Cold Ashes

twenty four

Jon didn't exactly tell me who'd attacked him. In his own bloody house. He didn't tell me, and the way he kept diverting the line of conversation to something entirely else, I had a feeling he didn't want to even think about that whole subject.

At least not until he was out of here--the hospital.

"He's keeping a brave face for you," Linda told me later when Jon had fallen asleep and I'd stepped out. She gave me a sad smile and squeezed my arm. "I don't think he saw who attacked him, Dahlia. And I think that's paining him just as much as...everything else."

When she left me to take care of the patient paperwork, I sat down on one of the waiting benches and thought over her words. I couldn't imagine how scary it must've been for him. For Jon. After so much trying to move past the Agency and their ways, he finally had a peaceful life as a bookshop owner. A lovely wife and a warm cottage. And then someone had attacked him in his own house and had left him bleeding almost to death.

I sighed and tipped my head back against the wall, closing my eyes. Protect him, my brain said. I had to stop this from ever happening again, but what if I couldn't?

As another hour ticked by with me sitting right there I kept my eyes trained near the entrance, waiting for Jamie. He'd said he would come and pick me up, hadn't he? I could wait, I thought.

And so I did. Until the sky darkened and I started thinking that maybe he had just forgotten. He must've.

Groggy and a bit tense, I gathered my things and pulled up my hood, glancing at Jon's room one last time before heading out. The walk back to the apartment building wasn't tiring at all, but it gave me time to think and I was already tired of thinking. So I practically sagged with relief when I climbed up the stairs and breathed in the familiar lavender scent coming from Dolores's apartment.

It was right then that said neighbour slid her head out from behind her front door and regarded me with raised brows.

"Hello." I smiled at her. "How's everything going, Dolores?"

She smiled back, waved off my concern, and picked up her angry little cat before it managed to pounce on me. "Daisy saw someone else going into your apartment."

Who the hell's Daisy, I almost asked. But one tiny growl from her cat made me think otherwise. Right. Daisy the cat.

I blinked up at Dolores and thought over what she had just said. Someone else. Could it be Jamie?

"Oh. Okay." I nodded, heading for the doorknob. "I'll uh see you around."

She didn't press further and watched me as I pushed open the door (surprisingly, unlocked) and closed it shut behind me.

The inside was pitch dark. All the lights were out. I could've heard my heart racing over my own sound of breathing.

"Jamie?" I called out. Had he come back home and forgotten to pick me up from the hospital? My heart twisted a bit sadly at that.

I stepped forward and stumbled over something in the hallway, cursing softly under my breath, and stiffened when the lights suddenly switched on. It was too bright for a few seconds, and despite the way my shoulders tensed in a fighting stance, it took me a second or two to actually look.

"Happy Birthday!" Several voices shouted almost at once and left me momentarily frozen.

I was left stunned, beyond stunned, because I was seeing not just one person, but several of them. A few familiar faces and a few that I had never seen before. One of them also happened to be my friend Penny. I blinked and then blinked again. I had no fucking idea what the fuck was even going on.