Page 86 of Breathe Like Hell

I tapped my phone screen to pull the directions back up, then followed the blue line the rest of the way to Dakota’s friend’s apartment. She appeared between the seats again as I turned into the parking lot.

“Thank you.” Her eyes were turned up towards my face, her fingers tracing along my forearm as it laid on the center console.

“You’re welcome. Can I walk you up?” I asked as I parked in a spot, the white lines faded on the cracked pavement.

She nodded.

I grabbed her bag from where it was stowed in the footwell of the passenger side, then helped her get out of the back seat through the door at Micah’s feet. He was still laying down but he seemed somewhat more lucid than before.

Dakota slipped her hand into mine as we walked up the stairs to her friend’s apartment, squeezing gently.

We stopped just outside the door.

“Are you okay?” I questioned, searching her eyes for the truth. “If you want me to take you back to my apartment, I can do that.”

“I’m okay.” A small smile curved the corners of her mouth. “I’m looking forward to having some time to myself for once.”

I nodded. “Okay. Text me if you need me.”

“I promise, I’m fine.” She pressed up on her tiptoes and kissed me, not resisting when I deepened the kiss, sliding a hand around the small of her back, slipping my tongue into her eager mouth. After a few moments, I reluctantly let her go.

Dakota knocked on the door while I stood back a few paces. Mila appeared quickly, opening the door with a big smile on her face, instantly reaching to give Dakota a hug. I watched the tension melting out of Dakota’s shoulders, feeling relieved and grateful that she was going to have a normal fucking night for once.

Of course, it was my fault that her life was so abnormal now, but I couldn’t do much about that. I was an angel who killed demons in exchange for free rent. There was nothing normal about my life, by human standards.

Mila released Dakota, her eyes finding mine, then narrowing.

She stuck her middle finger up. “She’s mine, bitch,” she said to me.

I held my hands up in surrender.

Dakota looked over her shoulder at me, grinning widely. “Bye,” she said, giggling as her friend yanked her into the apartment and shut the door in my face.

I shook my head to myself as I went down the stairs and across the parking lot.

When I got back to my car, Micah was sitting in the passenger seat, legs splayed wide, his elbow propped on the door and his head resting on his hand. His eyes slid over to watch me climb in, his eyelids heavy and his gaze dark.

Heat tugged sharply, low in my stomach.

I ignored it and put the car in gear.

Once on the road, I was finding it difficult not to notice Micah’s imposing presence in this enclosed space with me. There wasn’t music playing, so the car was quiet, which only thickened the tension between us.

“You good?” I asked, then cleared my throat.

“I’m fine.”

I was glad Aamon was finally dead, and still somewhat in disbelief that it’d actually happened. He’d been a constant lingering anxiety for many of my last years with Micah, and the stunt we’d just pulled with Dakota would’ve never worked with Micah. He couldn’t use himself as bait, because then he couldn’t make me invisible.

In a way, Aamon’s attention turning to Dakota had been a blessing in disguise. He’d been a problem on the edges of my life for so long, always out of sight but never out of mind, and somehow, I’d never actually gotten an opportunity to do anything about it until now. It simply wouldn’t have worked beforehand. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

I wasn’t going to let myself ruminate on all the ways tonight might’ve gone wrong.

Dakota was safe, having a sleepover with her friend, Micah was regaining his strength, and I wasn’t drowning in darkness in the aftermath of the fractures. All three of us had made it out relatively unscathed.

The drive to his house felt short, maybe because some part of me didn’t want it to be over. I still didn’t know what was going to happen with Dakota in the morning, if she would still be with both of us, giving us a tie to each other, or not.

I wouldn’t really have reason to come back to his house after this if not.