But she steals…
No. They couldn’t let her get more hurt.
She looked at him again. All slouched back in the front passenger seat, she looked like a princess, though a little disheveled. Dressed in a heavy coat and navy blue pajama pants, she probably didn’t look much like a princess to anyone but them.
“What’s got you all worked up?” she asked, poking his thigh.
The sudden sound of her voice stirred Ezra, who was dozing in the back seat. They had switched driving duty, but Willow sat shotgun the whole time.
“What do you mean?” he replied, keeping his focus on the road ahead.
“You keep looking at me weird.”
“Just can’t stop staring at you, pretty girl,” he said with a grin. It wasn’t untrue. He could look at her all fucking day.
I want to.
“We almost there?” Ezra mumbled, resituating himself with his arms crossed as his eyes drooped again.
“Yeah.” It was almost too bad that they were. Willow needed to get home—back to normal. A world without them and the danger that lurked. But he was going to miss her.
Maybe it didn’t need to be goodbye. Maybe they could make it work.
No, he couldn’t be selfish like that. Exposing her to more danger would be an asshole thing to do. The things she’d gone through already were more than enough.
They pulled up on the corner where they had originally parked when they had taken her off the street. His throat burned over the memory, but it had led to an incredible few days.
But he had been supposed to kill someone. Samantha. A woman who lived in the same building.
Willow eagerly jumped out, but not in a way like she was trying to get away from them. She even waited. “You guys coming up?”
Half-stunned, they climbed out. He hadn’t expected to be invited in, and from Ezra’s expression, he hadn’t either.
They followed her through the main door and up a set of stairs until they reached her floor. He wondered what her apartment would look like. Would she keep a lot of sentimental things? Was she messy?
Willow turned the key in her door, and within a millisecond, a series of outraged meows filled the quiet.
“Yes…” she said, but being cut off by more rapid-fire meows. “I know, sweetie. I know! I’m sorry, but I’m home now.”
The fluffy white cat was suddenly perched on her shoulder, continuing a chorus of complaints at her human’s absence.
He glanced at Ezra, and they both let out a soft chuckle.
After a few more seconds of riding on Willow’s shoulder and giving her an absolute earful, the furball hopped down to inspect the newcomers.
Ryker froze on the spot, too preoccupied with being sized up by a tiny ball of fluff to take in the surroundings he’d initially been interested in. “Um, hi.” He liked animals a lot, but he’d never had a cat. Well. Not a cat that was his for real. He grew up next to a hoarder who had a fuckton of cats that got out and roamed the whole neighborhood. Ryker would feed and pet the nice ones that came around. His mom wouldn’t let him take any inside, though.
Ezra was instantly smitten with the cat. He made a little sound, then rubbed his fingers together, and the cat immediatelyrushed him. “Oh, hello, Stahma.” He met the affectionate face nudges and responded to all the little sounds. It was like they were talking.
“The fuck,” Ryker said with a laugh, “I didn’t know you were the cat whisperer.”
His friend shrugged, lifting the small creature momentarily. “Aunt Patty loved cats. She had one that looked like this, named Pearl.”
Ry snorted as he scratched behind the feline’s ear, prompting her to arch dramatically. It really was a sweet thing. Just like her owner.
Once he’d dropped his hand to let Ezra give Stahma more attention, he took in the surroundings. Willow’s apartment wasn’t decorated with much. There was a large cat tree, cat toys and a nice sectional couch in front of a flat screen TV. A few shelves lined the walls with animal skulls and fancy rocks. The most expensive thing in the room was definitely her computer, which was sitting on a sleek, dark wooden desk with multiple monitors. The entire area was spotless. He definitely wasn’t a computer nerd—he preferred gaming on a console.
Willow emerged from checking something in the back of the apartment and gave him the hint of a smile. “You guys want anything? I need to go shopping but—”
