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Chapter 15 Milosh

15 MILOSH

‘Okay, this is the last one, promise.’ Daphne smiles, walking into yet another store. I don’t catch the name of this one as we step in but they clearly specialize in unnecessarily expensive, extravagant shoes. Daphne wanders over to a display, eyeing up a pair of heels that have a gladiator-like strap with butterflies attached to them, and a sparkly silver sole.

They look obnoxious.

‘Aren’t they stunning?’ Daphne glows up at me. I’ll be honest: I detest clothes shopping, but seeing her face light up every time she sees something she likes is like a reward.

‘Excuse me.’ Daphne picks up a gold, butterfly-less version of the shoe she just showed me and gently taps the sales assistant’s arm as she’s walking by. ‘Do you have these in a size thirty-eight?’

The sales assistant stops for a moment, looking at Daphne as if she’s trying to place a long-lost friend, before smiling at her and glancing down at the shoe in question. ‘Sure! Let me go grab them for you.’

‘Thank you!’ Daphne smiles before taking a seat on a plush cream chair. I stay standing but move closer to her, ensuring her face is blocked from view to those outside the store.

The sales assistant comes back, box in hand, with an overly bright smile on her face. ‘Let me know if you need anything else,’ she says, as she hands the box to Daphne and moves away from us, but not out of sight.

‘Okay, do you think these would go well with pink?’ she asks, sticking her sparkle-clad foot out at me. She must have me mistaken for her yappy cousin.

‘I have no clue.’

‘Ugh! Boys,’ chirps the irritatingly peppy sales assistant. ‘They just don’t get it, do they!’

‘No, they do not.’ Daphne giggles, melting away some of my irritation. I don’t know what it is about her but even though I’m on high alert at every moment, what with the Daveeno threat still very real, when I’m around her she brings me back to the calm and peace I felt when I was a child. Not when I was in care or living with my aunt, but when my parents were alive. There’s just something about the way she walks, talks, acts and smells that draws you in.

‘What bag are you wearing with it?’ asks the sales assistant, coming to sit down next to Daphne.

I tune them out as they talk endlessly about things that don’t interest me, and take the time to remind myself of the emergency exits. I already know the layout of the mall from studying its blueprints when I got this job, somehow knowing I would end up being dragged here. But I’ve never been here in person and there’s only so much you can get from floorplans and stills. I’ve been pretty vigilant since we arrived, looking out for potential threats, and all’s been fine until we stepped in this store. I don’t know what it is about this place in particular but it’s set my body buzzing with anticipation.

I look around and spot four security cameras, three other members of staff and Little Miss Peppy. Something about her rubs me the wrong way.

She’s just too… eager.

‘Okay, it’s settled. I’ll take them both!’ I turn to face Daphne, to see that she has a pair of the sparkly shoes in one hand and a pair of white red-bottoms in the other.

‘Great, let’s get you to the checkout!’

I walk closely behind Daphne, really playing up the whole boyfriend thing as I carry all the bags we’ve accumulated up to the counter with us. She leans against me as the girl wraps up the shoes, stroking her hand slowly up and down my arm without thinking, as if this is how we stand on a daily basis. The weight of her body mixed with her feminine, sweet scent begs me to close my eyes and savour this moment, but I have to concentrate.

This is all an act, not real life.

I just need to leave this store, get her home and create some distance between us.

She tips her head up, causing her chestnut eyes to appear bigger, and softens her voice, a dainty smile gracing her lips. ‘Milo, are you sure you don’t want to get another pair of shoes? You can never have too many.’

All I can do is shake my head stiffly, looking at anything but her, after the name Milo fell from her delicate lips. People have tried to shorten my name before and it always sounded forced. But, of course, as soon as Daphne Green does it, it becomes my new favourite sound.

‘Would you like the receipt in the bag?’ the girl jabbers, drawing me back to the present.

‘Yes, please.’ Daphne smiles brightly.

‘I just have to say, I absolutely love your outfit! Where did you get it?’ the sales associate asks, a weird look on her face, sending my brain into medium alert. She hasn’t done anything to warrant a red alert yet, but her fidgety movements and darting eyes suggest she’s not as innocent as she wants to seem.

‘Oh, thank you!’ Daphne all but gushes. ‘It’s from Zimmerman. I got it last year but I think they still have it in stock and the shoes are the Loro Piana summer charm slides!’

