Page 6 of Razor
“Yeah, Razor’s—” Spade started but stopped mid-sentence when Razor cleared his throat.
“We don’t need to get into all that now, man,” Razor ordered. She had to admit she was curious about what Spade was going to say, but Razor didn’t look happy about their conversation at all.
“Right, sorry,” Spade said, backing down. “I’ll file the report and check out our latest murder victim. You know where you’re heading?” he asked Razor.
“I’m going to swing by the preschool and pick up Violet, and then, I’m going to pack up and head out to the safehouse,” Razor said. Everything was moving so fast around her, and Ella wanted to insist that she be let off the ride. So many decisions had been made for her over the past six months that not having the right to decide for herself now was frightening.
“I’d like a say in what’s going to happen next,” she insisted. “I lost my voice for six months, and this is still my life, right?” The two men looked at each other and then nodded their agreement.
“Great, I’d like to at least swing by my old apartment and see if they know where my stuff is. I need a change of clothing, if you can’t tell.” She stood and held her arms out wide as though proving her point.
“Not going to happen,” Razor insisted. “Your old apartment will be the first place that the Devils start looking for you. We won’t get out of your building alive. I’ll buy you some new clothes. Hell, I’ll get you everything that you need once we get on the road.” She knew that he was right, but a part of her wanted him to have to compromise on something. She needed to feel as though she was a part of the decision-making when it came to her own life.
“Okay, what about a shower?” she asked.
“That we can accommodate you with,” Spade said. “We have a women’s locker room here, and I’m sure that I can find you some clean clothes in your size. I’ll stick around here until you are done with your shower, and then, I’ll take you over to Razor’s place so that you three can head out of town. How much time will you need to pick up Violet and be ready to hit the road?” he asked Razor.
“About an hour,” he said. “I’ll tell her that we’re going on an adventure.”
“Your kid does love her adventures,” Spade said. “What should I tell Mace and the others?” Ella wondered who Spade was talking about, but butting into Razor’s business didn’t seem like a good idea. The man didn’t seem to be an open book.
“Tell them that I had to head out of town for a while on a case. It’s not really a lie,” Razor said, looking Ella over. So, she was a case now—well, that was better than being a damsel in distress that he had picked up on the side of the road.
“Sounds good,” Spade agreed. “We’ll see you in about an hour. Follow me, Ella,” Spade ordered. She wasn’t sure if she had jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire, but she was sure that old saying would hold some truth for her current predicament. One thing was for sure—she wasn’t ever going back to the Devils, no matter what.
Razor
While Razor was waiting for Violet to gather her things to leave early, he had done some digging and made a phone call to Ella’s father. Apparently, he was informed that she was dead. He said that a cop had shown up at his door and gave him the bad news about five months ago. If he were a betting man, Razor would put money on one of the Devils dressing as a cop and delivering that bad news to Ella’s dad. He said that he had gotten rid of all her things because it had made him too sad to look at them. He couldn’t blame the guy. When Tori was murdered, he had done the same thing—well, except for her clothing. For some crazy reason, he couldn’t part with any of her clothes. They still had her scent and letting them go would be like letting Tori go again. But getting rid of her other things didn’t help erase the pain that he carried with him daily.
Violet’s teacher walked her out of the preschool to his truck. “I’m sorry that it took so long,” Ms. Penny said. “Violet needed to use the restroom before she could leave.” He chuckled. Having to use the bathroom at the last minute was her go-to stalling tactic. She had been doing it since she was first potty-trained,and Razor had a feeling that his stubborn little girl wasn’t going to stop any time soon.
“No problem,” he said, smiling at Violet as she climbed into the back of his truck and into her car seat. She buckled herself in and tossed her tiny backpack onto the seat next to her. And when she sighed and sat back as though she had had a day of it, he couldn’t help his smile. She was so much like her mom.
“See you tomorrow,” Ms. Penny said to Violet.
“Um, about that,” Razor said, feeling a little guilty about what he was going to have to tell the preschool teacher. “I’m not sure when Violet will be back to school. We have to go out of town—family emergency, and I’m not sure when we will be back.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Ms. Penny said. “Is there anything that I can do?”
“No, but thank you,” Razor said. “We just need to get a move on if we’re going to make our flight,” he lied. He planned on lying to everyone who might be questioned by the Devils. Ms. Penny seemed like a nice enough person, but he couldn’t risk telling her the truth.
“Okay, well, I guess that I’ll see you when you get back home, Violet,” Ms. Penny said. “You’ll let me know if there is anything that I can do?”
“Of course,” he agreed. “See you soon.” The teacher backed away from his truck, and he shut the window, slowly pulling away from the curb.
“Daddy,” Violet said from the back seat.
“Yes, pumpkin,” he answered.
“Why did I have to leave? I missed recess today,” He checked the rearview mirror and found his four-year-old daughter pouting at him. Razor couldn’t help himself when she pouted at him that way—he always gave in. But this time, he couldn’t because if he did, he wouldn’t be able to keep her or Ella safe, as he promised.
“We’re going to go on an adventure, honey,” he promised. Her face lit up the rearview as she smiled back at him.
“What kind of adventure?” she asked. “Will there be princesses?” His daughter loved her princesses. She watched them every day, and because he couldn’t seem to say no to her, she had a room full of princess dolls.
“I’m sure that we’ll find a few along the way,” he lied.
“Can I bring some of my princesses from home?” she asked.
