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I couldn't believe what was happening to me. One minute I was living my life, minding my own business, and the next minute, I was caught up in a world of violence and danger.
I probably wouldn’t be able to extract myself from the Mercy Drive Blades anytime soon. It was perfect for my investigation, but the break-in had shaken me. I still didn’t know whether I could trust the Blades or Teo himself, but I knew that I couldn’t stay by myself, and that bringing my brother into this would only put him in danger.
We’d already lost our parents and I wasn’t willing to put him on the line simply because of a story. I knew that Sam did dangerous work. I didn’t want to make his life any more complicated than it already was.
At least for now, staying with the Blades was my best–and really, my only–option. Teo had been surprisingly kind to me and, while none of them inspired a great deal of confidence, I could tell that they were warming up to me. The more they did, the more I could find out about the murders, and that was exactly what I needed.
I grabbed my suitcase out of my closet and put my staples in it, a few dresses, some denim pieces, mostly dark t-shirts. I looked around my room to find something I could defend myself with. It wasn’t like I could get a knife from the kitchen, not under Teo’s watchful eye. I’d never believed in having weapons in my home, but now, I regretted it. Sam had tried to talk me into buying a gun, but I chalked that up to anxiety, telling him that I definitely wouldn’t need one.
If I had one now, maybe I would be able to get out of the situation I found myself in.
Hindsight is truly 20/20.
Quietly, I opened my nightstand drawer. It was a fucking mess, with a few medication bottles I needed to take, a lone pink vibrator, and one small nail file. I pocketed that, wondering if it was going to come in handy at all.
They were bigger than me, sure, but I had the element of surprise. They didn’t see me as a threat and that was exactly what made me a threat. I would just extract whatever information I needed out of them and then I would get the fuck out of there…using a nail file and a vibrator.
That’s right. I was truly intimidating.
My thoughts of escape stopped when I heard Teo whistling. I couldn’t place the song for a second, and then I realized it wasWhistle While You Workfrom Snow White. I almost burst into laughter right then and there.
That, I most certainly wasn’t expecting.
I peeked out from the bedroom, feeling the outline of the nail file in the pocket of the pajama pants he’d given me. Teo was dutifully cleaning the mess the person who’d broken into my house had made and I almost felt a little bad.
Almost. Just a little.
I cleared my throat. He picked up his head to look at me and smiled. ”Do you have enough clothes?”
”For the week? I think so,” I said.
”You can get your laptop, if you want,” he said as he got to his feet on my now spotless floor. ”I know you’ll need it to write.”
”Can I get my phone, too?”
”You won’t find it,” he said.
I opened my mouth to ask him about it.
”Sorry, I should clarify,” he replied, waving me off. ”The guys already did a sweep of your place. We don’t have it either. They just couldn’t find it. Whoever has your phone is probably the person who tried to kill you.”
I bit my lip, feeling the weight of the situation settle heavily on my shoulders. It was one thing to be kidnapped and held captive by a gangster, but it was another thing entirely to know that someone had tried to kill me.
I felt a shiver run down my spine, imagining the person who had broken into my apartment rifling through my belongings and searching for information. I knew that I had to be careful in this world of danger and violence. But I also knew that I couldn’t allow fear to consume me.
This meant I was definitely right. This meant there was a story there.
And I was going to get it.
I nodded, not sure what to say. The reality of my situation was beginning to sink in. I was in a dangerous world, one that I didn’t understand. And worse yet, someone was after me. I had no idea who it was or what they wanted, but I knew that I needed to find out before they came after me again.
”I’ll keep you safe,” he said, as if he could read my thoughts. ”I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I raised an eyebrow. ”You’ve already kidnapped me once.”
He chuckled. ”For your own safety,” he said. ”If you didn’t want to stay with us, you could’ve said something.”
That didn’t seem right, but I didn’t want to contradict him. And when I closed my eyes and thought about the weird turn my life had taken, I knew that I’d only felt safe when he gave me that hug.
