Lily
“Lily, there’s someone here to see you,” Anne called over her shoulder. She frowned at me when I walked closer. “He looks like a convict. Do you want me to call the cops?”
My heart sunk when I realized that she couldn’t be talking about anyone other than Zed. At least, I hoped that she couldn’t be. I hated to think of running into more than one man who looked like him. Zed was scary enough; thinking about him and his body double made me shiver.
I swallowed hard. “No,” I told her, trying to sound normal. “That’s completely unnecessary.”
Anne rolled her eyes. “Then please tell your boyfriend to stop coming to Dawning Center, okay?”
I nodded. “I’m sorry,” I said, sounding as apologetic as possible. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
Anne’s eyes flashed. “Lily, I don’t really care. We’re busy, and we need you here, okay?”
I felt a blush color my whole face. “Right, I know. I’m sorry. He’ll be gone soon.”
I scanned the parking lot but didn’t see him on any of the security monitors. Just when I was beginning to think he’d left, I saw Mr. Simpson walking towards me, grinning.
“Lily!” he called, smiling. “And how are you this lovely December evening?”
“I’m fine, Mr. Simpson,” I replied politely. “And how are you?”
He raised a hand in the air to correct me. “Mark. And I’m fine, just a little lonely. Can I interest you in a ride home?
I shook my head. “I have a car, Mark,” I told him, feeling awkward. “And no, thank you.”
He smiled. “Darn.”
“I’m sorry,” I said as I looked into his face. “I have to leave; a friend is waiting for me.”
“Next time!” Mark called, and I shuddered. He was so cute; what was wrong with him? Was it that he looked too old? Or that I wasn’t ready to be a stepmother? I should have been totally attracted to him, but I wasn’t. There was just something so… nonthreatening about him. He wasn’t like Zed, not at all.
Stop thinking about that lughead. He doesn’t mean anything to you, and he’s probably dangerous, I berated myself.
Mark had barely disappeared inside when Zed came up out of nowhere. He glared at me. “We need to talk,” he said in short.
I frowned. “I’m still working. Can it wait?”
Zed shook his head. He opened his piercing green eyes wide and stared at me. “It can’t.”
“I haven’t done anything, if that’s what you mean,” I managed to squeak out in a small voice.
“I know.” He huffed. “Who was that douchebag talking to you?”
“Zed!” I hissed, looking around. Mark was nowhere in sight; I heard the faint laughter and squeals of kids coming from inside the center. “That’s really rude, Zed. He has these two adorable kids who he’s really great with. His wife died a few years ago, and I think he’s just lonely. He’s a really nice guy, and he just likes talking to me.”
“Nice guys finish last,” Zed said, sneering. “Come with me.”
“I can’t. I’m still working!” Even though Zed was being an asshole about Mark, it still made me giggle. Thinking about Zed walking into the center and being covered with cute toddlers was the most difficult thing that I’d tried to imagine in my life. I had no idea how he’d act around kids, and I had a feeling that I didn’t want to find out.
I snorted when I imagined Mark standing next to Zed; like me, I doubted Mark would stand taller than Zed’s massive shoulders. Still, I couldn’t help but feel flattered that someone like Zed would be jealous just because he saw me talking to Mark. I wasn’t even used to one guy talking to me; the idea of two guys fighting over me—no matter how horribly unmatched they’d be—was, admittedly, really flattering.
I looked down with a trace of self-consciousness; I was wearing my favorite lavender sweater, and I knew it made my boobs look big. But Zed wasn’t even looking. Men, I thought with irritation. They only want you when someone else does, too.
Zed looked from me to the center and then back. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me out to the car. I started screaming, and he immediately clapped his hand over my mouth, effectively silencing me. Behind his thick fingers, the only sounds I could muster sounded about as strong as a bunch of baby kittens.
He dragged me across the parking lot and threw me into the back seat of his car. Leaning over me, his huge frame blocked out all of the daylight. A single drop of sweat dripped down my back. Is he going to rape me? I wondered, feeling scared.
I held my breath and watched as he reached down, expecting to see him rip my pants down or tear my shoes away, but he merely grabbed both of my ankles and shoved them on the back seat. I let out a long shaky breath when I realized he wasn’t going to touch me, but whatever sense of relief I’d had quickly turned back to panic after he got in the driver’s seat of the car and pulled away with a roar.
“Where are we going?” I asked, my voice shaky. Zed sped out of the parking lot and tore onto the freeway, accelerating and passing most of the cars. Looking out of the side windows made me dizzy, and Zed reached back and shoved my head back down.
