“You’ll let her go now,” he urges.
Collecting the hard drives, I shrug. “I’ll think about it.” I walk out, him screaming at my back as I send Sasha a message to unlock one elevator. She’s a fast learner, considering we only had a week to practice, and does it straight away as she replies with her favorite word.
S:
Hungry.
Me:
I know, crazy pants. I’ll get you a snack.
When I reach her in the parking garage, pride warms me. Instead of removing the bike helmet like I thought, she’s kept it on, so no one sees her mask. I lightly shake the top of it as I softly say, “Good job, little one. Ready to eat now?”
“Yes,” she groans, rubbing her stomach. “Did you get what you needed?”
“Yeah.” I guide her to the bike I stole and get on, making sure it’s steady for her as she climbs onto the cushioned pad above the back wheel. Her thin fingers grip my hoodie, choking me. I can’t help my laugh as I remove the mirrored mask, swapping it for a helmet that won’t raise suspicion.
She’s even funnier when she trembles. “Don’t make me fall.”
“We’re not even moving.”
Sasha’s fear wouldn’t be funny if she wasn’t so fucking crazy. She eats human flesh, kills people without batting an eye, and throws a fucking mean left hook, but she can’t stop shaking as I drive out of the parking garage. I’m not even going the speed limit. That’s how slow we’re crawling as I reach behind me to wrap her quaking arms around me.
Our slow speed allows us to see the lawyer as he speeds past us with the broken cuffs dangling from his wrist. She clearly forgot to lock the elevators again, but I lightly squeeze her forearm so she doesn’t get upset. We blend in while he cuts lanes, goes on the opposite side of the road, driving through red lights, but the dark sky and glare from other vehicles prevents him from noticing us following.
I already know where he’s going so I turn, cutting through side streets that would slow him down until I pull up outside of the Charles-Oliver residence. Sasha squeezes me, hissing through the linked comms, “I said I’m hungry.”
“A little longer, crazy pants.”
I watch the gates open as tires squeal behind me. Decker doesn’t slow down, ruining his bumper as he clips the curb. His brakes screech as he abruptly stops in the driveway, one tire on the manicured lawn, and the front door flies open before he’s out of the car. This is true fear. What he showed me in his office wasn’t. He can’t hide it as he runs around the car, down the path to meet his wife, who’s poking her head out of the front door with a little girl on her hip.
“I thought it was your brother.” I’m close enough to hear her as he cups each of their cheeks, physically inspecting them. “Why are you driving like that?”
He kisses their foreheads, one by one, then again and again like he’s praying to them as the little girl shrieks through her giggles. “Daddy!”
He shakes his head, ushering them inside. The fog lights around the property turn on as soon as the door slams, illuminating everything in a harsh white light.
This should be my life.
I should be coming home to Delilah, Kid at her side, our teenager rolling their eyes behind her rather than Sasha headbutting me as her stomach rumbles.
60
DELILAH
Jasper and Sienna are kind, whereas Nova is a bitch. I probably shouldn’t call an abused teenager a bitch, but in the week I’ve been adopted by the young trio, she’s offered to remove one of my eyes, shave my head, or cut my face. They were all said as though she was offering to do me a favor, not horribly alter my life.
Our routine in this place is all determined by other people. Right now, I’m forced to walk on a treadmill. My calf throbs from the exertion as harsh fluorescent lights shine down on each individual station in the gym, leaving the sides in the shadows like we’re on platforms. Each machine faces a wall in the windowless room. I focus on the small LED light in front of me as I walk. The others are all going faster than me and Jasper’s feet pound against the belt of the treadmill, like he’ll possibly be able to get anywhere.
The LED light in front of Sienna turns on, flashing blue then pink. Her fingers shake as she presses the button to stop her treadmill. Whenever the other lights have turned on, the personhas left the gym, but she doesn’t look like she’s breathing as she pales, swallowing around a lump in her throat.
It doesn’t stop her as she mechanically steps into the shadowed path between our treadmills then walks out of the gym. Jasper slows on my other side, whispering, “What color was it?”
“Blue and pink.”
He takes a deep breath, intently focused on the wall. The thud of his steps get quicker, shaking the heavy machine as Nova jumps over the gap to take Sienna’s abandoned machine. “He’ll be lost until she comes back.”
I nod politely.
