12. River
CHAPTER 12
RIVER
W hen Bane said he’d call Daniel, the forensic artist, I didn’t know exactly what I’d been expecting, but it was not the young man who sat opposite me at the table. My mind had conjured some balding old man with white hair and round glasses. That was about as far from the truth as it could get. Well, apart from the glasses. Daniel looked like a cross between your typical nerd and a prince. He’d coiffed his light blond hair and hidden his bright blue eyes behind a pair of thick black-rimmed glasses, while a permanent smirk played on his lips.
For someone so small, he was extremely intimidating.
“I want you to give me as many details as you can. The more insight you can offer, the more accurate my impression of Dahlia will be.”
I nodded along as I listened to him explain that while hair and eye color were sometimes the most obvious characteristics people noticed, it was the little things like moles, scars, and imperfections that really helped in cases like this.
Bane set down three mugs of coffee and took the seat next to me. His hand dropped to my thigh and squeezed in that reassuring casual way normal people touched. I jolted, nearly knocking my mug over as I tried to pick it up. I narrowed my eyes at Bane, who gave me an unrepentant grin and a firmer squeeze.
“Daniel’s right, Riv. It’s the little distinguishing features that people remember, like crooked teeth or a scar. It’s weird what sticks in people’s minds, and it can make all the difference when we run her through facial recognition.”
Daniel pointed at the surveillance photo that started all of this off. “You said this isn’t the Dahlia you know. Can you talk me through the main differences?”
I glanced at Bane, begging him to help me out, because I didn’t like it when people judged me for not being able to vocalize my thoughts. He cleared his throat and shot me a small smile before turning to Daniel. He mirrored Daniel’s pose and clasped his hands in front of him, resting them on the tabletop. “River is nonverbal. I can give you my phone?—”
“Oh, that’s not a problem. I’ve got a text speech app on my tablet. So if you message me the details, it’ll talk me through everything, and I can make any necessary adjustments.” He turned to look at me with a note of understanding in his eyes. “I’ve worked with lots of individuals who have been through extremely traumatic events, survivors just like you. Take your time. I have nothing else to do today.”
“Great. That’s just great, isn’t it, Riv?” Bane ground out through his clenched jaw, the muscles in his cheeks rippling.
I nodded and pulled out my phone, but Bane snatched it before I could hand it to Daniel, looking like he wanted to smash it. I snorted at his antics and shook my head before taking a much needed sip of coffee. It was almost like Bane wanted me to have the least amount of contact with Daniel as possible.
As if he could read between the lines, Daniel shot me a smirk and an eye roll over his cup as Bane connected my phone with the app on Daniel’s tablet.
“This is going to be interesting,” Daniel muttered under his breath as he clicked a few things on his tablet. Amusement danced in his eyes as he glanced between Bane and me. “Whenever you’re ready, River.”
Over the next hour, we went through every aspect of Dahlia’s appearance in fine detail. From the more obvious things like hair and eye color, to her age and preferred clothing and makeup choices. By the time we were finished and Daniel handed me his tablet, my stomach was filled with lead and my chest was trapped in a vise.
That’s her, right down to the dead, heartless eyes. It’s like I’m looking at a photograph of her.
I didn’t think I’d ever get used to the automated voice on his tablet, but I felt compelled to tell him.
“That really isn’t the Dahlia we’ve been looking into,” Bane said. “We’ll get to work on that right away once you send it through. You’ve got my email, right?”
“I do, yes.” Daniel began packing up under Bane’s watchful eye just as a call came through and Bane left to take it. We both watched him walk away, the silence stretching between us. “I know today wasn’t easy for you, River,” Daniel said. “But I want to thank you for being so thorough. I’m so sorry for everything you’ve been through. I can’t even imagine how you’ve survived, but I’m glad you did.” He got up and tucked his chair under the table. “You’re good for him, you know.”
I tilted my head in confusion and picked up my phone.
How so?
Daniel smiled. “For once, he has something far more important than work to think about.”
I don’t understand.
“You’re as bad as each other.” He rolled his eyes and rested his arms on the back of the chair. “You’ll see. Just be patient with him. He’s been completely focused on work for as long as I’ve known him. It’s his life.” I blanched at his words like I’d been physically struck. Every word out of his mouth just confirmed my thoughts. “Oh god, no. No, River.” Daniel’s shoulders slumped. “I wasn’t referring to you as a job. Quite the opposite, in fact. Take care of him. I wish you both happiness.”