“Don’t ask questions,” he said, growling. “And keep your fucking head down!”
I curled up in the fetal position and wrapped my skinny arms around my skinny legs. Zed flew over a speed bump, and I fell out of the seat and landed on the floorboards of the car. Whimpering, I rubbed my temple and felt the beginning of a goose egg. Tears came to my eyes, and I wanted to cry. What the fuck was going on, and why was Zed tormenting me like this?
The ride seemed to take an eternity, but eventually, Zed slowed the car down and turned off the ignition. “Wait!” he commanded, opening his door for a few seconds.
I screwed my eyes closed and kept my head buried in my hands. Finally, Zed opened the door of the back seat and picked me up with one hand. He carried me like I was a rag doll. I was terrified to open my eyes and see myself in a deserted park, or worse, in a deserted park with a bunch of guys who looked exactly like Zed. I wondered what Anne would think of me just running out of my job. Miserably, I thought that I’d probably be fired by the time I could explain what had happened.
I opened my eyes and was startled to see that we’d pulled into my apartment complex. “What’s going on?”
Zed eyed me and set me down on the ground. I had to crane my neck to look up into his face. “Keep moving,” he ordered. We walked up the stairs together, and with a shaking hand, I pushed the key into the lock for the second day in a row with Zed behind me.
“What’s going on?” I demanded again once we were inside. “What the fuck is happening, Zed?”
He sat down on my couch and reclined back, putting his hands behind his head. He was so big that he practically took up all of the sitting room, but I perched my butt on the end. Zed smirked at me, but he didn’t move, and anger boiled under my skin.
“You can’t just fucking kidnap me, Zed! This isn’t a game! I could lose my job!”
“Relax,” Zed said in a commanding voice. I swallowed. My mouth was uncomfortably dry, and I looked down at the floor. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said after a beat. “I had to get you somewhere safe.”
“I was safe at work,” I said with annoyance. “And what’s happening? What is going on to make you think that I suddenly need all of this help? I don’t fucking know what to do with you, Zed.”
“I don’t know what to do with you, either,” he spat out. “I don’t want to be here. But you’re in danger, Lily. If you don’t listen to me…” He trailed off and shuddered. For the first time, a real tremor of fear went through me. If Big Bad Zed was scared, I couldn’t imagine just how bad something could actually be.
“Zed, you can’t just go around ripping me off the streets,” I told him in a low voice. “If I lose my job, I’d have to move somewhere even worse than here.”
He gave me an odd look. “You won’t be alone any time soon.” A chill ran down my spine.
“What are you talking about?” I frowned. “Zed, what’s going on?”
“I can’t tell you,” he replied gruffly. “But you need protection. I’m not letting you out of my sight until this whole thing blows over.”
“Zed,” I said, taking a deep breath. Sometimes, when a kid at Dawning Center freaked out, it helped if I could count to ten before dealing with them. On the better kids, it helped a lot. But with the kids who would have paint all over the wall before you could even get to them… well, let’s just say I felt like Zed was one of those kids. “You can’t just show up here and tell me that you’re going to keep an eye on me, okay? That’s really fucking weird.”
He shook his head. “This isn’t a game, Lily.” He grunted in my direction. I watched as his jaw clenched and one of the muscles tensed in his neck. “If you don’t listen to me, you’re dead. And I can’t bear the idea of having another death on my watch.”
Even though I would have bet money that he was just bluffing, his words sent a shock of fear through my body. “That’s ridiculous,” I said flatly. “I don’t believe you.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” he said, grumbling. “Do you think I want to stay here like this?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know,” I said in exasperation. “You could want to rob me and rape me or something. Or kill me and use my apartment as a base of operations for… whatever it is that you do.”
Zed threw his head back and gave a full-throated laugh. The booming sound shook the paper-thin walls of my apartment, and I cringed. This guy was crazier than I thought. He stretched, and I admired the sleeves of tattoos that trailed up and down his arms. “Don’t be ridiculous. Lily, how long have you lived in Detroit?”
“My whole life,” I admitted. “And I know it’s bad, but I can’t imagine things getting worse than they already are.”
“They will if you don’t listen to me. And I have to protect you, okay? Can you try to get that through your little skull?”
I shook my head. “Okay, can’t I, like, check in with you once a day or something? Surely you aren’t thinking of staying here.” I looked around in dismay. My tiny, one-bedroom apartment already felt cramped, and I didn’t take up very much space. Zed dominated the living room with his hulking form.
