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“You know we can't push back the appointment,” she teased him.
“I know.” He nodded. “Stay here…after I go.”
“Your dad is going to eventually want this place back.”
“Maybe, maybe not. It’s not under my name, and I was renting a whole other apartment. Maybe he thought I sold it and went out on my own. Maybe he’ll leave it. The company has enough properties, they probably won't worry about a single apartment. That's why I got it in the first place. It's a throwaway and it's paid for. It’s your safe place. I want you to be safe.”
The “without me” went unsaid.
“Okay, we’ll figure it out before we head out today,” she agreed.
“Take a shower and relax. I’ll see you when you get out.” A promise he made ever since he came back. She smiled and grabbed the burner phone before heading into the bathroom.
Mel paused, absorbing the details of his life scattered around the apartment. The few pictures he had of his father and him on their many trips. Despite being absent for business so often, Mel thought fondly of his dad. Money ensured Mel was taken care of, but it was more than that. When he could, his dad brought Mel along on business trips and took the time to share the art and food of the area with his son. Mel traced a finger over the photo of his dad and him in front of the World War II Museum. It was through his dad that he fell in love with New Orleans. He couldn't be angry over the absences when the man enriched him in so many other ways.
The idea of his dad coming back into the country sometime in the future, only to find his only child had been murdered, sent a shiver through Mel’s body. No parent should ever outlive their child.
The books and souvenirs he had collected over the years filled the bookcases. If he had a way to ensure it all went to Anastacia, he would. The lawyers already went over his will and where the property left at his apartment would go. He was sure it would go back to his father. Until then, everything would be in storage somewhere. This apartment was all he had of his life and the happiness he found in his afterlife.
“You’ve been staring at the same bookcase for the last five minutes,” Anastacia said from behind him. He turned to see her in his robe, hair twisted up in a towel.
“Getting a good sense of who I used to be and who I’d be remembered as.”
“You were a good guy when you were alive, Mel. Otherwise, you would have met the Gatekeepers before you got to me.”
“Blunt and to the point as always, dear,” he mumbled.
A knock at the front door pulled their attention away from the photos. Anastacia drew the robe tighter around herself as she padded to the door and went onto the balls of her feet to be eye-level with the peephole. Mel stood to the side, checking out the window, searching past the obvious delivery man. Checking for anything out of the ordinary and finding nothing but the usual plants crowding the walkway. Anastacia cracked the door open enough to pull in the small, boxed item.
“What’s this?” Mel followed her to the kitchen counter.
“I thought, since your abilities have reached a new level, maybe we can try something before we face the world. I asked Dominic to help with the delivery."
She opened the box, pushing it toward him on the other side of the counter. Inside were three fresh beignets, still warm and covered in powdered sugar.
Anastaciahurriedalongthecity streets, Mel instructing her on the turns of a longer but safer path to the station. They went around major streets and cut through some side alleyways where cars couldn’t reach.
“We’ll have to cut through the Industrial District. I know how you feel about that place,” Anastacia warned after crossing another street.
“If it keeps us off the main streets, it’s worth it.” Mel’s voice was strained.
“You know what alleyway we gotta cut through.” Even Anastacia felt cold at the thought.
“You’ll be with me this time,” he reminded her with a wink.
“Anastacia!”
They both turned to find Knight climbing out of his car. Alone.
“He found out,” Mel growled. “We aren’t far from the station. You can make it if you run.”
“I’m not running anymore.”
“Where the hell have you been?” Knight demanded as he crossed the street. “Are you okay?”
Anastacia didn’t know how to answer him. She stepped back toward the building behind her. “How did you find me, Knight?”
He chuckled as if she amused him. “You’ve been missing for four, almost five days and that’s what you’re worried about?”
