“Nothing is wrong with you! Besides, he didn’t ruin you. He just…changed you.” Ariel sounds lost. How could she not be?No one alive must know how to deal with such a crazy scenario. There is no handbook about how to deal with your traumatized sister accidentally ending up with her former villain.
“Why can’t I just move on and forget about him, the way Daddy wants me to?” The concept is maddening and equally devastating. “Why does it have to hurt so much, Ariel?”
“Because what you felt for Gage as a manwas real. You’re right about him changing you, Mouse. He made you feelfreefor the first time in years. And now you think you have to lock yourself away again to hide from pain.” Ariel’s voice is earnest. “Don’t do that. Don’t punish yourself like that. You can still livefree. But only you can choose if that life includes him.”
There’s a sound, loud and jarring.
“Is someone fixing something in your house?” Ariel asks in confusion. “I thought only Gage knew how to fix your varied maintenance problems? Score one for him, I guess?”
Minnie’s face tenses as she looks at the front door. “No. Someone is knocking.” She sniffs and wipes at her eyes, trying to dry them.
“Who? You don’t have guests.” The shock in Ariel’s tone is almost comical, considering she’sright.
Swallowing, Minnie replies, “I don’t know.” Ariel isn’t in town, and Gage knows better than to stop by after she asked for space. He’s a pushy man, but he wouldn’t…he wouldn’t do this to her, would he?
“Keep me on the phone until you know,” Ariel says, verbally puffing herself up as the White Knight. “You can hang up if you’re safe. Otherwise, just scream.”
Minnie makes a face, becausethat’scomforting.
Another three loud bangs beat out in succession on her door, so Minnie walks over to it, still clutching the phone to her ear as she peeks through the sidelight window. A tall man with slicked-back blonde hair and a perfect goatee stands waiting with hiship cocked, twin eyebrow piercings glinting. “Outrageous. It’s Chase,” Minnie mutters under her breath.
He waves lazily when he sees her.
Her nerves zing, and she bites her lower lip as she moves out of sight again, leaning her back against the door. On the one hand, her last experience with the man was positive. He was friendly, laid-back, and sociable. The other hand, however? The other hand knows that this man was part of the robbery gang.
A criminal, just like Gage.
Does she risk letting him in?
He’s not going to hurt you, silly Mouse.
“Who?” Ariel demands. “What man is this now? Just how many men do you have, Mouse?”
She would think that, wouldn’t she? With a laborious sigh, Minnie says, “I’m hanging up now, Ariel. Talk later.” She hangs up on her squawking sister and opens the door to Gage’s housemate.
Chase grins at her and holds out a scrumptious-smelling box of cinnamon rolls from the local bakery. “I thought you could use some cheer.” When Minnie stares at him in vague disbelief for a moment, he rubs the back of his neck with an awkward little subdued grin. “Or maybe just a peace offering. Gage is in a funk; I figure he fucked things up. Did he?”
Eyes narrowed, Minnie cranes her head back to look up at him, mouth in a firm line. “He didn’t send you over here on some far-fetched mission to butter me up, did he?”
He scoffs, shifting in hisType O Negativegetup, his leather jacket creaking. “Nah. He’d be pissed if he knew I was over here bothering you, but. Ya know. It’s kinda an odd situation, ain’t it? I know you had it out, so, if you wanna be mad, or yell at someone, I’m offering to eat some cinnamon rolls and let you stomp your feet until it makes you feel better.”
Still suspicious, but oddly touched, Minnie pokes her head out further, squinting at the driveway. Gage isn’t there, isn’t in Chase’s rugged sedan. “Did he give you my address?”
“It’s public knowledge, I didn’t have to ask.” He shrugs, gesturing to the rolls again. They smell heavenly, and Minnie’s stomach gurgles with interest. “You know you want some. I swear, they’re to die for.”
I hope not, Minnie thinks dryly.
Staring at his pale eyes, Minnie feels another piece of the puzzle lock into place from that day long ago. “You’re the Wolf. That was your mask. You didn’t talk much.”
The humor melts off his face like paint dripping down a wall. Chase becomes somber, his cheesy façade of harmless cheer fading away. “Red always said enough shit for all of us combined on a job. He never stopped bitching.” He looks away from her, staring down at the concrete beneath his feet for a second. “You know, I’d robbed a lot of banks, but I’d never had a hostage situation before. And you were so young and scared. It felt shit, man.” The admission of guilt doesn’t horrify Minnie as much as she thinks it should.
Making a decision that she hopes she isn’t going to regret, Minnie steps back and gestures for him to come inside. “We should microwave those rolls. They’re better warm.”
Taking the invitation, Chase steps inside.
The microwave is humming while Chase inspects some photos on the walls. He’s leaning towards one collage with interest. “Who is this babe?”
Minnie doesn’t have to look as she grabs some plates. It doesn’t take long to heat cinnamon rolls to perfection, makingthe icing just melty enough. The kitchen already smells of bakery spices and warm, doughy bread. “My sister, Ariel.”
