Maya and Arsen headed to the mall first to find out if the guy from the sunglasses store was still there. Maya was practically squirming in her seat on the subway, stuck in a mixture of fear and anticipation. At one point, when she was tapping her feet so loudly that she was attracting the glares of other subway riders, Arsen’s hand drifted over to her knee, giving her a reassuring squeeze before pulling back. Maya felt her entire body flush with heat as a result, but when she turned to look at Arsen, he was staring down at his phone rather than looking at her. He was infuriating, really, crossing boundaries again and again yet acting so nonchalant and innocent about it, like he hadn’t done anything.

 

Maya had a sneaking suspicion that the apology from before, in the kitchen, wasn’t really genuine. Something just felt…off about it. Arsen was never really one to apologize. He’d admit when he was wrong, but he never expected to be forgiven. He never begged for her approval. But now, he seemed like he was desperate for her to believe him, repeating the same apology over and over again. It just came off as false. Maya knew that she should have been offended, absolutely incensed that he wasn’t even sorry for barging in on her while she was showering. But she wasn’t. It’s at least 50% my fault, she thought. I should have screamed at him to leave the second he walked in. But I didn’t. I’m just as bad. She couldn’t exactly justify hating Arsen for it when she had been complicit in the incident.

 

In the back of her mind, there was a gnawing sensation that grew and grew as they got closer to their destination. Nagging thoughts emerged out of the ether of her brain, telling her, You should leave. You should get out of here. You should run back to the countryside where you’re actually a good woman, where you have morals. Here the truth comes out. Here it becomes clear that you’re made of the same dirty, filthy muck as the rest of this godforsaken city.

 

But she couldn’t. She didn’t have a choice, not really. As long as Roxie was still out there, most likely being held captive by a man who was steadily carving into her, Maya couldn’t rest. She had to keep going, no matter what the price was. Roxie and the other girls, the ones The Blade had killed already, depended on her. Maya didn’t take that responsibility lightly, to say the least.

 

“Here we are,” Arsen said as the train rolled to their stop, the one close to both the Inked Hunters’ clubhouse and the mall that Roxie frequented with her friends.

 

They had to walk a few blocks before they hit the shopping center, and then it took them a good fifteen or twenty minutes longer to find a sunglasses store, right next to an upscale boutique that marketed itself towards teenagers. This must be the right place, Maya thought, inhaling deeply to calm down and ready herself to interview suspect number one.

 

There was a young guy with long, greasy hair and speckles of patchy facial hair all over his chin. Maya cringed a little as she observed him pick his nose. This was the type of guy that Roxie was into? Why did teenage girls always have the worst taste in men?

 

Arsen walked ahead of her, approaching the guy first. “Hello, we’re with the police department,” Arsen lied, sounding as convincing as ever. Maya had to stifle a chuckle at the sight of the kid’s face going sickly pale; he was obviously terrified at the prospect of a potential interrogation. “We just need to ask you a few short questions, no big deal,” Arsen said a minute later, probably worried that the kid was going to bolt before they could get any information out of him.

 

“Um, sure, I’ll try to help you out,” the greasy young man said, chewing anxiously at his upper lip with his bottom teeth.

 

“Do you know this girl?” Maya asked, pulling out the picture of Roxie from her purse.

 

The kid squinted at the picture for a long minute. “No, I don’t think…oh, yeah, yes! I remember her!” he said.

 

“When did you see her last?” Arsen asked.

 

“Oh, probably a couple weeks ago,” the guy said casually, shrugging. “She never used to talk to me much. My coworker, Jordan, might know more. He used to…he used to, like, flirt with her and stuff.”

 

“I see,” Maya said, stuffing the picture of Roxie back into her purse. “Is he working today?”

 

“No, actually, he quit,” the greasy guy said, turning back to the Zane register to check out a young woman who was buying a couple pairs of sunglasses.

 

“Do you know where we can talk to him?” Arsen asked. “We just want to ask him a few questions, see where he last saw that girl, that’s all.” Maya wondered when Arsen got so good at lying. It was hard to keep a smile off her face, just watching him work. She never got tired of seeing this side of him, watching him read people and then tell them exactly what they needed to hear.

 

“I can give you his number if you want,” the kid said, reaching for his pocket to get out his phone.

 

“Maybe his address would work better,” Maya cut in. “We’re kind of in a hurry here. Missing person’s case, you understand.”

 

The kid hesitated for a second, but then he reached below his counter to get a piece of paper and a pen, scrawling out an address in abominably bad handwriting.

 

Arsen accepted the piece of paper before handing it over to Maya. The address was out of the city, on the outskirts, deep in the woods. She used to go there, in that general area, when she needed fresh air.

