Page 83 of Hey, Daddy

“That’s him,” I said. “The one that shot everyone earlier.”

“How do you know?” Dima asked.

“Look at his eye,” I said, my attention for detail roaring to the forefront of my brain. “He has a fleck of darker pigmentation near his pupil on the left side.”

“Oh, that’s him.” She inhaled. “Who do you think the cop was that they…”

Just then the door opened a second time and a uniformed officer came into view.

“And that’s the cop,” I said. “Look at the left bicep. There’s a scar right in the crook. Same one from earlier.”

“Senator, you can’t be in here. It’s a crime scene.” The officer looked like he was about to choke.

“Oh, really?” Senator Kennedy laughed. “I hate to break it to you, but there’s nothing that’ll stop me from going anywhere that I want to go.”

Cocky son of a bitch.

“Sirs,” the frantic-looking officer said. “If you’re caught in here…”

Both men rolled their eyes, but they left. But not before the one that’d done the shooting earlier had a good look around.

The smirk that was on his lips made me want to throw up.

He’d enjoyed himself.

“Audio only now,” Lev said as he switched.

“…everything is working to plan,” Senator Kennedy’s voice said. “I’ll have her in jail by tomorrow.”

Anger rose inside of me.

“Get the lawyer here,” I said.

It was hours later when we finally made it to Nastya’s house.

Desi went to bed in the ‘softest bed ever’ according to her, and Nastya and I went to the shower.

I helped her clean up for a second time that night, massaging her shampoo and conditioner in her hair for a lot longer than necessary. I followed hair care up with the body soap, then quickly took care of myself before we exited the shower.

I led her to the sink where I helped her get her toothbrush loaded up with toothpaste—she was still a shaking mess even all these hours later.

We both fell into bed exhausted from a disgustingly long day.

But neither one of us went to sleep.

We stayed in each other’s arms for hours, lost in our own thoughts.

It wasn’t until the sun started poking through the blinds that she finally fell asleep.

As if that was what my body needed to follow suit, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

I am not very demure. I will cause a scene.

—Haze to Nastya

HAZE

The phone ringing had my eyes peeling open despite their desperate attempt to stay closed.

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