Everything hits me at once, and it feels like the air in the room stills. I turn off the water and stand in the humid bathroom air.
Luna’s not dealing with some run-of-the-mill neighborhoodpeeping tom. She’s dealing with someone like me—someone who was hired to kidnap or kill Luna.
Who is she? Finding no information on her makes more sense now, but to have a hit on her? Is she some bigwig's daughter? No. No, she said her parents died when she was eighteen, and she’s been on her own ever since. Who would want to hurt her? My racing thoughts make me dizzy, and I grip the sink to steady myself.
I need to enhance the security in her apartment and install more cameras—
The cameras.
I was listening to the live stream on the cameras I placed in her apartment on the way home to make sure she got home safe, and when I heard her scream, I almost dropped my bike in the street. I need to review the footage to see if I can identify who broke in.
If I know them, I’ll pay them a little visit, and double whatever they were offered and have them return their hit to its sender.
I grab the pants Luna gave me, slipping them on, and quietly open the bathroom door. I peek my head out; silence fills Luna’s apartment. I walk out to the living room, only to stop in my tracks as I see Luna asleep on the couch. She looks so peaceful. Her chest rises and falls evenly, indicating she’s in a deep sleep.
I walk over to Luna, scooping her in my arms, gently walking her to her room, careful not to disturb her. She looks ethereal in the soft glow of her bedroom lights; her face is smooth and lightly freckled, and she has a light about her that only I can see.
She’s golden, just like an angel.
I place her on her bed, pulling her covers over her, and place a delicate kiss on her forehead. “Sweet dreams, angel.”
Her cat Binx climbs onto her bed, curling beside her and nuzzling down. I fight the urge to lie down next to them. I want nothing more than to cuddle up next to her, but I know she took her sleeping pill. If she found me in her bed in the morning, she would think the worst, and that would jeopardize my chances with her. Instead, I head to the couch to review the footage of her apartment.
I fall back onto her couch, pulling out my phone, and opening the app I use to watch her cameras. I sift through the recorded live footage, selecting the videofiles around 10 p.m. I watch intently over the next few hours until I finally see movement. I watch the fucker enter through her bedroom window beside the fire escape. They scaled the side of the building to enter through the window next to the one with the safety bar. They’re dressed in all black, tall, and have the build of an average six-foot man. A balaclava hides his face, and he’s wearing gloves, careful not to touch anything as he slowly makes his way through her apartment. Binx jumps down from the couch when the masked intruder enters the living room, hissing at him as he runs to hide in her room.
The timestamp shows 2 am; our date just ended, and Luna will be home soon. I speed up the footage, and a chill runs down my spine as I see the masked intruder never move from where he stands in the hallway. He never looks through her things; he’s just standing there, waiting. It makes my blood run cold. He’s patient, and that’s dangerous. The timestamp reads 2:32 am, and the intruder finally moves from the living room to Luna’s bathroom just as she arrives. I watch as her front door clicks open, and the scene starts to unfold before me.
Luna takes out her phone to read my text, tossing her purse on the kitchen island, and goes to her bedroom. She stands frozen in the doorway, calling out for Binx and turning her head to find him on her bed. Luna turns towards the bathroom, and a gloved hand comes into view, but she reacts faster, locking herself in her bedroom. A loud bang on her bedroom door rips the first scream out of her, and my chest aches hearing her so afraid. I flip my camera angle to the living room view, and fear swirls in my gut. The man holds a knife in his hand, banging on her bedroom door, trying to get in, until he hears her talking to me on the phone. He quickly backs away, fleeing Luna’s apartment through the front door. I switch to the bedroom camera.
“Dante?” Luna whispers into her phone as she makes her way to the closet. Hearing her panic in her voice makes me want to go to her room and check on her, but I know she’s safe now. He won’t come back tonight, it’s too risky with the cops in the area,and he knows she called someone to help her, which I don’t think he was expecting.
He’s been watching her for a while, then, and if he works for any one of those bastards I do jobs for, he’ll be back. He has to finish the job to get paid.
The thought makes me sick, so I exit the app and order more cameras for myself, plus one for her to install to give her peace of mind. Tomorrow, I’ll take her to the hardware store and make sure she gets window bars for every window.
I lay my phone on my chest and stare up at the ceiling until my eyes grow heavy, surrounded by her scent. Everything about Luna is sweet, and her scent’s no different—a musky vanilla wrapped in a bed of silky caramel.
Maybe I’ll have better dreams for once.
Red.
Everything’s red.
There’s so much red.
I turn the corner of my childhood home to find red everywhere. It’s splattered on the walls. It flooded the floor. My shoes are sticky, and the air smells of iron and decay.
“Mom?”
“Dante?”
I jolt awake, my hand flying out to grab whoever’s touching me. My eyes focus, and Luna’s face comes into view; her expression is one of shock. I drop her arm immediately. “Shit. I’m sorry. I wasn’t having the best dream.” I move, sitting up, running my hand over my face to wipe the sleep from my eyes.
“No, that’s my fault. I shouldn’t have touched you without permission. You were whining in your sleep, so I figured you were having a bad dream.” Luna says with an apologetic smile, making me want to scoop her onto my lap and tell her she can touch me anyway she damn well pleases.
“Sorry, did I wake you up?” I say, as Luna sits next to me. I notice she isn’t in the robe I put her to bed in; instead, she'swearing baby pink shorts and a matching tank top. I avert my eyes, trying not to notice her hardened nipples and failing.
“No. Thank you for taking me to my bedroom, though. That was kind of you.” Luna smiles. “Would you like some coffee or tea?”
