Zelda
Sawyer is upright in an instant, and I clutch at the sheets and comforter like a fool, like covering my breasts is going to do anything to help resolve whatever situation this is.
It’s spring verging on summer, not the middle of winter, and there’s nothing that would make that door open like that, unless my parents decided to conduct a raid, which they would never do.
They’ve been asleep for hours on the second floor of the house, two floors and what seems now like miles away.
It’s the middle of the night, and someone—
Someone is breaking into my apartment.
Sawyer reaches for his boxers and throws me his shirt, and I can see in the tension of every muscle that he’s getting ready to take somebody apart, getting ready to put himself between me and whoever is out there.
Please let this be some freak accident, some gust of wind. I think these thoughts furiously while I tug on Sawyer’s shirt over my head and stand up. Please let this be that I forgot to lock the door and somehow it came open and in a few minutes we’ll be laughing about this.
Sawyer wrenches open the door to the bedroom, shirtless, jeans on. “Stay here.” He tosses the words over his shoulder, his face a mask of determined rage, and my heart sinks into my toes. Did he know something like this was coming? Did he know, but not warn me?
I wait one heartbeat and follow him, creeping out to where the hallway opens up into the main part of the basement. It’s Sawyer’s voice that I hear first.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Domino?”
I peek carefully out from around the corner.
There are two other people in the basement now.
One of them looks like a bigger version of Sawyer—muscled arms, dark t-shirt.
When Sawyer speaks, he grins, and it’s evil, full of sharp teeth.
The other man—the man who Sawyer is looking at—is shorter, but somehow he doesn’t look any less deadly, in his dark jacket.
“I came to collect my property.”
“What property?” Sawyer practically spits the words.
Domino—it has to be a nickname—smiles slowly, like a snake that’s about to swallow a rat whole. “I don’t appreciate it when my staff members leave so abruptly, Sawyer.” It’s like Sawyer hasn’t asked a question.
Sawyer folds his arms over his chest. “It was a sudden decision. I’d have given more notice if I had it myself.”
A giggle wells up in my chest and I have to swallow it back. Why are they talking about notice when this guy is a drug dealer? It’s not like Sawyer quit working at an insurance firm. If he had, his former boss wouldn’t be standing in my living room right now.
“I don’t appreciate it.”
Sawyer shrugs. “There’s nothing I can do about that. I’m sorry if I caused you an inconvenience.”
“You did. And you didn’t even have the courtesy—” It’s meaningless, out of the mouth of somebody like Domino, but he says it anyway. “—to return my property.”
“What property?” Sawyer's voice is completely level, but I can see the muscles in his shoulders tensing. How long is this going to go on before—?
Before Domino either leaves, or something more drastic happens. That’s the scenario that’s unfolding right in front of my eyes, and my entire body goes cold at the thought. These men kicked in the door of my apartment. They could do a lot worse.
“You have a gun that belongs to me. I want it back.”
Sawyer runs a hand through his hair. “No problem. But my car isn’t here. It’s down the block.”
At that moment, Domino’s eyes shift from Sawyer’s face and land directly on my eyes. My muscles work on instinct, pulling me back around the corner, but his voice follows me. “Come out here, sweetheart. Are you Sawyer’s friend?”
Sawyer doesn’t say anything. I lock my jaws together to keep my teeth from chattering with the icy fear that’s covering me from head to toe and force myself out of the hallway.
With every step I take, I’m reminded that Sawyer’s shirt is long but not that long, and like a fool, I didn’t think to put on panties.
When I come out into the light, Domino whistles. “Wow, Sawyer. You have yourself a nice piece here. What’s your name, gorgeous?” His voice is high, somehow, and that makes it worse.
“Z—Zelda.”
He smiles at me, and it’s a hundred times darker than the smile he gave Sawyer. “That’s an unusual name.”
I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say to that, so I say nothing.
Domino waves a hand. “Come forward a little more, so we can talk.”
I step forward until I’m level with Sawyer. No matter what happens, I’m not going any farther.
“On second thought, maybe we should—”
“Stop playing around, Domino.” Sawyer’s voice is full of command, and when I glance up at him, his eyes are blue pools of rage. “I’ll take you to the car and give you your gun. Don’t push me.”
“Don’t push you?” Domino laughs like Sawyer has told him the funniest joke he’s ever heard.
Sawyer clenches his jaw, then works to relax it. “It wouldn’t be a good idea.” His tone is totally reasonable. “There are lots of witnesses around here.”
“At two in the morning?”
“People stay up.”
“The whole neighborhood is dark.”
“Then it won’t be hard for you to get out of here with nobody seeing.”
“I don’t care if people see me.” Domino steps toward Sawyer, one step, then stops.
“Let’s go.” Sawyer is finished playing games. My heart jitters in my chest.
“Yes.” Domino nods slowly. “Let’s all go.”
“Zelda isn’t coming.”
“No?”
“No. She’s going to stay right here. She has nothing to do with this, and you have nothing to do with her.”
“I disagree. I happen to know that you took her on a job with you.” Domino’s eyes go back to mine. “Where do you work, sweetheart? The police department?”
I answer before I can think. “At—at the library. I work at the library.”
“Of course you do.” Domino steps toward the door. “You can leave her here with Rick, if that’s what you want.” He jerks his head toward the tower of muscle next to him, and the guy opens his own jacket.
At the sight of the gun in a holster at his waist, my mouth goes dry, and my mind goes absolutely blank. I don’t have to look at Sawyer to feel his tension.
“Or we can all go.”
Please don’t leave me here with him.
Sawyer opens his mouth to answer, but Domino cuts him off. “You know what? Fuck the choices. We’re all going. Come on, sweetheart. You’re going to lead the way.”