NerthusI run down the stairs hastily, bursting into Danny’s bedroom.He lowers the cuffs off his ears annoyed, groaning, “Amber! You have to stop bursting in like this! What if I was chatting with a girl?”“Oh, baby, I’m sorry. But don’t let them get you to take your clothes off in front of a camera! You don’t have to do things you are not ready for. You can take it slow. And scammers are everywhere!” I say as I walk to him and he scoffs, letting his arms slump.“Why do you believe that girls are just interested in me because they want to scam me?”Bending down, I grab his chin. “Oh, no! I didn’t say that! I’m sure you are a popular
Danny The door opens and closes with a bang, causing Goldie to lift his head in his crib. “Oh, I guess Arawn is home.” I gather all my books and notes to stuff them into my backpack quickly before I run downstairs. Arawn has halted in the entrance hall and is still buried in his phone as I reach him. He lifts his head to nod at me with a smile. “Hey, Danny.” “Hey, Arawn. Amber said she would be home late tonight. Are we watching the game on the big screen?” I ask excitedly as Goldie barks and jumps around his feet. He hums, agreeing with me absentmindedly while he still checks his messages. “Did you look for a dog school like she asked you to?” “No,” I groan, swinging my arms. “I don’t want to go to one. And I’m sure that Goldie doesn’t need it anyway.” Sighing, he closes his eyes shortly, before he mumbles. “The damn dog needs a better name.” “I can train him too.” “You can’t, Deiniol,” he growls. And how I fucking hate it when he uses my full name. It always means bad new
Arawn I slap my phone against my thigh repeatedly as I look out of the window of the driving car. “Elia says that he isn’t in the usual park,” Aleksei says as he disconnects the call, making me hum absentmindedly. Maybe I should let him scurry around in peace, granting him the time he needs. But I am afraid about him doing a stupidity, or worse, going looking for drugs again. And the more I try to convince myself that it isn’t that dramatic, the bad sensation that I have in the pit of my stomach grows. I wonder where Nerthus went to look for him, and I hope she got a better trace to follow than us, because she didn’t answer my last texts. But maybe I’m just going crazy for nothing. Another call reaches Aleksei, who takes it to learn that one of my men checked out another dealing spot, and he wasn’t there either. Groaning, I lean back into my seat, continuing to play with my phone as it suddenly rings. I look at the unknown number and pick it up reluctantly. “Oh, hello? Is th
Nerthus “Sweetie,” I want to comfort Danny who is curled up into a ball as they pushed him into a corner, but I can’t reach him. My heart races in my chest as I feel panic take over my body. I stretch along the dusty floor, scraping the tips of my fingers against it as I try to reach him desperately. Swallowing a sob, I sit back up and turn around. I pull at the chain tying my leg to the wall but it doesn’t budge, causing my fear to transform into a strangling sensation. “Baby, please. It’s all going to be okay.” “I’m so sorry,” he continues to sob as he hugs his legs even closer. “It’s all my fault.” I groan, pulling at the chain again as I reach out to touch him again. Kicking my legs, I pray to whatever entity is in charge of that God-forsaken place to just let me reach him. But he is too far away. Damn it! “Stop saying that! It’s not your fault,” I say, fighting to keep my voice from shaking. My limbs hurt and I can feel my nerves shaking as my body must be coping with th
Nerthus “Get him off me!” I scream pushing the dead body from me but failing miserably. Danny scurries around him a few times before he decides on what to do and how to get hold of the body the best way. With a groan, he pushes him off me, making me take a deep breath. “Oh, my God.” He remains standing, staring at the dead man with a void look while I drag myself over the ground to get to the gun he had kicked out of my hand. “Are you alright?” I ask as I sit up with a pained groan, and Danny nods. Laying the gun into my lap, I massage my hand as I take another deep breath. “I think he might broke my hand too.” Sighing, I look up while I let my shoulders slump. I watch Danny while my desperation still streams through me, and I can’t seem to be able to push it down. I know exactly that there is more where he came from. Danny has his gaze still directed to the dead man, his look is flowing into the void, and I gulp as I think about how I must get him out of this dark place as s
Nerthus The first thing I feel as I wake up is the cold surface I’m lying on. Turning my head to the side, I wait for my sight to focus while I notice that I can’t move. I seem to be constricted by ropes that are tying me to the table and I suddenly feel like I can’t breathe. My clothes are missing, my body shaking as I’m only dressed in my lingerie and I dread the moment when we will find out why we are in this shitty situation. My panic is crushing my throat, my breathing getting heavy as I try to pull at the ropes constricting me on the shiny surface. Checking the room, I see Danny lying next to me. He is bound to a table as well but seems to be still knocked out, and for a moment, I’m glad as I couldn’t take his desperation which would be adding to my panic. The gas must have been inducted into the room on purpose to knock us out and I fight hard not to faint at the thought. I groan, turning my head to the other side as I hope it will reduce the pulsating pain in my skull.
Nerthus It takes my lungs a few seconds to fill with enough air to push out a horrified scream. But it actually feels like it takes an eternity. Lizzy looks at us with a blank look before she sinks to the floor, collapsing in her own pool of blood. Arawn steps towards her with his gun still pointed and picks her gun up. “Are you alright?” he asks in our direction as he pushes the gun into the belt in the back of his pants. Danny nods, exhaling a deep breath, and I loop my arm around his, hugging him closer. “Let’s sit down. Shall we?” He slumps to the ground nearly immediately, tearing me with him. Nodding once again, he lets his shoulders slump and I turn my head to watch Arawn crouch down before me. Cupping my chin gently, he turns my head to inspect my face. “The ambulance is already on its way. I called Detective Ramirez. Are you feeling well enough to wait for them? Or shall I drive you to the ER?” “I’m fine,” I say, my voice nearly failing me as sobs rise in my throat.
Nerthus - Six months later I take a sip of my coffee, hugging my denim jacket closer as I watch the children run around the statue of Alice in Wonderland. Thinking about how my life has changed in the last year, I nearly can’t believe my luck and I push down the urge to ask myself how I deserved this kind of life. So many things have happened in these six months and it is just crazy how I’m just living my days with a partner in crime, an adopted boy and a stolen dog. As they had liquidated my uncle’s and aunt’s assets, and as they couldn’t get hold of my cousin, I got nominated as their heir. First, I didn’t want to have nothing to do with it, but with Arawn’s and Danny’s support, I got to the house where I lived before I came to New York and we searched for something that I would want to keep before he arranged for the clean-up and the sale of the house. Naturally, I didn’t want to keep anything. But as we searched the house, Danny found a hidden safe where there were various docu