‘Would you mind if I take a picture of it, just so I remember what I’m looking for when I’m searching online later?’

‘Oh, um… ‘ She hesitates for a moment. ‘Sure, okay.’

As the sales associate smiles and bends down to retrieve her phone from under the till, I notice the beginning of a tattoo just below her collarbone.

Is that…?

Then it hits me. It hits me like a ton of bricks.

‘You don’t need a picture, all you need is the name,’ I state, looking down at Daphne who’s now sporting a confused expression. ‘Do you remember what it’s called, baby?’ I continue the conversation, trying not to arouse suspicion as I look around discreetly at all the exits again, planning our route out.

‘Um, yeah, it’s the illustration buttoned mini,’ she says slowly, still confused but following my lead anyway.

‘There you go,’ I tell the sales associate. ‘Write that down and you won’t need a picture.’ Her face falls, morphing into a scowl for a split second before she pulls a strained smile into place.

‘Thank you, that’s super helpful. Have a great day.’

‘That was odd, right?’ Daphne asks as we move towards the door but I’m not paying attention to her, I’m watching the sales associate out of the corner of my eye. As soon as we checked out she left the till, even though there was a large queue behind us.

Now she has her phone to her ear and her back turned to us. I slow my steps, straining to see if I can hear anything.

‘Yeah, I just saw her, I swear… yeah… pink floral dress and pink sandals… hair in a ponytail… I know, I know.’ Then the girl starts giggling like a crazed teenager. ‘But be careful, she’s with her boyfriend… all black… yeah, it could be, I don’t know.’

‘Milosh?’ Daphne’s voice brings me back and I quickly devise a plan.

‘Yep, sorry, got side-tracked,’ I say, when the sales assistant turns around and spots us. ‘Let’s go.’ I guide Daphne out of the store and start to devise a plan.

‘Milosh, what was that?’ Daphne says, increasing her speed to match mine.

‘You know the guy who broke into your house the other night?’

‘Yeah?’

‘He has a friend. And she’s the one who just tried to take a picture of you.’

‘Wait, what?’ Daphne looks at me in shock, momentarily slowing her pace before almost instantly picking it back up. I guide her down the escalator as I scan around for anyone who looks a little too interested in us.

‘We need to change our clothes,’ I state, noticing a group of kids gathered around the entrance to a store on the ground floor.

‘Milosh, wait, how do you know that she and that guy are working together?’

‘They both have the same tattoo with their organization’s insignia.’ We reach the bottom of the escalator just as I spot the sales associate with a burly guy on the floor above. ‘I’ll explain all of this later, but for now you need to trust me, okay?’

‘Yeah, o-okay.’

I guide her through the group of kids and into the shop, grabbing a white shirt off the racks swiftly, looking for some pants. Daphne beats me to it and grabs a pair of grey slacks, pointing to a sign: Women’s Clothing, Bottom Floor . I nod, slightly taken aback by how quickly she’s adjusted to all of this, and bring her downstairs. I find a green top as she seizes some black joggers and looks up at me. ‘What now?’ I look around and spot changing cubicles on the other side of the room.

‘Keep your head down and leave your bags here.’ We walk over to the changing room and I grab two pairs of reading glasses and a tote bag as we head in. Luckily for us, it’s unstaffed so we walk straight through and into a stall. I close the curtain and turn to look at Daphne who’s now visibly shaking.

‘What languages do you know?’ I ask, taking all the clothes off the hangers, trying to distract her.

‘What?’

‘Languages, do you speak any fluently?’

‘Uh, French, BSL, Mandarin and Russian.’

‘Okay, from here on out we’re only to speak to each other in Russian. Don’t use my real name, use a pet name or a fake name. I don’t care, just not my real name. Khorosho ?’

‘Khorosho.’

I pass her the new clothes and start pulling off my shirt, speaking in Russian again: ‘Get changed and put these on.’ I pass her the glasses. ‘Stuff your old clothes in the tote bag once you’re done.’

As soon as I’ve handed her the items, I turn and face the wall to give her some privacy. I’ve been so busy figuring out the next move that I didn’t even think about the fact that we’d have to get changed in such close proximity.

Together.

Just keep it professional.

Keep. It. Professional.