Page 18 of A Murderous Crow
“I didn’t kill anyone!” I chirped in objection.
“No, I did, but you didn’t exactly call the cops, did you?”
I remained silent because, well, he wasn’t wrong.
“I’m not going to pin you down and fuck you right here, right now,” he said. “So loosen up.”
There was a sparkle of mirth in his eyes, and I felt myself relax, incrementally, until he seemed… pleased.
“I don’t know what to do,” I murmured.
“You don’t need todoanything, except make yourself available when I call.”
I swallowed hard and felt my eyes well, and the whispered words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. “I just want to go home.”
He looked thoughtful for a minute and said, “First things first.” He rolled onto his back and reached down beside his side of the bed and brought up a black bag from one of the boutiques downtown.
“Clothes,” he said, and reached into the bag and pulled out a new phone. “And a new phone to replace the one that broke.”
“I can’t afford?—”
“Hush,” he countered. “You’re mine for the time being, and I didn’t get to the part where I tell you that comes with some perks.”
“Like what?”
“Like a new phone to replace yours. Who’s your carrier?” he asked.
I named the carrier I was with.
“Easy,” he said. “Let’s get that sorted, first…”
I blinked in amazement as he brought around his phone and my broken one from his nightstand, and we sat up in his bed. He bizarrely fixed my phone. Using his to call the carrier, while he did the work of switching SIM cards and used my computer and my old phone to download apps and transfer data like he was born to it, politely kibitzing like my granddad would with the representative on the line until everything was securely moved over and operational.
He hung up with my carrier, which I guess happened to beourcarrier, and handed me my new phone. It was several models newer than my old one, and I didn’t have a case for it, but that was a relatively easy fix.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
“You’re welcome,” he said simply, and then he got out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom up here. I swallowed hard as I heard water hitting water, and I listened to him sigh.
I peeked into the bag and found an elegant black dress inside. Something sheer over a flowered material beneath.
I lifted it out and found a dress thatmightfit me.
Divesting of his shirt, I pulled the dress on quickly. It fit, hitting me below the knee, but it clung to my figure and gaped dangerously if I bent over, showingeverythingif I wasn’t careful. As though it was meant for someone with a much bigger chest than mine.
The toilet flushed, and he stepped back out into the room with me.
“Where aremyclothes?” I demanded, and he stopped, mid-stretch, and the play of his muscles beneath his skin was both a sight and an intimidating one at that.
“Burned them,” he said with a shrug.
“What?” I blinked.
“They might’ve had evidence on them.”
My knees weakened, and I was absolutely mollified by the gravity of my situation.
I sank to the edge of the bed and blinked slowly. “What if someone comes looking for him?” I asked. “I don’t know what to say…”
