Lila

Dane walked towards her slowly, watching her carefully. She'd turned the big chair to get out from under the desk, but before she could get out of the chair, he leaned down, his hands on the arms and put himself in her face so she she was trapped. Her eyes widened.

​​

"A woman is dead, Lila. And I'm pretty sure it's at my father's hand. This isn't a surprise to me. But you haven't seen him work before. You haven't faced the consequence of being close to me before. It's a shock, and an ugly one. So I'll ask again: Are. You. Okay?"

Lila found her lip trembling and cursed herself for the weakness.

Some of the tension went out of Dane, but the light in his eyes dimmed too. "It's okay. It's scary," he whispered.

"I'm not, I mean, it was a shock. This doesn't mean—"

"Lila, it's fine." But his jaw was tense. "You needed to see this. You need to understand the truth. I won't hold it against you if you have second thoughts."

"It's not that—" She broke the gaze because she didn't have second thoughts. But she was afraid, and she didn't want him to start pulling away again. She didn't want him to see the fear in her face.

"A woman is dead, Lila. Of course it's that."

"No, I meant—"

"I know what you meant. Stop worrying about it. It's okay. I'm not going anywhere. Look at me. Look at me." He put one of his fingers under her chin until she raised her head. "I'm done running, Lila. You don't have to be brave for me, okay?"

"This isn't about being brave," she said angrily, then sucked in a breath and reached past his arm to slam the laptop on the desk closed. "This is about not letting a crazy man control my life." She raised her chin and stared him dead in the face.

Dane sighed and straightened. Without a word he strode over to the door and turned the lock.

"Th-that isn't necessary—" she started, but he turned quickly and she cut off.

"Maybe not for you, but I could use a minute," he said softly. Her eyes widened as he walked quickly back to her. She'd gotten out of his desk chair, but stood uncertainly next to it, though she was keeping her chin up and teeth clenched. Determined.

Fuck she was amazing.

He didn't allow himself to hesitate, or second guess, he walked right up to her and wrapped her in his arms, pulling her into his chest, one hand at her back, the other at her head.

She resisted at first, shaking her head. She didn't want to get emotional, but he knew…he'd watched his sister more than once and he knew…she needed to get this out if they were going to move beyond it. So he shushed her and held her until she sagged and let her forehead rest on his chest. She didn't cry, but she clung to his suit lapels and little shivers wracked her at times.

Dane closed his eyes and silently cursed his father for what he put other people. It sickened him that he could feel more compassion for Lila than he could for Becky, but he didn't have time or energy to analyze that just then.

"I'm not scared. I don't want out," Lila said into his chest, her voice a little higher than usual.

"I know."

"I'm more scared that you'll freak out about it."

Dane sighed. "You forget, I've already seen what he can do. It's why I get so…tense." She let go of his suit and slid her hands around his waist. "Do you believe me now, that this is a genuine risk?" he asked softly.

"I always believed you."

"No, Lila, I mean do you understand now why I am so distracted by this? Do you see what he does?"

"Yes," she breathed.

His face fell, but he kept her pinned to his chest so she didn't see it. "I have a present for you."

"What is it?" Her face popped up like a child's told they would be given a new toy.

"It's not that exciting, I'm afraid," he said quietly. Without letting go of her, he dug around in his inside suit pocket for a moment. "I'd intended to give this to you anyway, but I think maybe this is a good time." He pulled out a key on little silver keychain in the shape of a heart. "This is the key to apartment," he said and placed it in her hand. "If anything ever happens. If you ever get scared or even so much as suspect there's a problem and you aren't with me, you go there. You tell no one. I will come there for you when it's safe. I keep that place stocked with at least two weeks of food. I don't care if the National Guard is out looking for you, you tell no one, and you keep your head down. You open the door for no one but me. You understand?"

She looked at the little key, her face softening. "Thank you," she said. She put the key in her own pocket, then put a hand to his chest. "But what about you?"

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Who's helping you, Dane? Where will you go if you're ever scared or think something's going on and you're alone? Where do I find you if the monsters come after you?"

He put a hand to her face and answered honestly. "As far away from you as possible so he doesn't stand a chance of finding you. So, please, don't come looking. Send my brother, or something." He tried to smile, but it was hard because he meant it and she knew it.

Her lip trembled again, but she took a deep breath and shook her head and hugged him again. They stood like that for a long time because it was Dane who struggled to let go.