Soulbound

25. Dani

By the time my shift is over and Marco chauffeurs me back to Ashe's apartment building, I'm too mentally drained to pack for a weekend trip. Or a week-long trip. Ashe had neglected to disclose exactly how long we would be gone, or even where we would be staying when we got to Houston. And I was not entirely sure that I even wanted to go.

Rose was still not talking to me. She looked even less enthused when she learned that I would be off for the next couple of days, and David was equally as thrilled when I informed him about my spontaneous trip. Although he was more than understanding when I told him that I was going to see my sick aunt, my absence would leave Café Roasted shorthanded and he was already stressed enough as it is about finances.

I hated that I had to keep lying to the people I cared about, but I don't think I have much of a choice. All the threats and supposed dangers aside, would they even believe the truth if I told it to them?

“Have you given any thought to what you'll pack?” Marco asks as we turn down a hallway on the nineteenth floor. Although I appreciate his effort at small talk, I still find myself rolling my eyes.

“Does it matter?”

“It does if you don't want Ashe to pack for you. You've seen her wardrobe and trust me, you won't like what she picks out.”

I purse my lips as I reflect on her usually dark, often practical attire. For a killer who hunted under the cover of night she had little regard for fashion sense and, despite the 'street assassin in leather' look working really well for her, it was a stark contrast to what I would normally wear. The one time I had actually caught her wearing heels and a strappy top late one night I thought she was going to kill me for asking about it, although the image had burned itself into my mind and seared my insides well into the next morning. I probably wouldn't like what she would pack for me if I left that decision up to her, if she packed anything at all.

Was it bad that I was secretly hoping she packed that sexy outfit for herself?

“That's besides the point, Marco,” I groan instead, agitation leaking into my voice. “Does it matter if I don't want to go? Do I even get a say in any of this when it involves my life? Or is she just going to keep moving me around from place to place without my input on anything?”

And it wasn't like I could exactly fight her on it, either. By sheer force or stubborn determination, she would win either way. She didn't exactly strike me as the type who liked to lose and she definitely wasn't the type to ask twice. Or ask at all, really.

It was on days like this that I wish I was still taking my medication. I could feel my chest tightening at the rate in which my world kept changing and quickly swallow the lump forming in my throat. It might have helped with the night terrors I suffered from as a kid and my anxieties as I got older, but I hated the way it made me feel while I was on it and so after Monica left I decided to quit taking it. There were better ways to handle my anxiety than popping a little blue pill, even if medicating it all away was easier.

Deep breaths, Dani. Deep breaths.

Marco stops us just outside Ashe's apartment, withdrawing a set of keys as he cautiously sniffs the air and tilts his head, listening for any unusual sounds. I can't help but feel a little annoyed at the fact that Ashe trusted him with her spare key when I was the one who was being forced to live here.

After a moment, he nods to himself and unlocks the door. “I wish circumstances were different for you, Dani, I really do. But what Ashe does, she does to keep you safe. Even if you can't fully see that.”