I sat there in confusion as Daniel shut the front door behind him. “Has he gone already? That’s a shame,” Bane called from the kitchen. The sound of cupboards banging and the happy humming sound he was making made me realize he really wasn’t as upset as his tone implied. Annoyed that he’d left without saying goodbye maybe, but that wasn’t what had gotten him all riled up while Daniel was here, or what now made him so happy he had left. Maybe there was an issue at work that made their relationship tenuous?
“How about we have some lunch?” My stomach rumbled as if on cue, loud enough for Bane to hear all the way in the kitchen. He barked a laugh and asked me what I thought about soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. The last time I’d had that was at Mrs. Wilkinson’s. The memory of her kindness made my throat feel tight and my eyes burn from emotions I had no place feeling.
After lunch, I crashed on the couch with another episode of Those About To Die queued up. There was something about the scheming and backstabbing that I could relate to, along with the amount of sex slaves that were used, bought, and sold. I didn’t know what it said about me, but I had a morbid fascination trying to work out who was going to be the next one to die.
Sometimes, I wondered what would have happened to me if Dahlia hadn’t kept me as part of her Holme Oaks operation. I wasn’t na?ve enough—any more—to think she kept me because she liked me. It was more that I fit the clientele she had, although I didn’t know whether it was because of my age or looks. All I knew was that I made her money, and it kept me off the streets with a somewhat questionable roof over my head.
“What’s this then?” Bane said as he sat at the other end of the gray couch. I hit the info button so he could see a synopsis of the show. The warmth on his face cooled as he read it. His lips thinned, but he said nothing as he pulled his phone out and started typing.
Ignoring him, I hit play and lost myself in the twisted world of the Roman Empire. I was so engrossed in the threesome happening on Domintiaus’s bed that a loud knocking at the door made me freeze and drop the remote onto the wooden floor.
“Who the hell...” Bane yanked the door open. “Oh, hey, Colton. What brings you around?”
I glanced over the back of the couch, straining to hear the muttered conversation taking place, but it was pointless, so I restarted the episode. Just as Tanax lost everything, Bane’s voice rose. “You can’t be serious?!” he said. “I’m working right now.” His words landed like a sucker punch to my gut.
“It doesn’t look that way,” Colton challenged. The scraping of claws against the wood floor, accompanied by soft yips, had me slowly unclenching. “Oh shi—shoot!”
A small black bundle charged across the house and threw itself onto my lap. A little black puppy bounced on my legs and worked its way up my chest until it was licking my face with abandon. My hands smoothed down its wriggly back of fine curled fur as its cold wet nose sniffed my neck. “That tickles,” I rasped at the little intruder.
“Oh. My. God. I’m so sorry, River,” Colton said as he knelt at my feet, trying to pull the little pup off my lap. But it had other ideas and dug its way under my blankets. “Umm.” Colton looked at me with wide eyes and a smile. “I think he likes you,” he whispered conspiratorially.
“No, Colton. No way.”
“Aww, but Shadow seems so at home snuggled up with River.”
Bane stomped over to us, shoulders tense, agitation radiating off him. “I told you…” he bit out, but the strain on his face melted away when he looked at me and Shadow. The ice thawed in his eyes the longer he stared at us, and something I couldn’t name flitted across his features.
“It’s only while I take Cooper and Lady to the vet. It’ll be like two hours max.” Colton waved his hand from side to side as if to say thereabouts. I could see Bane’s refusal on the tip of his tongue as he inhaled deeply and screwed his eyes shut.
“I-it’s…f-fine,” I rasped, stroking Shadow as he slept against my chest.
“It is?” Colton’s eyebrows hit his hairline and a cunning smile curved his lips. “Of course it is. I won’t be long.” He patted Bane’s heaving chest, turned on his heel, and whistled his way out of the house.
“I can’t believe you,” Bane grouched, shaking his head as he toed the floorboards. He shoved his hands in the back pockets of his pants and peeked up at me. “What did you want to do with it?”
“Shadow?” I whispered, holding the little pup against me and feeling some of the ice that had lanced my veins thaw at Bane’s question.
