Empty.
I continue down the hall, reaching the dining room-slash-makeshift gym. The door is wide open. I press my back against it, both hands on my gun. I quickly peer around it. The split-second glance is all I need to see this room is empty, too.
I turn back around and walk down the hallway, past the front door, and on toward the second lounge area. The doors are the same as before. I slide them gently back and look inside, but there’s no one there.
Whoever this is better not be on my goddamn bed!
I turn around and—
“Jesus Christ!”
Lily is standing right in front of me, smiling, and eating an apple.
I shake my head. “What the hell? Are you fucking crazy? I could’ve shot you!”
She smiles. “Nah… you’re too good to make a silly mistake like that, aren’t you?”
I breathe out heavily and relax. I flick the safety catch on and tuck my gun back into its holster behind me. I shake my head again. “Come on.”
I turn and head toward the kitchen, diverting only to shut the front door on my way past. I walk inside and open the refrigerator, which is one of those huge, two-door things with an ice dispenser built into the front. I take out two beers, pop the tops, and hand one to Lily, who’s standing next to me. She takes it with a nod, places her half-eaten apple on the side, and takes a grateful gulp.
Now the shock’s worn off, I finally take notice of her outfit.
Damn…
She’s wearing a thin, yellow cropped top, which is stretching over her obvious, impressive chest. It’s actually difficult not to stare… Her exposed midriff is toned with a visible six-pack, and her navel is pierced with a small vertical bar topped by a bejeweled butterfly. She’s also wearing very tight white jeans and black heeled boots.
Heels…?
I nod at her feet. “How the hell did you sneak up on me wearing them?”
She shrugs. “Good question… you should really think about that, shouldn’t you? I could’ve been anyone.”
She flicks her eyebrows, smiles playfully, takes another sip of her beer, and walks across to the counter in the middle of the room. She sits on one of the stools and continues drinking. She doesn’t say anything… she just stares at the microwave in front of her.
I move over to join her, relishing the sensation of the cold bottle in my hand. “So… what are you doing here, Lily? Not that it isn’t nice to see you or anything, but… it’s a little out of the blue.”
She doesn’t look up. “I was bored. Thought I’d say Hey.”
I smile. “You could’ve just called… why break into my house?”
She looks at me and shrugs. “Like I said, I was bored.”
There’s clearly more to it than that, but I’ll play along, let her tell me in her own time.
I sigh. “Okay… So, how’ve you been?”
She stands, takes a breath, and has a deep swig of her drink, emptying the bottle. She places it heavily on the counter and turns to face me. In her heels, she’s not that much shorter than me — her eyes are level with my chin. “What do you do for fun around here? Besides sweat…”
I laugh. “Yeah, it can get a little warm… Fun? What do you want to do? We have pretty much everything here.”
“I want to drink. And dance.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Okay… a club it is. Let me grab a quick shower and change.” I gesture to the refrigerator behind me with my thumb. “Help yourself to a beer.”
I head out and left, toward my bedroom. I hear her behind me…
I look over my shoulder. “You alright?”
She’s smiling. “Yeah…”
I nod slowly. “Okay then. I’m… gonna go shower now…”
She’s still following me. This is weird!
I walk inside my bedroom and she stops just outside, still smiling. I frown at her and close the door behind me. I pause for a moment, and then re-open it. She’s still there. Still smiling. I shake my head, feeling confused, and shut it again. I lock it this time.
I walk into my bathroom and turn the shower on, peel my T-shirt off, throw it on the floor, and stare at my reflection in the mirror over the sink.
“What the hell is going on?”
The music — if you can call it that — is loud. The bass is thumping to the point where my chest is vibrating. It’s still early, but this place is already busy. It’s one of the more popular nightclubs in the city. I’ve been here a few times on my own. Not because I like partying, and definitely not because of the music… but because it’s easy to have a drink and turn invisible in a place like this.
The black floor tiles have spotlights in them, and alternating colors flash in sync with whatever song the DJ is playing. The house lights are turned way down, but the tables and the bar are illuminated by pulsing neon, providing more than enough visibility.
Lily and I are sitting next to each other at a small, round table in a booth against the back wall, looking out at the large dancefloor, crammed with bodies. The surface is glowing pink. I have a half-empty beer in front of me. Lily opted for a cocktail that looks like a fruit salad with a firework sticking out of it.
We’ve not said much to each other since we arrived. I don’t know whether that’s because it’s hard to hear each other speak, or simply because she doesn’t feel like talking. I’m happy either way. I’m comfortable sitting in silence.
I can’t figure her out though. She’s just sitting here, moving her head slightly to the music and looking around absently at the people dancing, drinking, and having fun. When we first met, she was pretty frosty with me. Then she seemed to warm to me a little. Then she was all business. Then she walked away and I haven’t heard from her in almost a month. Then she breaks into my house because she’s bored and felt like saying Hello…
I don’t know if it’s just her, or women in general, that I don’t understand.
I nudge her arm with mine to get her attention. She looks at me and I smile. “Is everything alright?”
She nods. “Great.”
She says it with a smile, but even I can tell there’s something on her mind.
“Be straight with me, Lily. What’s going on? Why are you really here?”
She shrugs. “Can’t I just call in on a friend when I feel like it?”
“Yeah, that would be perfectly fine. But I didn’t think we knew each other well enough to be friends… And you didn’t call in, you broke in — something you still haven’t properly explained or apologized for…”
She finishes her drink and sighs heavily. She goes to speak, but stops herself. After a moment, she rolls her eyes. “Alright, fine. I was working a contract The Order gave me, and it didn’t quite go as planned. I needed to lay low for a while…”
I frown. “What happened?”
“I missed my target. I’ve been trying to stay under the radar while I tracked him down again. I can’t fail — Horizon will have my head.”
“And you haven’t been able to find him?”
She shakes her head. “Oh no, I’ve found him…”
“So… what’s the problem?”
She looks at the table for a moment, and then at me. The regret and apology in her eyes is obvious. She doesn’t need to say anything else.
I sigh. “Your target’s here, isn’t he…? You didn’t call in to see me at all. You need my help.”
She holds up a hand defensively. “Hey, I don’t need your help, okay? I just… thought you might want to tag along or something.”
I shake my head and smile. “Uh-huh…”