Page 26 of Taking Root

Chapter Thirteen

When Danny closed the door behind her, she didn’t run off. For a moment, she leaned against the door, debating whether she should walk back in. If they could argue this out like a normal couple. And then she remembered she was the daughter of a serial killer and would be in WitSec for the rest of her shit existence no matter how much she longed to settle down.

The words were on her lips back there with Adrian. She spread her palms across the door, wishing she could go back. Wishing tonight had taken a different direction. Wishing she could be someone else.

Out of all her regrets, she didn’t regret him. Meeting Adrian Dukas again had been a balm to her battered soul. He’d been everything she yearned for since those lazy days at Hanahan High and everything robbed from her when her father’s truth came to light.

Except now she hurt so much she could barely breathe.

Danny peeled herself from the door, heading for her car. She glanced at Adrian’s house, memorizing the sprawling rancher with a slate roof that offset the cream exterior. It was the sort of house destined to become a home, and the moment she entered, everything about it screamed Adrian. He owned a home to raise a family, and anyone who’d known him for five seconds understood that about him. Settling down was scorched into his DNA, and he had the patient, attentive personality to boot. Men were rarely made like him, at least, not from what she’d experienced.

She popped into Bella and revved the engine of her Subaru. Even gripping the wheel, the normal control didn’t sink into her bones. She reached the end of the block before the shakes overtook her. Danny rammed the car into park and sank against the steering wheel, her fingers bone-white with her grip. The weight of what happened crashed down.

“Fuck,” Danny gasped out, her throat tight and her eyes burning. The sobs wracked her body a moment later. Hot tears poured down her cheeks from everything she’d pent up for far too long. Adrian had been so, so dangerous. Around him, she’d allowed herself to dream. She’d allowed herself to hope for brief flashes she might be able to keep him. Like she might find a place to call home and form the family she longed for.

With each passing year, more and more of her temporary friends became mothers, and each one she met sliced another mark into her skin. Because she would never be allowed to bring a life into the world. Not while her father remained on the run. What Adrian would never know was she shared the same dream. Their souls called out for each other like the shore beckoning the tide, and God, she wanted a future with him so badly she couldn’t breathe.

Danny sagged against the steering wheel of Bella, the tears unrelenting. He wanted her to lean on him, and she wanted to. Hell, she needed to. But if her handlers caught the hint someone knew about her true identity, there wouldn’t be a discussion. She’d be plucked out of Charleston faster than she could spit. She made the mistake early on at eighteen and after the tongue-lashing she’d gotten, never again.

She turned the engine back on, her shoulders shaking from the sobs that wracked her body. God, his expression back there was as haunted as she’d ever seen him. Whatever happened to him at work clearly clawed inside his ribcage and tore out his heart. Danny had just wanted to reach out and wrap her arms around him, to heal those wounds like he tried to heal hers. Danny jammed on the gas pedal, zooming away from his house as fast as her car could take her.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she glanced at it through blurry eyes. Adrian.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Danny raced down the highway, but she didn’t head home. Her handlers told her to stay out in the public as much as possible, because Kyle Peterson traveled toward Charleston. Any day now he’d arrive with those dead eyes and stained hands, searching for her. She wanted to retch, but whether over her father or the situation she left behind, she hadn’t the slightest. Either way, her stomach squeezed tight, and the nausea rocked through her.

She entered the bustling main stretch of Charleston, finding a spot to park close to the Gin Mill. Her stomach flopped. If Matty worked behind the bar, she wouldn’t be able to escape the tidal wave of pain at the thought of Adrian. But if Mitch manned the taps tonight, she might have something remotely familiar to latch onto rather than starting fresh in some random bar. Danny pulled to a stop along the cobblestone sidewalks and flipped down her visor to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

Her mascara had streaked, so she grabbed a crumpled paper towel from her canvas bag and wiped away the mess. Apart from the slight redness around her eyes and the blotchy spots across her cheeks, she could make a leap at normal. Danny sank back in the seat, her legs shaking. After the way she and Adrian clashed, she couldn’t face other people right now. Not after she’d walked out on him for good.

Danny dialed Cam’s number and listened to the ring.

“Hey?” Cam responded, her tone quick rather than the usual comfortable drawl.

“It’s Danny. Just wondering if you happened to be out on the town tonight?” She held a ragged breath back, hoping even as she knew the inevitable response.

“Sorry, girlie. I’m on my way to a hot date tonight,” Cam responded. “Catch up with you at work?”

“Definitely. Have fun,” Danny responded, wishing with all her might the girl would recognize the hoarseness in her voice. Wishing someone understood she reached out the one way she could. That she’d been hurting for so long, but she’d never been able to tear off the duct tape over her mouth.

One person knew. Every time, Adrian managed to read her right.

And she’d walked out on him.

She needed a drink. Danny stepped out of her car, checking the weight of her pistol at her side before reaching in her purse to confirm the pepper spray remained there. At this time of the night, the streets bustled with people as the sun faded into the horizon. In the distance, the splash of the sea echoed through the town; however, the scent of salt in the breeze made her think of him. Her stomach curled again. If she didn’t throw herself into a distraction, she would be sick.

Couples strolled by on either side of her, but every approaching shadow had Danny reaching for her pepper spray. Walking through town by her lonesome hadn’t been a great plan, but heading home to her quiet complex tonight would be even worse. The Gin Mill came into view at the end of the block, the driftwood sign offering a flash of familiarity. Her heart thudded louder as she stepped to the door.

She peered inside, the smooth jazzy strains washing over her as the crisp scent of juniper wafted her way. Mitch stood behind the bar, bustling back and forth to pour a pint for one customer while switching to the shaker for another. Her shoulders relaxed.

Danny wound her way over to the first empty barstool in sight, her heels clicking on the stained wooden flooring. She’d figured tonight would end with her heels discarded on the floor of Adrian’s bedroom. Their makeout sessions had been growing longer and longer every time they met up, but this had been the first time they hung out in private. And when she’d walked in to find him dripping from the shower, the towel wrapped around his delicious body, God, she thought they were on.

So fast, it all crumbled out of her grasp.

Danny slouched into the barstool, not in the mood to even make eye contact with the folks she sat beside.

A moment later, Mitch strolled up to where she waited, and he flashed her a charming grin. “Glad to see you back here.”

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