Pink Walls

Day Two [Part V]

"I can throw knives into the people who want you dead and keep you alive until Wednesday."

I was more than certain now that Danny enjoyed doing magic in the bathroom. Or maybe he just enjoyed seeing me surprised. Or maybe he just did whatever the hell he wanted without giving a damn.

Whatever it was, I was too tired to start guessing what had suddenly motivated him.

"What?" He put a hand on his hip, tilted his head to the side then dropped the duffel bag to the ground beside him.

I could tell that it was much lighter now. I would have to search the bathroom carefully later to see what he had hidden this time.

"Well…" I let my eyes roam down the peach blouse he was now wearing, tracing the little pink, white and red flowers dotting it from its ruffled neckline to where it was tucked neatly into a matching chiffon skirt.

"You still didn't read my file," he said, and shifted my gaze from the ankle-length skirt back to his face.

He was wearing rimless glasses with thin circle lenses and his fringe had been tucked behind his ear with the aid of a decorative hair clip. He had replaced the diamond that had been above his lips with a golden butterfly too, leaving his other piercing empty.

From this distance, he looked like a completely different person, a person as light as the skirts he wore.

I smiled and returned my attention to the roll of knives I had spread out on the bed in front of me. Since Sunday morning, I had only managed to lose one, but it should have been returned to her office after the cleaners had dealt with the bodies at Antonia's mansion.

Other than the two Alex had given back to me, there were still eight that I hadn't touched yet, the last being just as big as Frank's knife.

I felt for the person who was going to end up feeling the bite of its serrated blade.

Daniel sat on the cushioned stool in front of the dresser on the other side of the bed. "You really aren't going to say anything?"

I turned in his direction and found him inspecting himself in the mirror. "You look good in a skirt."

He shifted on his seat then brushed the fingers of one hand over his ear before looking at me. "Do you mean that?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't have said it."

He was about to reply but the hotel's landline beat him to it. I stretched to the bedside table next to him and snatched the receiver mid-ring.

"Boss—"

"Ron isn't here," Alex's deep voice cut me off. "Reaching out now is a bit insensitive of you, isn't it?"

"There were... complications." I swallowed. Of course, I knew that things would be tense on Saffron's end of things. But I wanted to call her... just in case. "I checked into the hotel."

There was a long pause before Alex spoke again. "After the fire, Ron worried. She will be glad to know that you're alright."

"It isn't only the Carmosinos that are after Daniel."

"Do you need back up?"

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. But that would be selfish. "No."

"I will let her know."

"Where did she go?"

"To give Antonia the bruises that make good ransom videos," Alex said then cut the call without another word.

I let the handset fall out of my hand then ran my fingers through my hair.

I couldn't ask for backup for something as simple as a three day mission, especially when the gang's manpower was already stretched thin and the Carmosinos were eyeing our territory.