 

“Thanks,” Maya said, quickly backing away from the sunglasses store before the kid could ask any more questions. “Let’s go,” she said to Arsen.

 

# # #

 

It took them roughly an hour to get to the outskirts of the city, taking a cab for the final stretch to reach the area where Jordan lived. But they had to get out of the car and walk up a dirt path to find the right house. “Jesus, he must have a long commute,” Maya commented.

 

Arsen chuckled lightly, but inside, his stomach was churning. He usually didn’t get this nervous, and he didn’t understand why he felt like he was about to throw up. But then it hit him. Maya. He’d never taken her on a high-stakes assignment like this before. Usually, she did all the brain work, and he did all the footwork.

 

“You should stay here, outside, where it’s safe,” Arsen said as they walked through the tree-line, finally spotting the right house in the distance.

 

“Like hell,” Maya responded, scoffing, like his suggestion was absolutely ridiculous.

 

“Hey, I’m serious,” Arsen said, putting a hand on Maya’s shoulder to prevent her from moving towards Jordan’s house. “Things could get dicey. This isn’t a public place. He could react badly.”

 

“And what, you’re equipped to deal with that and I’m not? Have you forgotten which one of us escaped a mass murderer when she was a goddamn teenager?” Maya snapped, her voice coming out harsh and loud. A second later, though, she sighed deeply and wiped a few beads of sweat off her forehead. “Sorry. That was mean.”

 

“No, you’re right; you make a good point,” Arsen admitted. Maya was much stronger than him. He’d never deny that. But she was also much more special, much more precious, and he’d really prefer it if she wouldn’t insist on getting involved in dangerous situations. You would think she’d had enough of that for one lifetime, but apparently not. “Please, can you just…stay here? For me?”

 

Maya shook her head, her jaw clenching as she stared back at Arsen, glaring at him without blinking. “It’s not going to happen, Arsen.”

 

Arsen blew out his breath in frustration. But he had to admit, she had some big brass balls, definitely bigger than his. “Alright, fine. But…be careful, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

 

“Well, same to you,” Maya said grumpily, right before she began marching down the dirt path towards the house nestled in the woods.

 

Arsen quickly followed her, the leaves underfoot crunching loudly as he ran after her. “Psst, slow down,” he hissed to Maya, grabbing her shoulder to temporarily stop her movements. “I don’t want him to have warning that we’re coming.”

 

“Jeez, fine, okay,” Maya said, scowling at him. Goddammit, Arsen thought to himself. He was really fucking up today, wasn’t he? He was never going to convince Maya to stay with him in the city if he kept pissing her off all the time.

 

They finally approached the front door, walking more slowly and casually, as if they were just visiting him as friendly neighbors. But Arsen knocked firmly on the door, loud enough so that anyone inside the house could hear it. He waited a few moments before knocking again. “Hello? Officer Sterling here from the police department. I just want to ask you a few questions.”

 

Bang. A shot rang out above Arsen’s head, whizzing through the trees around the house. “Shit!” Arsen hissed, pulling at Maya’s shoulders. “Get down!”

 

“Is he shooting at us?” Maya asked, and it was clear from both the expression on her face and the sound of her voice that she was terrified. “Jesus Christ.”

 

“Go run to the nearest road,” Arsen whispered to her, keeping his hand on her back, feeling her heart pound through her skin and the top of her dress. “Go!”

 

“I’m not leaving you!” Maya hissed back at him, right before another shot rang out, this time smacking a tree in the middle of its trunk.

 

“Get off my property unless you have a warrant!” a male voice on the other side of the door shouted.

 

“Maya! Please! Just go!” Arsen replied back before standing up to his full height and ramming the front door with all of his weight.

 

“What are you doing? What the fuck are you doing?” Maya shouted. “Get down, he’ll shoot you!”

 

“No, he won’t,” Arsen said, shoving his shoulder painfully against the front door again, this time causing the hinges to squeak pitifully as a result. “Stay down.”

 

“Oh, like fuck am I staying down now,” Maya said, springing to her feet and shoving her weight against the door.

 

Arsen suppressed a groan, barely repressing the urge to shove Maya back down. But he could never do that. He could never do anything that might hurt her, even in the name of saving her life. It was too important for Maya to have control over her body. Arsen couldn’t tell her what to do with it, not even now.

 

“On three,” Arsen instructed her in a low whisper, gesturing towards the door. “One, two…”

 

“Three!” Maya cried out, and they both slammed their bodies against the door at the same time, knocking it off its hinges and sending it clattering inside the wooden house.

 

There was a young man with short, cropped hair and wide, terrified eyes clutching a shotgun in his trembling hands.

 

Before Arsen could do anything, Maya ran forward and grabbed the gun out of Jordan’s fingers, turning it around and pointing it at him until he sat down on the ground with his arms up.

