigarette lighter. After trashing all that, she went through again, searching for everything that could be converted easily to drug paraphernalia. Eliminating all the risks was impossible, but God she'd damn well tried.
Karly just sat, staring at the rig, her entire body quivering as she battled the demons of her addiction.
"Troy, can you come in here, please?" She hated calling him in there, but she needed help to get Karly moving. He wanted to minister to whores, here was his big chance. The shit was going down.
He came in, and assessed the situation with one glance. Without asking questions, he went straight to Karly and scooped her up, leaving the rig on the floor. "Come on, let's get out of here."
The casual boldness of his chivalry left Devyn stunned. The men in her world simply didn't do things like that unless there was something in it for them.
Troy stood with Karly cradled in his arms, her head collapsed on his broad shoulder. The look in his eyes said hurry.
Devyn grabbed her book bag, leftover from when her life had been headed in the right direction, and tossed in the few pieces of clothing that had escaped being ruined. Not that they had much anyway. She found a spare pair of jeans for each of them that weren't too badly damaged. A couple of shirts, spare underwear, and the little cosmetic bag full of cheap makeup finished filling the bag.
She led the way down, slowing long enough to push through the exit door, wary for anything out of the ordinary. Devyn didn't breathe again until she sank into the front passenger seat after helping Troy get Karly into the back. Relief set in when the door locks engaged and Troy put the car in gear.
"Is there anywhere in particular you want me to take you?" He pulled into the empty street.
"Just a cheap motel. I'll have to find something else tomorrow, but for now, there's not much choice." She swung around in the seat to check on Karly.
Curled into a nearly fetal position, Karly leaned sideways against the back seat. The distant look in her eyes scared the hell out of Devyn.
Lost in worry, Devyn failed to note the passage of distance or time. When they entered a residential area, she finally realized they were far from a cheap motel in the bad part of town. "Where the hell are we?" She tried to keep fear and anger out of her voice, and give Troy the benefit of the doubt.
Troy turned onto a narrow street lined with smallish houses. "We're half a block from my house."
"What? Turn the fuck around now!" Devyn's heart nearly jumped through her ribs.
"Hear me out, and then if you still want me to, I'll take you to a motel."
Devyn took a deep breath, fighting the instinct to find something and bash the Good Samaritan in his head.
"I live alone, in a house with a basement apartment, already furnished. You need to get away from your regular neighborhood, in case that guy is looking for you. And it won't hurt to save a couple of bucks, too. You can stay at my house a few days while you get your feet under you. It's the only thing that makes sense." He pulled into a driveway next to a neat little house with a pretty front porch and clean yard.
Shit. Devyn hated that she didn't have more dirty evidence on this dude. She hated not being able to put her finger on the cost that surely came with all this gallantry. And she also hated how right it all felt at the same damn time. "You realize the next few days are going to be hell for anyone near Karly?" Devyn kept her voice to a low mutter. "She's only got six months clean, and with all the stress, I'm afraid
finding that old rig will put her over the edge. You don't want that kind of shit falling on you."
Troy matched her volume. "I know it won't be easy. And some people might think I'm stupid, but this is my calling. It's what God wants me to do. I won't turn my back when it isn't as pretty or sweet as a rose."
She studied the handsome features, molded in sincerity. She'd been around enough scumbags to know evil intentions slithered like a snake beneath the cleanest facades. Nodding absently, she reminded herself of her intention to keep Karly safe. From the likes of Jake and any other goddamn person who got in her way, no matter how temptingly chivalrous they were. Especially that. "Okay, then. Is this your house?"
He cracked a half smile, studying Devyn in return. She held his gaze like a prize-fighter, struggling not to wilt under his genuine-looking kindness. "Home sweet home," was all he said before shutting off the car.
Karly made it into the house under her own power and before long, Devyn had her tucked into Troy's spare bed after he insisted they take the extra room on the main floor for what remained of the night. His argument that the bed in the basement apartment needed making up didn't make a great deal of difference to Devyn, but Troy seemed a bit appalled by the idea of sleeping on a bed with no sheets, so she agreed.
Devyn headed in search of a drink before turning in. The meal she'd missed was negligible, nothing unusual, but the aroma of food in the air made it impossible to ignore. A glass of water would make it a little easier to sleep. Entering the neat little kitchen, she jolted to a stop, surprise leaving her speechless.
Troy leaned against the counter, while a meal the likes of which Devyn hadn't seen for a long time graced the table between them. "Figured you'd be hungry. I hope you like leftover turkey." He slid a hand over his head, eyeing the table. "I like to cook. But I normally don't cook so much. This is mostly from Thanksgiving." He chuckled. "Yeah, I believe in being nice to myself. Cooked all this for one person. Don't get much company, so…it'll be nice to share it."
Devyn cleared her throat, trying to swallow the lump that suddenly seemed determined to choke her. Thanksgiving. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had such a thing. And nobody other than Karly wondered if she might be hungry, let alone prepared a meal for her. Noting the table was set for three, Devyn flicked her thumb behind her. "Karly's asleep."