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After exploring the back of the apartment, I decide it’s time to introduce myself to the men supposedly keeping me safe—captive?—here. When I open the front door, I’m immediately greeted by a person’s back as if he was standing right in front of the door, swiftly turning around. It’s a middle-aged Black man, with a leather shoulder holster wrapped around his white tee shirt and filled with handguns.
I suck in an inhale, shocked to nearly collide with an armed man. I don’t know why I’m shocked. Cash told me exactly what orwhowas out here. Being confronted with the reality that Ineedarmed protection makes me slightly sick to my stomach.
“Miss, is everything alright?” His voice is gruff and low. His right hand immediately moves to a gun, and I hear shuffling footsteps from down the hall. He peers behind me into the apartment with hawk eyes while gripping the gun. I notice the footsteps are from a younger white man apparently hustling down from his post at the end of the hall.
“I, um—I’m Harlow.” The tension in their shoulders, like they’re ready to pounce into action, makes me feel like I’ve done something wrong, like calling 911 about a missing sock. “I just wanted to introduce myself.”
The rigidity in the older man deflates with a sigh as he holsters the gun and offers me a small smile. “Well, Harlow, I’m Roman and this is Alfie.” He points to the younger guy.
“Hey, how’s it going?” He smiles with a nod. He has the same crew cut as the Fox boys, but a more pronounced skin fade down the sides and a mop of blond curls on the top. He’s tall and lanky in a red polo.
They both seem rather warm, and I’m wondering if they really are here more to keep me safe rather than keep me in. “Hypothetically, if I tried to leave, what would happen?” Alfie raises a brow and looks to Roman.
Roman is tall and broad, especially when he rolls his shoulders back, widens his stance, and says, “I would strongly advise against that.”
“And if I didn’t take that advice?”
“I’d keep you safe by any means necessary. If that means forcibly keeping you from leaving, then that’s what I’d do.” He strokes his short beard, peppered with gray, and the corner of his lips tug. “Hypothetically.”
“Hmm.” I narrow my eyes, wondering if it would be worth it just to try and see how far these men are willing to go for Cash’s orders. I decide against it when Roman gives me a knowing look as if to say,go ahead and try.“Well, do you guys want anything to eat or drink?”
“Sure, that’d be gr—” Alfie pipes up, but Roman cuts him down with a glance.
“We’re fine, thank you though.” He nods, and I assume I’m being dismissed. I guess there isn’t really a point to me standing out here anyway when I never had any real intent on leaving.
“Okay, well if you change your mind, you know where I’ll be.” I laugh at my own joke and close the door.
I return to my room, stripping down to only my t-shirt and climbing into bed. Back to my think tank. I wonder what’s behind the locked door. I was honestly surprised to find so much of the apartment available to me, but that’s probably because anything important is behind lock and key.
What if the answers to not only Cash’s alibi, but also Doug’s mysterious identity, are behind that door?
My mind swims, trying to consider all the different possibilities and unknown factors, and at some point my lack of sleep leads me to doze off mid-thought. Of course, by the time I wake up from my accidental nap, I’ve forgotten what I had been theorizing and decide these mental gymnastics can only take me so far.
I slip on a pair of underwear and poke my head out of the bedroom door. “Hello?” I call into the quiet hallway. The apartment is just as still and empty as I left it.Perfect.
1.Flames—Donzell Taggart | SummerOtoole.com/Playlists
Chapter thirteen
Want Me
Cash
Theshatteredmirrorcrunchesunder my boots’ soles. The Den is still in shambles after the shooting. I have been so focused on keeping her safe and planning our retribution that cleaning this place up has fallen to the back burner. Which is un-fucking-acceptable.
Seeing the broken glass feels like swallowing the jagged shards, ripping and tearing a path to my heart. This pub was my father’s wedding gift to my mother. It’s changed a lot since he first bought it over thirty years ago, but its soul has always remained the same. After she died, it became a living memorial. And seeing it in this state is like digging up her grave.
“Roan, where are you on getting this shit taken care of?” I kick a broken table leg across the floor.
“Two contractors have placed bids.”
“I don’t care what it costs, I want it done. Just pick one and get on with it.” The crunching sound of glass continues as my brothers file out to the street behind me. They circle around me on the sidewalk outside.
“I won’t be available tonight. Anything you need from me, go to Roman.” I scan their faces and they all nod their understanding. “Okay good.”
“Unavailable, huh? Alright,lover boy.”Lochlan smears a shit-eating grin on his face, and I resist the urge to pistol whip it off.
“Don’t worry, Lochy, one day you’ll know something other than your hand.”
