The parking lot of the daycare was suspiciously empty as I pulled up, and for a moment I was frantic with worry that I’d come too late. But the lights were still on, and I could see Lily’s mousy little coworker, Anne, bustling around. Great. That bitch hates me.
Slowly, I got out of my car and approached the building. The buzzer sounded just as I got close to the door, but instead of going in, I leaned my face against the glass and looked for Lily. Hopefully, she wasn’t talking to that douchebag of a single father.
To my relief, I spotted her in the corner. She was tidying up some plastic toys and entertaining a couple of kids who were sprawled out on the carpet. Against my will, a smile came to my lips as I watched her play. I didn’t want to deal with Anne’s bullshit, so I rapped on the glass until Lily snapped her head up and looked at me.
A frown came to her face, and she mouthed “What?” in my direction. I jerked my head outside. She shook her head at first, but when I kept glaring at her, she eventually looked around and scurried towards the door.
Lily pushed open the glass door and stuck her face through the opening. “What is it?” I noticed she was holding on tightly with both hands. Ha! As if I’d even try kidnapping her again.
“I need to talk to you,” I said urgently. “Can you come with me?”
Lily shook her head. “I’m not due to get off for another few hours,” she said quietly. “But I can take a break, and we can go somewhere.”
A gust of cold wind whipped into the daycare center and Lily shivered. I knew she didn’t want to be outside, but part of me liked seeing her squirm. I took my time answering.
“Meet me in my car. It’ll only take ten minutes.”
Lily bit her lip, and I could tell she wanted to refuse, but her curiosity was too much to deal with. She glanced back inside towards Anne and called out that she was going on break. Thankfully, Anne didn’t even look up.
Lily stepped outside, and I led her to my car. The interior was freezing so I stuck the key in the ignition and blasted the heat. After a couple of minutes, she was still shivering, but she looked overall as though she wasn’t too uncomfortable.
“What’s going on?” Lily looked at me. “Did something else happen?”
I shook my head. “No. I need to tell you about the past.”
Lily’s gray eyes opened wide. “Okay,” she said slowly. “Thank you.”
I narrowed my eyes in irritation. “Don’t thank me yet,” I said quietly. I closed my eyes and started to turn over the painful memories in my mind.
“When I was nineteen, my sister Rose was murdered. She was only seventeen, and she was the perfect teenager. She was beautiful, kind, and sweet. Our mother had loved her, and she was the only good thing in my life. I would have done anything for her; I loved her that much. She was my only weakness. Rose always had a way of making me feel like I wasn’t a bad guy. Deep down, I knew that I was; maybe that’s one of the reasons why I loved being around her so much. She didn’t think my actions were a reflection of the man that I was inside.
“Rose looked after me when our parents died, which was rich considering she was the younger sibling. I dropped out of high school to push heroin, and she looked the other way. She’d always lecture me about getting caught and going to jail, but in the same breath, she’d tell me that she was glad I was home. She’d always make a hot meal for me; she always wanted me to be okay. I loved her more than life itself.
“When she was murdered, I went off the deep end. Not only was I selling junk, but I was also shooting it up. I was majorly addicted, and I started stealing from my dealer in order to get my fix. Another kid I was working with was beheaded—the head was mailed to me, first class. I thought I was just dealing with small-time criminals like myself, but I realized later that I’d actually been involved with a gang, the Iron Angels. I dunno if you’ve heard of them, but they’re bad. They kill and steal and own whichever town they happen to cruise into at the time. Now, I know they’re after me—and you, since I’ve been protecting you.
“Lily, you’re their target now. They don’t want me, at least not yet. They want to get you first and make me suffer for fucking them years ago. In prison, I was able to avoid them, but out here I know I’m open game. I thought I was protecting you, but in reality, I was leading them directly to your front door.”
Lily’s head snapped back, a horrified expression on her face. “Zed, what the fuck is going on?”
I rolled my eyes. “I just explained what’s going on, princess, were you not listening?”
“Zed!” Lily screeched. “What the fuck!”
“I know.” I buried my head in my hands. “I know. I know I fucked up. But I’m telling you now, and you’re listening. That has to count for something.”
Lily shook her head vehemently, sending her shiny dark hair flying. “I don’t know what to do!” she whined, looking at me. “I can’t move right now, I can’t afford to. And now you’re telling me it’s just a matter of time before these guys come and kill me?”
She was trembling, and there was a look of real terror on her face. For a moment, I almost felt guilty until I realized she’d come too close to this mess on her own.
“I have to go find the leader of that gang,” I said slowly. “I know his trademark style of killing, and it’s been happening more and more frequently around here. I have to go search for him on my own; he won’t come to me until it’s… too late.” Lily’s face turned white.
“You mean until I’m dead,” she said slowly. She looked up at me and squeaked before burying her face in her hands. “They won’t come for you until I’m gone first.”
I nodded. “I think that’s right.I didn’t want to scare you, but you have to understand the gravity of what’s going to happen here.”
Lily’s eyes were big and scared. “And you… y-you lied to me,” she sputtered. “You didn’t tell me any of this! You didn’t even tell me what you went to jail for!”
“I know,” I admitted. “I couldn’t tell you at the time, don’t you see that?”
Lily shook her head. “No,” she protested. “You lied to get closer to me!” She was practically whispering, and there was a flush creeping up her neck. “You lied to… to have sex with me, and then you left! Now you don’t even care if I get killed!”
“That’s not true. You’re not listening to me.”
Lily’s eyes flashed with hurt and betrayal. “You lied to me,” she repeated stiffly. I watched as her eyes made a show of looking me over from top to bottom. “You lied to me, and I can’t believe you were involved with a gang! You’re not any better than they are, Zed.”
Her words stung, but I couldn’t expect someone who wasn’t involved in the situation to understand.
“I know you have a lot to process, but we need to talk about getting you some more protection.”
Lily narrowed her eyes. Before I could stop her, she wrenched open the car door and threw herself out into the blistering cold. “I don’t need anything from you,” she said coldly. “Leave me alone.”