Page 31 of Misery
"Good. Saga wants to see you too. Make sure you're okay."
I sigh. "I'm okay."
"You don't sound okay. You sound... breathy."
My face burns. "We were just training. Self-defense moves."
"Uh huh." She doesn't believe me. "Just get here safely."
I hang up and look at Oskar, who's put distance between us. Smart. Necessary. But I hate it.
"We should go," he says.
"Yeah."
But neither of us moves. The kiss hangs between us. What it means. Where it leads.
"This is complicated," he says finally.
"Everything in my life is complicated."
"This would be more complicated. I'm not... I don't do relationships, Elfe. I'm not a good man. I kill people for the club. I've done things that would make you run if you knew."
"I'm not running now."
"Because you don't know me. Not like that, not really."
"Then let me know."
He looks at me for a long moment. Something shifts in his expression. Decision maybe. Or surrender.
"Get your things," he says. "We need to go."
I gather my clothes from yesterday. My phone. The few things that made it here with me.
When I return, he's packed. Armed too, I notice. Gun at his hip. Knife in his boot. Ready for war.
"You think there'll be trouble?"
"I always think there'll be trouble." He hands me a jacket. Leather. Women's cut. "Wear this."
"Why?"
"Because it's got Kevlar lining. And because anyone who sees you in it will know you're under protection."
I put it on. It fits perfectly. Like it was made for me.
Like he's been preparing for this moment longer than just last night.
We head for his bike.
The morning sun is bright, peaceful.
You'd never know there's a war starting.
That bodies are piling up across the city.
That I'm being hunted by a cartel.