 

“What have you done with her?” Maya asked between pants for air. Arsen didn’t know what to do. He felt frozen to the spot, shocked into place by the sight of Maya in full fury mode.

 

“Who? What?” Jordan asked, and even from a few feet away, Arsen could see him shaking, trembling like a little boy under the gun that Maya was now waving in his face.

 

“Roxie! Roxie Greenwood! What have you done with her?” Maya shouted, shoving the tip of the gun into Jordan’s chest. The boy winced and whimpered, turning his head to stare at Arsen, an unspoken plea in his eyes. But Arsen wasn’t in a very charitable mood. He let Maya keep going.

 

“Roxie. Greenwood. Where the fuck is she?” Maya repeated herself, her mouth screwed up into the most terrifying scowl that Arsen had ever seen on her face. Maybe he’d never really seen her mad before, as this was a sight to behold, something more frightening than any argument they’d ever had.

 

“T-Roxie?” Jordan stuttered in response. “The girl at the mall? I just met her a few times. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“Oh, yeah, sure, like I’m going to believe that,” Roxie muttered, sticking the tip of the gun harder into the front of the kid’s shirt. “Arsen, search the house,” she said a minute later, still gripping the gun so hard her veins stood out from the rest of her hands and arms, her blood obviously working overtime inside her body.

 

Arsen nodded and began to do as instructed, running towards the nearest hallway and opening every door, looking into every closet and under the all beds before rushing to the other side of the house, searching under the rugs, looking for a cellar door. Arsen was sure when he began walking down the steps that he was about to find Roxie, but there was no sign of life (or death, for that matter) in the basement.

 

Arsen came back to the main room, where Maya still held the gun, pointed directly at Jordan’s heart. “Where is she?” Arsen asked, leaning over the boy to stare directly in his eyes, watching his pupils for any sign of deception.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jordan sobbed out, banging the back of his head against the hard surface of the living room floor. “Please, I don’t know what you’re saying. I haven’t seen Roxie in weeks, please, please.”

 

“Why did you shoot at us, then?” Arsen demanded, grabbing Jordan by the shirt collar and shaking him a little bit.

 

“I thought—I thought you were here for the drugs. I…I sell stuff,” Jordan said, breathing so hard he could barely force the words out. “It’s in the kitchen, in the cabinet on the left side, you can take it, please, take it, I don’t care, I just…” He trailed off, his face screwing up as he began to weep, his entire body trembling as he sobbed.

 

“Search the house again,” Maya said, but Arsen could see that her grip on the gun had become looser. She pulled the tip of the gun away from Jordan’s body, letting it hang suspended in midair between them.

 

Arsen was tempted to argue with her. He already knew that Roxie wasn’t in the house, but he could tell that Maya meant business, so he set about searching it again, more slowly this time, while Maya kept watch over the pathetic boy on the floor.

 

“Nothing,” Arsen announced as he finished his second search a few minutes later. “There’s nothing here, Maya.”

 

“If I find out that it’s you…” Maya said, her jaw clenched hard, veins popping out of the side of her pale neck. “If I find out that you’ve hurt those girls, I’ll come back and kill you.” Arsen saw Jordan nod furiously, clearly terrified of Maya. “I’m keeping your gun,” she said, finally pulling it away from Jordan’s body. “Come on, let’s go.”

 

They walked back out towards the main road, Maya slinging her gun over her shoulder after emptying out the bullets.

 

“That was…that was pretty wild,” Arsen commented casually, a little worried that he might set Maya off by asking too many questions. He knew she was disappointed that they didn’t rescue Roxie. For a long moment there, it’d felt so certain, as if the killer had just barely escaped their grasp. In truth, they hadn’t accomplished anything besides scaring the shit out of a young kid for no reason. They were no closer to finding Roxie’s captor. They were no closer to saving her.

 

Maya didn’t answer him, so after a few long moments Arsen reached up and pulled the gun out of her hands, just to get her attention. She glared at him for a second before her scowl fell, revealing how exhausted she looked underneath her bravado.

 

“Let me hold onto this, okay?” Arsen said, taking the gun fully from her now limp grasp. “You don’t need it anymore.”

 

“I always need it,” Maya murmured.

 

“What do you mean?” Arsen asked.

 

“Nothing, never mind,” Maya said, shaking her head before she began walking faster, heading back toward the city. “Don’t worry about it.”

 

But Arsen was worried about it. Maya seemed to slip back into darkness so quickly, so easily, just by being surrounded by it. The worst thing was that it didn’t scare Arsen. Not really. The only thing that scared him was how much he loved seeing it, watching her transform into the Maya that he knew and loved. She’s coming back to me, he thought. But at what cost?