Page 2 of Borden 3

I couldn’t kick. My knees barely lifted. No, this was a different sort of nightmare. I was trapped in a prison inside my mind. I was in a tighter coffin, and I couldn’t breathe, and there was suddenly a whisper of a song.

A song from long ago.

Tears burned my cheeks. “No…”

I stared into the darkness, suddenly mindful it was staring back at me.

And then he came for me.

He pressed his face against mine and screamed, “BOO!”

???

“Boo.”

I opened my eyes, sensing the presence behind me.

The room was cloaked in darkness. The moonlight was hidden behind clouds. The room was so big and barren. It was hard to get used to the space, and now my senses were high as the presence loomed closer.

I felt my heart jump, and in that instant, years of living in dangerous situations flooded back to me. Fear sank into my chest like an anchor, clinging strong, reminding me that here, in this large home, it still lurked in the shadows, waiting for me.

I’d been chased by predatory men as a child, shot at as an adult, threatened and even buried alive. I had faced my demise, stared death straight in the face and accepted its claws, and yet this…being in this house…made my hair raise and my paranoia grow tenfold. I should have felt safe, but without him, I didn’t feel that way because with him, I had stopped learning to defend myself.

I grabbed for the switchblade under my pillow, gripped it tightly and then sat up. I whipped my hand out, aiming the knife at the large shadow that stood before the bed, staring down at me.

Still tired, my head swam from the movement. I blinked rapidly, teeth clenched as I prepared to fight.

Instead, a familiar scent washed over me. His stare bore into mine, like he could see me even in the darkness. I felt my skin tingle and warm as he slowly sank his hands deep into his pockets. I could hear the smirk in his question when he asked, “Did you miss me, alleycat?”

My shoulders fell, the relief flooding out of me in the form of a long, airy sigh. “Borden.”

“Yeah, doll.”

“I could have stabbed you.”

“I think you might have stabbed yourself trying.”

“Why are you standing in front of my bed like a psycho in the night?”

“I just got back from putting Link in his bed.”

I closed the blade and ran my hand over the empty spot next to me, the warmth of Lincoln’s body still lingering in the sheets. “I didn’t feel him come in.”

“He’s only little.”

Borden crossed the room, his footsteps heavy on the creaky floorboards. Of course he made sounds now. Stomping like an elephant yet coming up on me like a freaking ghost. I watched his large form as he stopped before the mirrored dresser. He slid his belt off, wrapped it around his hand and placed it down on the dresser. Then he loosened his tie and began to unbutton his shirt. I watched him, running a hand through my messy hair. I glanced at the time. 4:04am.

“When did you fly in?” I asked quietly.

“Thirty minutes ago.”

“You’re early.”

“Yeah.”

He slid his shirt off, and I narrowed my eyes, trying to make out his flesh in the darkness. Call me paranoid, but I still felt nervous when he came back from a trip. Life was unpredictable. His business dealings were hit or miss. I’d seen the number of transactions going through lately with unease. Large numbers laundered into the port, sometimes into the club. They seemed to grow every month, and it was getting harder to hide, hence why he was pouring them into supposed ventures beyond New Raven.

He’d been gone for a week. It felt like a year.

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