I take a second before deciding upon my next move.
“I want you to take this.”
Hayami spins around and stares at the gun in my hand.She looks up to me.
“Seriously?You’re giving me a gun?”
“Just for the outing.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m on my own here—no backup, no Willa.If something happens to me, which it won’t, but if it does, I want you to be able to protect yourself.”
We’ve continued with our target practice.Hayami is now able to load the gun as well as operate the safety.And her shots on target are improving.
“Wow, even after I shot the ceiling of the garage yesterday, you still trust me with this thing.I’m both honoured and really freaked out that our safety has come down to me.”
“I wouldn’t be giving you a gun if I didn’t think you could handle it.”
Hayami nods, and I hope that if something does go down, she’ll do what I’ve taught her to do.
She takes the gun from me.Before putting it into her coat pocket, she checks the safety is on.
“Good girl,” I tell her, nodding to the gun before leaving the foyer and heading for the front door.
TWENTY-NINE
HAYAMI
PRESENT
Good girl.
Good fucking girl.
I want to be cross with him for referring to me as a girl.But if two words can make me feral, it’s those:
Good.Girl.
Trying to ignore the heat between my legs and the fact that I have a gun in my pocket, I set off to catch up with Fenrir as he hotfoots it out of the house.
After checking the car for bombs and trackers, we finally set off.
It’s a clear, crisp day, the sky a hazy blue.It’s so cold it scrapes against my cheeks, and I can’t deny how good it feels to be out of the house, away from those walls that can sometimes seem like a cocoon.
Fenrir messes with the heating as I scan the road ahead, recognising it from the day I drove Willa to the airport.
It feels strange, leaving the house behind, like we’re escaping, doing something we shouldn’t be, breaking the rules.I fuckingloveit.
“What are we shopping for?”I ask as Fenrir handles the car with such dexterity that I can feel my mind slipping, wondering what it’d be like to be handled by him.
“Essentials.Powdered milk.Bread to freeze.Any other food you want and maybe some firewood.”
“I thought we had plenty in the store.”
“We have, but the temperature is set to drop over the next few weeks, and I don’t want to get caught out.”
“Always with the planning.”