“That’s not possible,” he informed me. “And you have to stay here. I can’t bring you anywhere else, do you understand?”
I gaped at him. “Zed, are you crazy? I have two finals next week! If I can’t go to class and take them, I’ll fail the semester.”
He set his mouth in a thin line. “I didn’t go to college, and I turned out fine,” he said with sarcasm. Against my will, I burst out laughing. Zed almost looked wounded.
“I’m sorry,” I said gently. “But this is really important, Zed. That’s, like, thousands of dollars lost if I can’t take the finals. I really need to go to class, okay?”
“I’ll escort you. We’ll deal with that when the time comes.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but nothing came out. I took another deep breath and tried my Dawning Center trick again, but even counting to ten couldn’t calm me down.
“Can you at least tell me what’s going on?”
Zed shook his head. “No can do, lady. Sorry. Them’s the rules.”
I sniffed. He didn’t look sorry. “Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “So, you’re just going to camp out in my house without telling me why? And I expect you think that I’ll be feeding you, too.”
Zed looked offended. “I’m not into kale, or whatever shit you probably eat,” he shot at me. “I’ll get my own grub.”
I shook my head. “Please. I’ll cook for you, at least some of the time.”
He frowned. “Remember what I said about the kale—I don’t fucking like that.”
I grinned. Despite his hulking size and intimidating tone, he could sometimes sound like a little kid. I giggled thinking about fussy Zed and the face that he’d make if I served him kale anyway. With a shudder, I realized that it would probably wind up painting the walls.
“No kale,” I promised. “But can’t you please tell me anything relating to what this is about?” I moved closer to him on the couch and tried to take one of his massive hands in both of mine. Sparks shot between our skin, and he yanked back quickly as if I’d burned him.
“I really can’t. Sorry. Is it going to be that much of a problem for you?”
“Well, come on,” I said, shrugging. “Wouldn’t it bother you to have a new roommate who you knew nothing about?” Zed opened his mouth, but I saw him hesitate. “Come on. Tell me.”
“I’ve been there,” he said darkly. He looked up at me, and I was, as always, caught off guard by his beautiful green eyes. They were so dark that they almost looked like pieces of jade. I frowned as I tried to contemplate what he meant. College students were mostly paired up in doubles, except he said that he hadn’t gone to college. That only left…
“Prison?” I looked at him and narrowed my eyes. He nodded.
“Possession.”
“Oh.” I nodded. “Yeah, I knew some people who did time for that,” I lied. “I’m sure it was hard.” I didn’t know anyone who had actually been to jail before. I always worried about Jackie getting picked up on gigs, but she’d been safe most of the time.
“Real life is harder,” Zed replied. “I have to deal with uppity bitches like you who put themselves in danger without even realizing it.”
I stood up, offended. “Look, I work at The Pink Diamond, okay? You saw me singing that night. You know I have to go there. It’s not like I was just waltzing around trying to run into a drug deal.”
“That’s not what you saw,” Zed said, his tone darker. “An information deal, maybe. But not drugs. I don’t fuck with those anymore.”
I nodded. Even though I didn’t quite believe him, I didn’t want to push the subject. “Okay,” I finally said. “I get it. You’re here to stay.”
Zed nodded. “First fuckin’ sensible thing you’ve said all day,” he quipped.
I laughed humorlessly. My life had been verging on the surreal for a long time, but meeting Zed took the cake.
“How long do you think this will take?” I asked after a beat. “I mean, is this going to last for months, or what?”
Zed shook his head. “I don’t fuckin’ know,” he replied. He sounded tired and exasperated. “It’s happening now, and that’s all I can say,” he finished. “Unless you got a better idea.”
I stood up and brushed my hands off on my jeans. “I’m going to make dinner,” I announced. When I turned around, I felt Zed’s eyes on my body, and the feeling was electric. I knew he was staring at my ass. Normally, I hated it when guys checked me out—they were always so creepy—but Zed had such a powerful presence that I knew I couldn’t make him stop even if I wanted him to. It was really sexy, but I couldn’t deny that I was also frightened of him.
“No kale,” Zed repeated. He stretched out and lay down on the couch. “I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up when it’s ready.”
“Aren’t you even going to tell me what you want?” I stared with my hands on my hips as he rolled over on the couch and buried his giant face in one of the pillows. Compared to his size, everything looked like doll furniture.
“Zed?” I asked again, my voice echoing in the apartment. There was no answer, and as I turned back around towards the kitchen, I heard gentle snores start behind me.
“Great,” I said aloud. “What a great new roommate.”