Page 12 of Courting Danger

One, two, three.

Inhale.

One, two, three.

Exhale.

This lasted for most of the car ride. When we turned onto the street of our destination, I flexed his hand against the pins-and-needles feeling running under my skin. I’d been gripping the knife handle so hard that my fingers had gone numb, and my knuckles were sore from grinding together.

The car rolled to a stop in front of a building made of tan stone. Time and weather had turned the copper adornments into an appealing shade of green. Most of the building’s body sat as a long low rectangle, but a tall section in the middle with a domed ceiling gave it some height.

As I stepped out of the car, I kept an eye on Garrison. I almost never brought anyone home with me, but when I did there were always interesting reactions.

Garrison did not disappoint.

“A police station?” The man’s face barely moved, but that only made the slight twitches in his expression even more telling. It was a fascinating dance of subtlety.

Too bad I couldn’t enjoy the show properly. I ignored the security guards standing to either side of the front doors as I stormed past and spoke to Garrison over my shoulder.

“Not anymore. The station shut down decades ago and the building was abandoned. Three years ago, I bought it and turned it into apartments. Such beautiful antique architecture shouldn’t be left to rot.”

Inside the building’s front lobby of white marble and black carpet, I paused to look back at the security guards by the door. One of them was speaking into their phone.

Sharpening my teeth on all the curse words I wanted to say, I grumbled and turned away from the doors before I made a scene.

The building’s security staff had originally worked for my mother. She claimed they were a gift to celebrate construction finally coming to an end, but I knew the truth. They were not only meant to keep me safe, but also report my every move.

Sometimes it seemed like my mother knew the details of my life better than I did.

Traveling up a private elevator that required a key, I finally stepped into the closest thing I had to a home.

I’d saved the best part of the building for myself, turning the space inside the dome into my personal sanctuary. Terracotta brick lined the walls, and black iron support beams had been left exposed. Two stories fit inside the dome. Extra walls had been erected on the first floor to create traditionally sized rooms that housed the kitchen, sitting room, office, and extra bedroom.

No member of my family had ever been allowed to set foot in this apartment, and I swept the place regularly for hidden devices. I wasn’t naive enough to think this would stop my family from knowing what went on inside my home, but it at least gave me the illusion of privacy.

I made a direct line for the kitchen, pulled a random bottle out of the wine fridge, and poured myself a drink. Throwing my head back, I downed half the glass in one go, drowning myself in the fragrance of black cherries.

Mellow acid lingered on my tongue as I looked down into the glass. My own distorted reflection stared back at me.

“Fuck.”

I flung the glass across the room, where it smashed against the wall. “That smug, disgusting… Fuck.”

Red wine dripped down the terracotta walls, catching and pooling in the brick’s rough texture. Garrison watched the wine’s slow descent until it reached the floor.

“Do you have a broom?”

I pointed toward the correct closet, and Garrison retrieved an armload of cleaning supplies.

The man first removed his suit jacket, which he folded and left on a chair, then started to calmly sweep up the broken glass.

“This is because of your uncle, I assume.”

Running a shaking hand through my hair, I recorked the wine and stored it away before I did something regrettable. Like throwing the entire bottle.

“Yeah. I hate him. Every time I see his face, I want to wring his damn neck.”

I would never have let my family see such a display of emotion. But this was my home. It was safe to express myself here. I’d developed a habit of retreating behind these familiar walls whenever negative emotions built up under my skin and I needed to let them run free without fear of judgment.

---