Read Online Silas by V. J. Chambers - Free Book Online Page B

sure that she had a
gun in her room. I loaded it for her, and I left it right next to
her bed, so that if she needed it, it would be right
there.
    And then I got in my car,
and I drove back to Griffin’s and Leigh’s apartment.
    I was being an idiot. I knew
that.
    I was overreacting. There
was no reason to think that Christa wasn’t safe.
    But I wasn’t going to be
able to sleep unless I made sure.
    The parking lot was dark and
silent. All the cars seemed to stare at me with their blank
headlights. I darted past them like a hurried thief, moving through
the night quickly and silently.
    The apartment was on the
second floor. There was a set of outdoor steps. They were made of
concrete, and they’d been painted green. But the paint was peeling
away, and I could see that before they were green, they were once
blue.
    I took the steps as quickly
as I could without making noise. I crept up them. I didn’t want
anyone at the top to know that I was coming.
    If there was anyone there.
    Which there
wasn’t.
    There couldn’t
be.
    I made it to the front door
of the apartment without seeing a soul.
    The door was locked.
    That was a good sign, right?
Rolf wouldn’t have broken in and locked the door behind himself,
would he?
    I thought about knocking, waking them
up in there.
    But if I was wrong, if Rolf
was inside, then knocking would alert him to my
presence.
    So I picked the lock instead, doing it
as slowly, carefully, and quietly as I could.
    When I was done, the door swung open
slowly. I needed to talk to Griffin about getting a deadbolt for
his door. It was far too easy to get inside.
    Inside the apartment, it was silent and
still. There was nothing but shadows there.
    I tiptoed inside, gently
shutting the door. I drew my gun.
    I checked in the closets.
    I checked the bathroom.
    I looked in on Griffin and
Leigh, who were both asleep together. They were spooning. Griffin’s
arms closed protectively around Leigh.
    I swallowed, thinking that
I’d feel better if I could sleep that way with Christa. I wouldn’t
have to worry about whether she was okay if I was there. I could
protect her.
    Christa.
    She was asleep on the couch, clutching
the covers tight around her chin.
    I knelt next to her.
    She was safe.
    She made a soft noise in her
sleep, shifting slightly on the couch.
    She was beautiful. And she was safe.
Safe.
    * * *
    “ Why did I wake up to find a
gun loaded on my bedside table, Silas?” Sloane was eating cereal at
the kitchen table. It was late morning, but it was Friday, and she
didn’t have any classes on Friday. I, on the other hand, had one in
about an hour and a half.
    “ I put it there,” I said,
getting a banana out of the hanging basket.
    “ In the middle of the
night?”
    I sat down at the table.
“Maybe.”
    “ You had a dream, didn’t
you?” Her voice was sharp.
    I started to peel the
banana. “What does it matter?”
    She set down her spoon. “You
know why it matters.”
    I’d gone through a faze
where the dreams had gotten pretty bad. It had been a few years
ago, back when we were still working for Op Wraith. I’d gone a
little nuts, and Sloane had to cover for me. She’d been worried
that if the people running Op Wraith found out I was so unglued,
they’d just order a hit on both of us. We were a package deal after
all, and if one of us were damaged, we were both useless. Op Wraith
didn’t much go in for repairing damaged assets. It used people
until they couldn’t be used anymore. And then it got one of its
other assets to terminate the damaged ones.
    “ It’s not the same,” I said,
taking a bite of the banana. “We’re not under French’s thumb
anymore. We’re okay.”
    She looked worried. “Last
time, you lost your shit.”
    “ I’m not like that now.” But
I wouldn’t meet her gaze.
    “ So, you just got up last
night and made sure I had a loaded gun and then you went back to
bed?”
    “ Pretty much.” I ate more of
the banana.
    “ You’re lying to me,” she
said.