Enzo
I couldn’t even think straight. I was so angry—at Audrey, at Hodges, at myself—that I couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation. Deep down, I knew that Audrey really wasn’t to blame. Even though she lived in a shitty neighborhood, the chances of her place being broken into were fairly slim. It wasn’t like her windows were filled with ostentatious displays or anything like that. I had a feeling that Hodges had known exactly when to wait and attack.
It was like he’d known that she was going to be with me, that she’d been with me all night.
I clapped my hand to my forehead and growled.
“What is it?” Audrey’s voice was quiet and meek. “Enzo, what’s happening? What are you thinking about?”
I sighed. “We need to get going,” I said sharply. “We need to get back to my place and then go into the office and figure out some kind of plan.”
Audrey stared at me. “Enzo, I’m not moving in with you,” she said nervously. “I can’t… I mean, I can’t leave this place. It’s under my name, and I’m responsible for it.”
“Audrey, for fuck’s sake, it’s not like you own the damn place!” I stood up, gesturing around. “This place is a shithole! Get over it, pack a bag, and come with me!”
Audrey crossed her arms over her chest. She was still wearing her jumper and turtleneck, and even though her bare legs were alluringly pale, I knew that I couldn’t give in to desire again. Not so soon.
“No,” Audrey said, firmer. “I’m not leaving.” She blinked and wiped at her eyes. I realized that she was tearing up and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “This is my home, Enzo.”
“And someone broke in!” I hissed, gesturing around to everything broken and ruined around us. “Someone broke in and ruined all of your things! Are you saying that you just want to hang around and wait for him to come back and grab you?”
Audrey looked at me in disbelief and exhaled, blowing her bangs high into the air. “No, but according to you, he got what he was looking for, right? So he won’t come back!” She looked at me triumphantly. “I don’t have anything to worry about. And Pepper’s here! Pepper!” She called out. “Pepper girl, come here!”
There was a low, canine whine and I saw the ancient mutt pick herself up off the ground and trudge towards Audrey, tail wagging almost imperceptibly between her legs.
“Pepper will protect me,” Audrey crooned, more to the dog than to me. “Isn’t that right, girl?”
“Look, Audrey,” I said, sighing, “I’m not trying to be the asshole here, but I really don’t think that dog is going to protect you against an intruder. What about a gun? Do you have a gun?”
Audrey’s mouth dropped, and her blue eyes opened wide. “Are you kidding me? Of course I don’t have a gun.” She reached out and patted the dog. “Why would I have a gun? Do you think I’m some kind of criminal?”
“Jesus,” I said as I buried my face in my hands. “No, Audrey, I don’t think you’re a fucking criminal. But you live in one of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago, and unless you have one, I don’t think you should stay here. Hell, even if you did have a gun, I wouldn’t let you stay here alone.”
“I’m not alone,” Audrey said stubbornly. “I have—”
“Pepper,” I said, my voice only getting sharper. “I know, I know, you have a fucking dog. Big whoop. Don’t you realize they could take her out in, like, five seconds?”
Audrey looked shocked. She pulled the dog close and hugged her. “Pepper, don’t listen,” she said fiercely. “Enzo doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
I rolled my eyes. Exasperation and anger surged through my body. “Audrey, Jesus! You have to stop being so fucking stupid! This is your safety that we’re talking about here, don’t you get that?”
Audrey glared at me. “You’re being an asshole. And I don’t have to listen to you if I don’t want to.” She stood up, reaching for her awful leggings and pulling them on. “I don’t have to do anything!” She crossed her arms over her chest. “And I don’t have to go with you, and there’s no way you can make me!”
I sighed as I raked a hand through my hair. “Audrey, look, I’m just trying to convince you that it’s for your own good.” The dog whined. “And for you, Pepper,” I added, feeling like a complete moron. “Audrey, Pepper can come with you. It’s not like you have to leave it here.”
“Her,” Audrey corrected immediately. Her lip trembled and quivered and, for a moment, I was terrified that she was going to burst into tears. “Pepper is a girl, Enzo.”
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and trying to exhale. “I get that. But come on, Audrey. This isn’t even a choice! It’s like choosing to die or choosing to live! Are you really that careless with your own life? What would your parents say? Or that old homeless guy at the food pantry? What’s going to happen to them if some asshole burglar breaks in and kills you?”
Audrey sighed. Her face softened, and she wiped a tear away from her cheek. “I guess I didn’t think about it like that before,” she said softly. “Okay.”
I stared at her. “Okay, so you’ll come?”
Audrey sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay, I’ll come,” she repeated. “But I want to pack some things and call my landlord first, okay?” She was tired—I could tell because her hideous Wisconsin accent was starting to emerge.
I shook my head. “No. We need to leave now, and I need to get into the office as soon as I possibly can. This isn’t a good time to hang around, Audrey.”
She glared at me. “But it was a good time for you to fuck me?”
“Audrey, come on,” I insisted. “Don’t be like this. Everything’s going to be fine, just come with me.”
“Don’t treat me like a child!” Audrey snapped. “I’m not a little girl! I’m a woman, and you have to respect my boundaries!”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, okay,” I told her. “Look, I’m sorry. But we really need to go. If it was Hodges, he’s probably going to get bolder and come back. There’s a lot of really sensitive information on that computer, and the sooner we try to track it, the better.”
“It’s not my fault that he broke into my apartment,” Audrey snapped. “Maybe if you’d actually taken his calls and dealt with him, this wouldn’t have happened!”
Rage and anger rose in my body, and I fought hard to keep them down. I wanted to snap at her, tell her the only reason that she was safe was because of me, but I didn’t want to push the situation and make it worse. She was already treating me like shit because of the break-in, and I knew that I had to diffuse the situation and get her to calm down as soon as I could.
“Audrey, come on, calm down,” I said in a soothing voice. “Come on, just grab a bag and whatever you need for the dog, and we’ll go, okay?”
Audrey’s blue eyes flashed with anger. “No!” Her voice was forceful, almost a yell. “No, Enzo. No, I can’t go with you. This is all your fault!”
“Audrey, look, I couldn’t do anything about Hodges until I figured out what he was trying to do!” Even though I was trying to stay chill, I couldn’t help it—Audrey’s angry tone and accusations were making my anger boil over the edge. “And if we want to talk about whose fault it is, maybe I should have fired you for mixing up his name! Hotchkiss, remember?”
Audrey recoiled as though I’d slapped her. “Fuck you,” she spat out, grabbing Pepper’s leash and stalking into the next room.
Shit.