Bane nodded. “He’s clearly here for you, not me.” I scoffed. “So we can stay in and watch TV, or we could go out and get you some fresh air and take the little guy for a walk. The choice is yours.”
My teeth sunk into my bottom lip, thrown by the question and the choices. I’d spent so much of the last few years scared shitless and following orders that it was strange to be given a choice. I didn’t think I was allowed to go outside after the first time I’d met Colton. Bane had made it seem like an impossibility for my safety, but now? Now, it was an option, and I didn’t exactly know what to make of that. I mulled over the merits of watching the rest of the episode or getting outside for a bit. The chance of fresh air and the wind on my face was something I’d missed so much being caged in that rotten room. The sky was overcast, a dove gray with wild clouds rolling in that made it look like it was going to rain.
“I’ve always wanted to dance in the rain.” I smiled a wobbly smile, wincing at the pain that seared my throat as my breath stuttered.
Bane tipped his head to the side like I was a puzzle he was trying to piece together. “Dancing in the rain, huh?”
Heat filled my cheeks, and I hid behind the blankets. “Yeah.” My vocal cords ached so much, tears pricked my eyes.
“Here.”
Bane handed me an uncapped chilled bottle of water, which I gratefully took, swallowing down a few mouthfuls. The cool liquid soothed the raw lining of my throat, numbing the pain for a while. I smiled in thanks and handed it back to him. Bane chuckled with amusement as he leaned over me and whipped a bead of water off my lips with a gentle swipe of his thumb. I froze, mesmerized, as he then brought that thumb to his mouth and sucked off the single bead of moisture.
“O-oh,” I gasped. Warmth flushed through me, every part of me magnetized, drawn to the beautiful monolith of a man standing in front of me. I wanted to merge myself with him so we could never be parted, so he would never forget me. Our time was fleeting, and I hated that more than anything. Right person, wrong time and place. Maybe in my next life, I’d be a person worthy of his love.
Bane cleared his throat, effectively breaking the moment. “I’m, uh, just going to go take a piss.” How pleasant. I rolled my eyes and sunk my fingers into Shadow’s soft fur to stop the aching burn building in the back of my eyes. “And grab a jacket before we head out. I, um…” He licked his lips and shifted foot to foot. “I suggest you do the same.”
“Well, that was interesting, huh?” I whispered, as I looked into Shadow’s dark eyes and shrugged. “Don’t look at me like that, please. I know exactly what you’re thinking, but I can’t. He’s too good for me. In what world do we work, huh?”
I pulled Shadow tightly against my chest and carried him up to my room. Once the door closed behind us, the vise around my chest loosened, and I sucked in a deep breath as the little pup settled onto my bed, scooting around until he found a comfy spot to curl up in.
My mind was in turmoil. Being here was more dangerous than I could have anticipated. I wanted things I shouldn’t, couldn’t, want. Don’t make me fall for you, Bane, because there will be no one there to catch me if I do.
I wiped the stray tear from my cheek when I caught sight of it in the bathroom mirror. The man staring back at me had changed. The richer tone to my complexion looked more natural, and my cheeks were flushed with life. The dark bruises beneath my eyes had softened, and the glimmer in my eyes looked a lot like hope. Warning bells sounded in my head. Abort. Abort. Abort.
Every wall I rebuilt, Bane effortlessly destroyed. He crushed them under his feet like a barbarian coming after my soul. The part that hurt the most was he didn’t even realize he was leaving me defenseless in a world that wanted to swallow me whole and spit me out in the gutter.
Just one more night, I promised myself. Just one more chance to look at him. One last opportunity to taste him. One last time to see him smile, that special one belonging only to me.
Tomorrow, I would set him free.
With my jacket and scarf on and Shadow in my arms, I raced down the stairs, ready to savor every last second I had with him.
Bane looked up at me, his heart-stopping smile spread across his face. “You ready to go?” I nodded, and Shadow wriggled in my arms and jumped down to the floor, pawing at the door. Bane laughed. The deep rumbling boom was one I’d never forget. It was tattooed in my memory. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, holding me close, the movement as natural as breathing, and guided us out of the house. “Come with me. There’s somewhere I’d like to show you.”
My heart lurched in my chest. I’d follow you anywhere, in this world and the next, if only I could. “Sure.”