Page 38 of A Fine Line

He barks out a laugh, shaking his head, likely relieved that at least that didn’t happen. “No, but it’s still crazy, and I have no explanation.”

Anton and a couple of the other guys come over, and Anton asks, “What are we doing with our unexpected guest?”

“I was getting to that,” Dare replies and then turns back to Nettie. “Somehow, someway, Lilith is alive.”

Nettie’s eyes widen, but she says nothing. She stares at him for a few long moments, likely waiting for him to make some kind of horrible punchline, and when he remains silent, she brings her hands up to her hips, and her face twists in pained confusion. “Excuse me? What do you mean? Lilith is alive?”

“Before we could get into the building, a bunch of explosives went off,” Dare explains. “One person exited from the far side of the building, coughing up smoke and obviously banged up. That person is Lilith Ferro.” His roaming eyes pause on her face as a whole kaleidoscope of emotions crosses over her features before settling on what appears to be a mixture of anger and hope. But she still says nothing, so Darius goes on, “We haven’t spoken to her at all. She’s been in the back of the med van getting tended to. I don’t think any of us are equipped to deal with it tonight, but you tell us what you want us to do for now, and we’re gonna do it.”

Nettie’s mouth has been hanging open, and she snaps it shut as the realization of what Dare is saying finally sinks in. Then her eyes narrow, and she looks at Anton and says quietly, “Chain her up in an interrogation room and leave her there.”

Anton looks from Nettie to me, then to Dare, and back to Nettie, confusion evident on his face. Finally, Dare says, “You heard the woman.”

I’m only mildly surprised Nettie chose the prisoner route. The fact of the matter is, without having any idea where she’s been all this time, we can’t say for certain if she’s friend or foe. I would truly be shocked if she turned out to be a foe, at least with Nettie and Aggie, but she also knows we come as one big, somewhat deranged package at this point.

With a nod, Anton and his men take off toward the van, and the three of us head into the house, making our way toward the living quarters. I’m sure Dare will be headed for some food, but I need a shower and sleep, or else I’ll crash at the most inopportune moment and be useless when they need me.

Dare turns to me and asks, “You going to be okay?”

“Yeah,” I reply with a snort. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

He exchanges a look with Nettie, then refocuses on me as he says, “We’re really going with the ‘she’s not dead’ scenario here?” He pauses, his eyes flitting to Nettie again, who’s now staring at me wide-eyed, her brow furrowed with concern. Then he adds, “I mean, that’s good. We can totally work with that.”

“I already told you, Darius. She’s alive. I know it.”

He nods briefly, and Nettie also nods, and then we continue through the house in silence. I can tell from their demeanor they’re not quite buying it, but I don’t give a fuck what they believe. She’s alive, and one way or another, we’re going to find her.

“Where are Aggie and Flora?” I ask Nettie, pausing at the intersection of the hallways between the sleeping quarters and the dining room. She gives a nod to the left in answer, and I turn abruptly and head toward the bedrooms. Most of the doors are closed, so I continue down the hallway until I come to an open one, and sure enough, Aggie and Flora are there.

Aggie speaks softly to the little girl, who gives her a soft smile and nods at whatever she’s saying. I clear my throat, and they both look over at me as Aggie says, “Thank goodness you’re back. She’s been asking for you this whole time.”

“Me?” I reply incredulously, turning my gaze on the tiny little human who’s staring at me with her mother’s eyes. “I’m kind of a mean, old asshole. You’ll learn that eventually.”

“Well, she didn’t wanna sleep until she knew you were here. So, now we know where you are, and she can go to sleep.” Aggie helps Flora into bed and pulls the blanket up over her. She kneels and smooths her hair off her forehead. “I’ll leave your bedroom door open, and I’ll leave my door open, too, so if you need me, take a right,” she stops and points to the right so Flora will know which direction and then continues, “And come find me.”

The little girl mutters something, and I can’t make out her words, but then Aggie laughs and looks over at me as she replies, “Tony is right directly across the hall from you. Don’t worry, he won’t escape in the night.”

She giggles, and the childlike sound of it stabs me in the guts, so I give her a bored look and quip, “You never know. I do like to vanish whenever I feel like it. I’m pretty much a magician.”

“Hush now.” Aggie glares at me, looks back down at Flora, and says, “He’s just playing. Don’t listen to him.”

I give her an annoyed look and then turn on my heel and walk across the hall to my room, slamming the door behind me. All these goddamn people have lost their minds, including me.

I take a quick shower and pull on some cotton pants and a T-shirt in case I have to make a move in the middle of the night. I finish my nighttime routine then turn off lights and climb into bed, staring at the ceiling as the weight of the situation crashes over me. I know there’s nothing I can do about any of it right now, but my urge to get up and do something is a constant ache in my chest. Like I should be out there searching the ruins for her body or razing hellfire all over the criminal world in search of her.

Then there’s the fact that this crazy woman entrusted me, of all people, with her daughter. Even went so far as tell a little girl that Tony would protect her. That’s a huge statement from a mama to her child, and not something most children would take lightly.

Obviously, Carolina is a raging freaking lunatic.

The door clicks as someone turns the handle from the hallway. It opens, and a small form enters, then quickly closes the door, and leans against it. I slowly turn over until I’m lying on my side, facing the door, watching this tiny human as she creeps closer to me. I close my eyes as she leans over me, her small hand touching my face gently, as if she’s making sure it’s the same face she touched previously.

Her hand falls from my cheek, and she moves away from me toward the end of the bed, then the mattress dips slightly as she climbs on, the blanket pulling a bit as she wiggles on top of it. She lays beside me silently, not touching me, and sighs.

I move to roll onto my back, but as soon as I move, she audibly sucks in her breath and holds it, so I relax back onto my side-sleeping position. She exhales heavily and makes a quiet humming noise as she wiggles around. She’s silent for a few moments, and then she fidgets some more. She does this repeatedly until her small hand presses against the middle of my back.

And that’s when I realize that during all of her wiggling, fidgeting, and sighing, she was moving closer to me. She fidgets again until she leans into me, her forehead resting against me, rhythmic little puffs of air warm against my back as she relaxes into sleep.

I’m startled out of sleep by crying. Her small form is no longer pressed against my back as she flails on the bed beside me, her cries wounded and afraid.

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