Tough Love

Chapter One Hundred Twelve

Chapter One Hundred Twelve

Dani

Arrow appears at my desk at 7pm on the dot. That's the Army punctuality that Eli talks about. He sends me a smile and asks, "You ready to go?"

"Just need to shut down the computers. Are you sure you don't mind taking me, Arrow?"

"Not at all. You're pretty cool... Hey LT. Will someone be home when we're done?"

"Yeah, my ma will be in. You don't have to hang around if you don't want to."

"And not get some of your mom's awesome food? Yeah, right."

The journey to Sam's office is mostly silent. At one point, Arrow calls my name and my head snaps up. I briefly catch his eye in the rear view mirror before looking away again.

"You ok, Dani?"

"Yes sir."

"You don't need to call me sir."

"Sorry. Habit."

"I get it. It's natural for you to say it. Just remember you don't have to say it. There won't be any punishments if you don't."

How does he know about that? I don't believe Eli would have told him details like that. Ash doesn't know the details, so he could hardly tell Arrow that.

"It was just a guess. No one told me, in case you're trying to figure out who revealed the information. Simply a guess."

I whisper, "You three are too good at reading people..."

He chuckles, "That is part of our job, girlie. I'd be worried if we weren't good at it."

I nod, not really having anything else to say. The rest of the journey is made in silence. When we get into Sam's building, she's waiting at the reception for us.

She smiles warmly at both me and Arrow, "Hey Dani. Hello Ryan. Eli said you'd be here."

Ryan? She calls him Ryan? I thought only his mom called him that. I look at Sam and then I hazard a glance at Arrow.

I raise my eyebrow and whisper to him, "Arrow?"

He knows what I'm referring to, but he simply smirks at me. Sam looks confused and questions, "Arrow? I thought your name was Ryan."

"It is. My friends call me Arrow though."

"So, what should I call you?"

"Ryan is fine."