He's Fire and She's Playing with It - Mafia Version

Chapter 24: Ashes

Ally was standing on a tram stop, with wind in her hair, faux leather jacket on her upper body, and high heels on her feet. As usual she didn't dare to wear a skirt or dress. She didn't want to admit that Daniel had changed her, but the fear he had created in her body had turned into trauma and she didn't know how to turn off the warning bells that chimed in her head every time she stepped out the door.

Daniel.

Only thinking his name made her taste metal as the toxicity of his actions rested on her tongue.

A car stopped and Adryan jumped out.

"Hello", he said with his usual soft, challenging tone, and pulled her into a hug.

Every time he spoke, he sounded like he dared her to do something, to question him. She had done so, on the phone, multiple times. They had spoken almost every day the past week, and texted at least once an hour the time she was awake. He didn't seem to sleep, ever. This was the first time they saw each other since their first meeting. He was just as handsome as she remembered. His dark hair still tousled and his eyes even bluer in daylight. He moved smoothly, gracefully.

He let her go and she stepped back.

"I know a place", he had said on the phone and she had let him take the reins.

"So where are we going?" she asked.

He gave her a daring smile.

There it is again, she thought.

An incitement to challenge him. It was something he got off on, maybe even something that excited him enough to turn him on.

"This way", he said and they started to walk down a busy road.

She felt safe.

Adryan turned out to be funny, and indeed fiery, and she wasn't late to challenge him back.

"Okay, I'll drink when you drink", she said.

"Very well."

He reached for his drink, no doubt to take a few sips, but she was quicker. She downed her glass before he even had time to lift his. He raised his eyebrows with a small smile.

"Really? That's the path you want go on?" A stroke of wickedness passed his eyes. "That's a dangerous road."

She leaned forward and placed her hands on the small table that was the only thing that separated them.

"I think I'll do just fine." She nodded toward his drink. "Your turn."

His phone vibrated and he frowned when he picked it up.

"I need to take care of something." He stood up and offered her his hand. "Come with me."

She looked at his hand.

"Where?" Her eyes moved up to his face.

He already looked impatient, mindlessly tapping his foot on the floor.

"To mine." His face softened. "I know, you don't want to get into a car with a stranger and absolutely not go to his home, but I'm not ready for the date to end and it will only be a quick stop." He nodded toward her pocket. "I also know that you have an app on your phone, additional to the Snapchat map, that tells your friends where you are." When he saw her confused look, he continued: "Am I wrong?"

She accepted his hand and he pulled her up.

"Fine, but I need your full name, your address, and the license plate number of the car."