Page 229 of Soul So Dark
Slowly, I pivot and step past him into the darkness. It occurs to me as I reach the back bedroom that maybe I shouldn’t have come here.
But I can always ask for forgiveness later.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Alex
“I never thought I’d say this, but you’re more fun as a civilian,” Thatch chuckles over my Bluetooth speaker.
“Fun or profitable?” I ask as I turn into the parking deck at the Enclave.
“Are these things mutually exclusive?”
Apparently not, based on how successful the match betweenSilentStormandGhostW@kewas last weekend. So much so that there’s another one tonight. I barely had a chance to respond to Thatch’s request before Dallas shouted her approval in the background.
“They like that angry shit,” Thatch continues. “It really beefs up the numbers. And when you wrap it up with a romantic ending—mmm,perfection.”
“You can stop now.”
I can live without Thatch’s professional opinion regarding how I fuck my own wife.
“Hey, I’m just as shocked as you are. Apparently, romance isn’t dead, after all.”
I confirm the time with Thatch as I whip into my designated space, Dallas’s Mazda already parked next to it. She’ll never admit it, but she’s just as much of a speed demon as Colson, which is probably why she arrived home from dinner so much faster than I did. I kill the engine, pull my phone off the dash mount, and start clearing notifications. The first one is a text from Dallas.
DALLAS (9:21PM): I have a surprise for you tonight.
I smile to myself. Dallas’s surprises never disappoint. The next one indicates the GPS app updated, so I take a look at it to make sure everything is still in order and that everyone is still where they’re supposed to be.
Bowen’s tracker indicates that he’s far out of range, which is expected because he travels anywhere within a hundred-mile radius for work each day. I swipe to the next map, which shows a purple dot sitting in my location, indicating that Dallas is indeed in our apartment. The tracker on Bowen’s truck wasn’t enough; if I’m going to keep Dallas safe, I need to know where she is, too, and the tiny tracker I got fits perfectly on the back of my mom’s amethyst pendant she wears every single day.
I’m about to close the app when I see something that isn’t like the rest. When I scroll down to yesterday, the list of locations beneath the map includes one that I know well. The problem is that there’s absolutely no reason it should be there. And the longer I stare at it, a steady flow of adrenaline begins to course through my veins. I sit, nearly catatonic in my seat, for nearly 10 minutes before I realize I haven’t moved.
I glance around, making sure I’m still alone in my truck. I must’ve been having a flashback, but I’m not sure. I think I blacked out. At least my muscles didn’t decide to seize up in the process. I try to shake it off on my way inside. Once in the apartment, I complete the daily process of unloading and storing my weapon and changing my clothes. I usually thrive on structure and routine, but now everything is thrown off.
“Good thing tonight worked out,” Dallas’s voice echoes as she emerges from the hallway. “I have to start my project for senior capstone next week.”
I glance around aimlessly, and then clear my throat. “Why were you at Luca’s?”
I don’t beat around the bush.
Dallas looks me up and down, registering the tension in my muscles and sharp tone of my voice. She also doesn’t know about the tracker on her necklace.
Plausible deniability.
“I had to pick up something,” she replies, turning to the mirror and running her fingers through her hair.
“What?” I ask, my tone much harsher now.
She furrows her brow at my reflection. “Why are you talking to me like that?”
“Because I told you not to be alone with him.”
“Like, months ago,” she smiles. “You’re with him and Adrian all the time now. You get along. What’s the problem?”
“Yeah,me.Not you. So, answer me, Dallas.”
“I already told you. And how do you know I was anyway?”
