My hand moves to rub her back. "You're okay, Darcy, no one is going to hurt you down here. You can be sure of that. You're in one of the safest places you can be in the world."
She pulls back and wipes at her eyes. She stares up at me in her half-laid-back position. "I'm sorry," she signs. "I didn't mean to cry all over you."
I shake my head. "It's okay, don't worry about it. Are you okay?"
She nods and she crawls away from my hold and moves to sit cross-legged on the bed.
I'm slightly sad to not have her in my arms. It was nice to hold a woman again. I haven't dated anyone in a long time. My career choice makes it hard to date when I can't tell them I'm a hitman. There's always a wall up, and I can't tell them my secret. Eventually, they realize I'm not opening up to them fully and after about a year they get tired of it and there will be a lot of fighting before we break up.
I don't know a lot of women who would be okay with dating a hitman. Unless they work in the business as well, and I tried that, they're just a bit too much for me. They all feel like they have to prove something to men and there's just a constant power struggle, neither of us ends up happy. Cason got lucky because Josie was in love with him before she found out, and after, it was easier for her to handle it all. But that's a special case, that girl has had it bad for Cason for years. Anyone with eyes could've seen that come from a hundred miles away. It's different for the rest of us that don't have the luxury of having someone pine after them for years first.
"You don't have to call me Darcy. I hate that cover name."
I cock my head to the side. "What would you like me to call you then?"
Her lips flex nervously before she spells out Gwen.
I wonder if that's her real name or another made-up one that she likes more. I lift a brow. "Gwen? That's a pretty name. Do you have a last name to go with it?" If she gives me something, and it's her real name, I might be able to find out more information about her and have a better understanding of what I'm dealing with.
She shakes her head. "Just Gwen."
I sigh. I guess I'm not at full name trust level yet. It's something we'll have to work on. "All right, Gwen. I'll admit, it felt weird calling you Darcy. It didn't seem to fit you."
"I hated that name, but they don't let you pick what you'll be called."
I stand from the bed. "Well, I need to head into town and get you your list of things. I shouldn't be too long, but then I'll have to go back to New York." It's then I realize I should buy a satellite phone as well. That way if she needs me, or something happens, she'll be able to call out for help.
She frowns. "You have to leave so soon?"
I get it, if I didn't spend my vacation time here, I wouldn't want to be left here alone either. "I'll be back at the end of the week. I'll bring drinks with me, maybe then you'll want to tell me your story."
I grab the list off the bookshelf and put on my boots. "Be back in a few."
I leave her on the bed as I go up to the surface and mind my car waiting for me. As soon as I get into it and get on the main road, my phone blows up with messages from Cason asking for a status report, and my dad asking for one as well.
I reply to my dad. Letting him know that the target got spooked and isn't in her normal location. I'm on the lookout for her and will let him know what's going on soon. Cason, I ignore. He's going to think what he wants. She's no longer at his home, so he has nothing to worry about.
* * *
It took almost two hours to find a store close by that sold more than gas station junk food. I got everything on the list and even managed to find an electronics store so I could get a satellite phone. They luckily had them in stock with all the hikers that like to go exploring and get lost or can't find a signal. At least this way, I'm not leaving her without a means to get help if she needs it.
I might be able to call and check up on her as well. Not going to lie, a part of me is scared to leave her alone. What if she kills herself? I guess, in the end, it wouldn't matter. It would be what she wanted, and I can't fault her for that. It would just suck because I'm trying to keep her from an unnecessary death.
Arms loaded with groceries, I make my way down the hole to the bottom. A movie or something plays and I turn to find her in the kitchen wiping down the counters with the wipes she must've found under the sink. She looks at me and hurries to come over and take some of the bags.
She sets them on the counter that separates the living space from the kitchen. "Wow, you got so much. I was only expecting a few things."
I shake my head. "I want to make sure you have more than enough food for the week. The more you eat the better. The more you feed the body, the stronger you'll feel. Once I'm not scared I'll break you by touching you wrong, I want to teach you some self-defense. So that you can use it in the future. Then you won't be so scared, because you'll know that you can take on anyone, even someone like me."
Her brows knit together into a frown. "You would do something like that for me?"
I nod. "I'm a firm believer that all women should have some idea of how to defend themself. My dad made sure my sister could flip a man three times her size by the time she was ten. He wanted to make sure that she could handle herself no matter what. I think she's a year older than you."
Her lips fall into a frown as she looks at the bag in front of her. She blinks fast before she begins to pull out the instant noodles from the bag.
I want to know what she's thinking, but the pain on her face feels too personal to ask about.
After a moment, she turns to me. "Thank you for buying this food and offering to teach me self-defense. That's very kind of you. All of this is. I don't understand why you're helping me. You don't owe me anything."
