AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fox, you’re not Fred Astaire.”
His head popped up, veering his focus from the wound on my side. “I could be Fred Astaire.”
“You don’t know how to tap dance.”
“I happen to have a few moves,” he countered.
“Why would you want to be this Fred person?” Wren asked.
Fox’s head snapped to her in shock. “I’m sorry, did you say this Fred person?”
She flinched back, shifting closer to me. “Um…is that wrong?”
“Fred Astaire is only the best tap dancer of all time. He is…the cream of the crop. The best of the best. The pick of the litter. The first in show. The crown jewel. The?—”
“Fox,” I snapped. “We get it. He’s the best.”
“Not just the best. When he moves…” I thought for a moment that Fox would actually start crying. It made me a little uncomfortable. But he sniffled and grinned at us. “Anyway, he’s dancing and then realizes these men are after him. A whole line of them. Hundreds. Well, not literally hundreds. You couldn’t fit that many men on the stage. But I digress, there were a lot of them. And he took them all out.”
“On stage?” Wren screeched.
Fox stopped moving and slowly turned to face her. “You know it was a play, right?”
“I thought it was a movie.”
“In the movie, he did a play. Well, actually, it was more of a show. A dance performance of the ages,” he said, turning and looking off into the distance.
I wasn’t sure we’d both survive the trip with Fox. When I made the deal to go on the run with him, I hadn’t truly considered what I was getting myself into. Like the fact that I’d have to deal with his trivia, the weird foods, and his over-the-top personality.
He pulled the thread through again, continuing to jabber on about Fred Astaire. The whole time, Wren held my hand. Her thumb started to brush over my hand in a soothing gesture. I noticed if I tensed even slightly, she did it again. I loved the feel of her skin against mine. I would give anything to feel this over and over again for as long as possible. But I knew Fox was right. When this job was over, she’d go back to her fancy house and her fancy life and leave me in the dust. I couldn’t get attached to her. It would only hurt me in the end.
I couldn’t give her the lifestyle she craved. I had money, but not the kind of money she was used to. Not to mention, I didn’t believe in wasting money on the kind of extravagance she was used to. I liked my manicures and pedicures. I spent money on facial creams to keep my skin young, but that’s where I drew the line. I would never be able to give her the expensive jewelry or the beautiful clothes she wanted. And at the end of the day, that’s all she really cared about.
“—done.”
“What?” I asked, turning to face Fox.
“You’re all done. You can let her go now.”
I glanced at our joined hands and slowly extricated my hand from hers. “Right.” I pushed upright in bed. “I’m going to clean up.”
“Don’t get that wet,” Fox shouted as I stalked off to the bathroom.
I slammed the door and leaned back against it, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. I could do this. I would find out who was after her, then return her to her life and move on with mine.
It was the way it had to be.
25
WREN
I stared out the window at the empty parking lot and tried not to panic. Yes, the room was horrid. Yes, I was out of my element here. But I could handle this. Brock said he was trying to keep me safe, and I had to trust him. It wasn’t like I had the skills to get away from these guys and get back home.
But how long was I expected to stay in these accommodations? It was so drab and…I shuddered as I looked at the drapes. They were so old. And the dust buildup in the room was something that Richard would never get away with in our house. And on top of all that, there was no room service. How was I supposed to get food? I was hungry, and since I hadn’t eaten earlier, my stomach felt like it was gnawing at me from the inside out.
I would just have to tell them I couldn’t stay here. I would demand to leave this wretched place and go home. They had to listen to me. Brock seemed to genuinely care about me, and Fox—Well, Fox was…interesting, to say the least.
Turning, I stared at Brock laying on the bed. He looked like he was in pain. How could I demand we move when just laying there looked like it hurt? I was being selfish, something I didn’t usually care about. But this wasn’t my world. I was thrust into this alternate universe where guns and knives were totally normal and no one cared about societal norms or polite conversation. There was no one to lunch with and no cameras to smile for.
