Chapter 6
LYRA
Unbelievable. A shift has never passed this quickly. I couldn’t hide my surprise when I saw the time. Making my way out of our department, I tap my time card and greet the people I pass by.
“Good luck with your date!” says Dea, one of the oldest nurses in here.
I cock my head in doubt. “Date? What date?” I never told them about Maverick. Though we usually share a lot, I don’t want to risk it, not with the dangers, not with how early everything is.
She winks. “You’ve had a spring in your step ever since you came in today. And I can sniff love in the air!”
I chuckle but turn away quickly so she won’t notice my cheeks growing pink.
She’d immediately know she’s right. There is love in the air, and though the shift passed quickly, I can’t wait to see Maverick again.
He’s supposed to meet me for dinner, and even if he doesn’t want to claim me yet, I know we can spend a while making out, just like we did yesterday.
My lips tingled for so long after he left.
I can only think of his mouth on me and the way his hands hold on to my hips.
Like we belong together. Like he can’t let me go.
It’s this feeling of belonging that makes my heart swell with affection, that makes me want to run home instead of waiting for the train.
I feel silly and thrilled, pacing from side to side, chewing on my bottom lip as my racing heart counts the time.
Is that what being in love feels like? Like you can barely breathe when he isn’t around? Like life has become more beautiful just because he’s with me?
I take the train home, tapping my foot as it speeds up.
A man nearby stares, surely thinking I’m going out of my mind.
I don’t hide my smile, even as the man picks up his phone and whispers into it.
Wow, rude. Is he telling a friend about this silly woman grinning to herself on the train.
Best past? I don’t even care. Why would I?
I’m about to see Maverick. Maybe getting out of your comfort zone is good here and there.
After hopping out of the train and rushing up the stairs, I make my way home in a blind rush.
I unlock the door and grab the doorknob.
It’s a bit loose. Shoot, I should take a look at this.
Old building and everything, but if the owner thinks I screwed something up and didn’t fix it, he’ll be pissed.
Shaking my head, I expel any thoughts of problems. I’ll see to it later. Maybe ask Maverick for help. Another fit of giggles takes me as I picture him fixing things around my house, shirtless, the muscles of his back moving beneath his skin.
Women can fix things themselves, but it’s much more entertaining to let the men do it. It also boosts their egos, and I think Maverick needs some ego boosting. Some work on his self-esteem. And I want to be there for him.
I put my things away, kick off my shoes, and then go straight to my window. Maybe he’s downstairs, making sure everything’s safe before he comes up. He could have called me, but he might not want to be seen with me yet. I crack the window open, struggle with it, then pop my head out.
The street looks as empty as it was yesterday, but now I know this means nothing. Maverick can sink into the shadows and disappear as much as he wants. So I take a breath and cry out—“Maverick?”
There are no replies, no shadows taking shape.
I call again, but still nothing. Weird. Is he late?
Will he come straight to my place? With a shrug, I close the window again.
Oof. Got to put some oil here; it’s so hard to get it open.
It would suck in an emergency. Maybe I’ll ask Maverick to take a look at that, too.
A floorboard creaks in my bedroom. I whirl around, my heart shooting to my throat. “Rick?” Did he come in by himself? Just to surprise me? But then, why didn’t he reply when I called him a moment ago?
A man steps out of my room. It’s not Maverick. He brings a forefinger up to his lips, asking for silence. I swallow, my heartbeat thundering in my chest. Who is this? What is he doing here? Then he motions at the knife he’s carrying.
My knees turn to jelly. I stumble, almost dropping to the ground.
“Who are you?” I ask, my voice trembling.
As a nurse, I’m trained for emergencies, but emergencies where someone’s hurt, where I need to take fast, rational decisions to keep the person alive until an ambulance arrives. This? I wasn’t trained for this.
The man ends the space between us in two steps.
He grips my arm and presses the cold metal of the knife to my cheek.
I freeze. “Quiet, doll. Step away from the window.” He drags me to the middle of the living room, then opens an all-knowing smile.
“Don’t worry. If you collaborate, it’ll all end soon enough. ”
End? How? Is he going to let me go, or is he going to kill me? A knot tightens in my throat. “What do you want? I have nothing. I’m just a nurse.”
He clucks his tongue, stroking my cheek with the tip of his knife.
“You have much to offer, doll. Do you know why? Because Maverick has been terrifying the Westside gangs for years now. You never know if you’ll wake up in the morning.
Never know when the other gangs will send him after you.
There are no rules for men like Maverick.
Whoever pays more gets rid of their enemies.
And Maverick has done a good job in killing whoever he was supposed to. ”
“So what?” I bite back. “I don’t even know who this Maverick is. You brought your problems into the wrong house.”
His smile doesn’t falter. “Don’t you think I heard you calling for him?
Besides, we watched you two, doll. We know how much he cares.
” His knife scrapes down my cheek to my neck and my collarbones.
A shiver of fear races down my spine. “And he will be heartbroken when he learns what I’ve done with you. That’s how we catch him.”
I try to look in control, but my hands tremble as I tilt my chin up and glare back at the man. “What are you going to do?”
And maybe I shouldn’t have asked, because the man smirks. “I’m going to have so much fun before I tear you apart and leave the pieces for him.”
Tears sting the back of my eyes. This is what Maverick meant when he said it was dangerous for me to get involved.
And he was right. I have no way out. The window is too hard to shove open, the door locked and far away.
This man can do whatever he wants to me.
Maverick was right. I shouldn’t have gotten involved.
Now I’m going to be tortured and killed, and all because I took a step I wasn’t meant to.