Sighing, I open the door. Her head is turned toward the window and she stares out of it. She looks so sad. My ASL is super rusty, I haven't used it for almost fifteen years, but I know enough. Having a deaf girlfriend from my freshman to junior year of college had me near fluent for a while. But we broke up when she graduated and I still had a year left.
"Hey."
Her head turns in my direction and I sign to her, showing that I know ASL.
Her eyes widen, she sits up a bit more and grimaces before signing, "You know ASL?"
I nod. "I'm rusty so don't go on a rant, but I should be able to make out what you're saying. I'm going to drop you off in front of the FBI. They can get you in touch with your handler at the WPP and work something else out from there."
She moves her hands slow for me, but it's clear what she says. "Killing me would be faster for the both of us. I'm just going to wind up dead in a week, or a month from now when someone else finds me. They haven't stopped trying since I was eighteen. They aren't going to stop now. I'm tired. If you don't want to kill me, then give me your gun. I'll get it over with."
My heart constricts at the absolution on her face. She made up her mind before I came along.
She throws off the blanket. Her skinny, scarred body grimaces as she gets up, her hand going to her side as she walks toward me. She signs more. "Come on, hand it over. I'll do it in the bathroom. Easy cleanup."
Cason would kill me if I let someone kill themselves in his new family home. Not only that. Josie would bring me back to life and kill me after him for bringing bad vibes into her new house.
I shake my head. I'm not saying I'm going to let her kill herself with my gun. No. I have to figure something else out, but either way, none of it can happen here, Cason has made that clear.
"Not here. This is my brother's home, and his pregnant wife is just in the other room. I'm not going to put her through that, the woman has already been through enough before she got pregnant."
Darcy's hand goes to her side as she snorts.
I can't help it, but my gaze travels over her again. If she gained ten pounds she would have a nice body. She stands almost my height as well, her head coming to the bottom of my chin. In another life, I probably would've asked her out. Red hair, green eyes, and a slim build and tall is my type.
She snaps her fingers and I look to her face, realizing my gaze stopped on the scars that riddle her stomach. Not only there, now that I can look at her better, it’s clear they're all over. And they don't look self-inflicted. Not with the directions they go in and how they look. I've tortured people before by cutting them, and if they were alive, I'm sure they would look similar.
She moves her hands. "Take a picture, it will last longer."
I get why she covers herself up with so many layers. She doesn't want anyone seeing even a hint of her scars, and not only that, I have a feeling she doesn't want anyone looking at her sexually either. Which begs the question, why is she standing in front of me so freely like this, letting me see practically all of her? The bra she has on does little to hide her breasts. Has she really given up to the point of not caring anymore?
A light knock comes from the other side of the door, and Ensley pokes her head in. Her light-green eyes widen. "You shouldn't be up yet! You should be giving your body the evening to heal. You'll be in better shape if you don't move around too much."
She steps over to Darcy and puts her hand gently on her shoulder. "Let's get you back to bed.
I rub at the back of my neck. "Ensley, she can't do that. We need to go soon."
Her eyes turn on me. "You will do no such thing! She can't go after being shot!"
I roll my eyes. "She wasn't wounded to the point of having organ damage. Any ER in the city would stitch her up, if that, and send her on her way."
Ensley nods. "That's true, but she's not in a hospital in the city where they have limited bed space. She's here. And I say?"
The door opens, again. "I'm sorry, Ensley, but you don't get a say here. My house, my rules, and she can't stay here."
Ensley turns her killer gaze on Cason, at least it's not me. She scares me like Ros, our little sister, does. "And why not! Josie is fine with letting her stay here."
Cason goes over to Darcy and hands her a t-shirt "Josie doesn't know the full story, and if she did, she would feel the same way. Don't worry, we'll make sure she's okay. She just can't stay here while my pregnant wife is close by."
Ensley puts her hands on her hips. "Then tell me what's going on. If she needs a place to stay she can stay with me. I'm still working on finding a roommate since you decided to swoop in and steal mine away."
The door opens more, and Dmitri comes in, having looked like he slept off most of the whisky he downed. "Ley, c'mon. Josie wants you for something. It's best just to let this go."
He comes into the room and puts his arms around her shoulder. It's like he's an on-off switch for her. She fights him a little. "Oh no you don't, Dimitri! I want answers."
"C'mon, Ley, you can have a drink with me since Josie can't. Let the woman be. She'll be fine. I trust Cason and Porter to not let anything happen to her." He closes the door behind them, effectively cutting off her protest. I'll give Dimitri one credit, he's always been smooth with diffusing people without them even realizing it. Too bad he's trying to find solace at the bottom of a bottle. A mind like his would be devastating if he decided he wanted to monopolize the world.
I look at him. "Did you keep that bag of clothes Ros gave you when..." I motion with my hands. Not wanting to say when he kidnapped his wife to make sure she didn't go to the cops when he saw him kill her bodyguard. That would just instillsomuch trust in us if she overhears that.
