“Olivia,” Daniel said with a groan, dropping the phone into his coat pocket.
He hadn’t thought it possible, but Leon’s face went paler yet. “Shit. She must’ve...my phone. They found it.”
“Maybe,” Daniel said heavily. “Or...they could’ve gotten it from somewhere else.” That sound still lingered in the back of his mind.
They were in James’ rental. He had to assume that James had been home, at least. He wasn’t the type to be up bright and early for classes.
They had James. He couldn’t string the pieces together into any other conclusion. And now they’d be trying to work him for...anything. A hint about Owl. Or maybe the whole thing was just an elaborate trap to get him to rush in unprepared.
“What did she want?” he heard Leon say. “Breathe, man. You look like you’re about to pass out.”
Daniel took a deep breath, sitting back and running his hands through his hair. Leon was right. “She...offered to help,” he whispered.
“...Excuse me?” Leon said. It was incredulous rather than amused, but a laugh rumbled under his words. “Isn’t she on their side? Isn’t she the one who was all trying to play tricks? Didn’t she-”
“Yes,” Daniel said, squeezing his eyes shut.
“Fuck.”
“Yep.”
He cracked an eye back open, peering up the road towards James’ house. “This sucks,” he muttered.
Leon nodded, chewing his lip. “W-We can...We can call the police. They can-”
“They’d want answers that we don’t have,” Daniel said. “I can...I can do it.”
“But...She’s-”
“I’m fucked either way,” Daniel mumbled. “She called me. She knows I’m close. Knows we’re close. If she’s on their side, the whole thing is probably a trap. And if she’s not...then I guess we’ll need the help.” They’d need every advantage they could get, more like.
And if it was a trick, if it was all some ploy...His jaw tensed. If it came down to him and them, well, he wouldn’t let it go their way.
Nice words, his thoughts hissed. But do they mean anything?
He reached for the car door, silencing them. The morning air rushed in, wiping away the stench of fear that’d grown so thick. As quietly as he could, he stood, closing it behind him.
A second car door clicked shut. Daniel froze, looking up.
Leon stood on the far side, still pale but grinning. “So where to?” he whispered.
Daniel shook his head, slowly at first but increasing in intensity. “No. Hell, no. Leon, you’re-”
“Come on,” Leon said. “We gotta go. Come on.”
“Leon,” Daniel hissed, hurrying forward as Leon stepped away from the car. “Get back in the damn car.”
Leon twisted, fixing his baleful blue eyes on Daniel. “What? No. I can help.”
“I don’t-” Daniel licked his lips, swallowing. “I don’t want you in there if..if things go bad. Just stay here. If you hear...anything, then just drive. Get out of here, and find Maya, and-”
“I’m not leaving.”
The words were hushed, but firm. Daniel stopped. Leon was still watching him, but his expression had hardened. “James is my friend too,” Leon said. “I...I know you didn’t mean to, but…” He smiled grimly, his eyes softening. “None of us were prepared for this. But I’m not going to run off and leave everything in your hands, either. Let me help you.”
Daniel paused. His breath caught in his throat, leaving him reeling. He wanted Leon to stay. He needed Leon to stay, to keep out of the line of danger. But...it’d be nice, to not have to face the chaos alone.
He’d never really had that before, he realized. He’d been strong, inside Alexandria, but...alone. She’d kept him isolated. He thought he’d known that, but every time he thought he’d worked through the mess of his life, it unfolded a whole other layer, like a bullshit onion. The thought rankled at him more than he liked.
Besides, he told himself. When push came to shove, he’d have Leon somewhere he could keep an eye on him.
And so he nodded, his mouth dry. “Okay,” he whispered hoarsely. “Keep close, okay?”
Leon’s face split into a grin—and he nodded right back at Daniel. “Lead on,” he said.
Daniel turned away, forcing himself back toward the house before he could lose his nerve.
He’d done this before. He’d already charged into danger once. Just like he’d gotten Leon out, he could go get James.
It was that simple.
Hitching his hood back up over his head, Daniel broke into a run.
- Chapter Twelve -
The apartment lay dead ahead, smack dab in the middle of Daniel’s vision.
He tried not to stare too hard. Tried not to think about James inside, and the things that could be happening to him. And he definitely tried not to think too hard about the other question on his mind—about Olivia, and what she was after, and how he should handle it.
Instead, he tried to keep an eye out, scanning the neighboring units as Leon and him hurried forward. There were...a lot of cars in the street. Enough that he was really, really hoping they weren’t all inside James’ rental. No one stirred, though. Not from the cars, not from the houses around them that gave way to businesses beyond. The world was still sleeping.
If things went well, it might even stay that way.
Leon pressed in close to his side, tucked right behind his shoulder as though they might get separated from each other if they weren’t all-but-touching. Daniel wasn’t about to complain. Something about him being there, just a solid mass of stability...it helped. Not much, but enough.
The asphalt under their feet turned to concrete sidewalk, then to grass. The scraggly trees pushed back against Daniel as he worked his way through, biting off the pained hisses that rose to the tip of his tongue.
Not far, now. He narrowed his eyes, leaning forward through the branches. James’ rental sat square ahead of them, just a short run across an open yard. The trees would give way in a few feet. The neighbors’ buildings were close, too. They’d squeezed everyone in, which was...less than ideal.
A
