Second Law of Attrition by Bronwyn Leroux

Author:Bronwyn Leroux
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bronwyn Leroux

21

Finally, Deran stirs. “I should probably get you home. It’s been a long night for both of us.”

I don’t want to leave Deran’s apartment. I don’t want to be alone. But I can’t stay. However, I do have an excuse to linger. “Do you have any food I could eat?” Deran’s startled glance makes me laugh. “What?”

“I’m sorry—I should’ve thought to offer you something sooner.”

“I wasn’t feeling up to it then.” Even the oblique reference to my vomiting makes my stomach twinge. But no food for hours might be part of the problem.

“I have just the thing.” Deran moves to the kitchen, and soon, I smell the comforting aroma of toast.

Before I’m conscious of moving, I find myself in the kitchen. “Yum! May I have some?”

Deran pushes two slices toward me. “Don’t eat too fast, and no more honey than I’ve already put on.”

As I sink my teeth in, I sigh. So good! I finish four slices in short order, then barely catch the yawn slipping out right after I take my last bite.

Deran grins. “Time to get you home.”

Reluctantly, I allow him to pull me to my feet. At least we’ll still have time together on the trundle ride home.

The journey home is far too short, and I’m not the only one dawdling as we head for my apartment. Chivalrous as ever, Deran rides the elevator up to my apartment with me. When we reach the door, I’m loathe to say goodbye. “I would offer you some hot chocolate, except…” I don’t finish the sentence, but he can fill in the blanks. No point mentioning tainted food and drink in a monitored hallway.

A brilliant flash of teeth as he grins. “A glass of water will do.”

With a matching grin, I wand my arm over the access panel and step inside. As soon as my foot connects with something that shouldn’t be there, I know something’s wrong. “Lights!”

The lights blaze, and I stand, frozen. Deran inhales sharply behind me as he takes in the sight. The bathroom, visible from here, looks like a bombshell hit it. The carnage continues into the bedroom, clothes littering the floor. But the destruction ends there. From my bedroom door back to where we stand, the only sign of disturbance is an upended drawer in the coffee table. Otherwise, the kitchen is completely untouched. Confused, I glance down, realizing it was a tube of toothpaste my foot encountered. Still, how it made its way here…

Heart thumping, my mind races as I try to work out what they could’ve been looking for. And who the heck are ‘they?’ There’s only one suspicious thing I own, but with the kitchen unscathed, I’m hoping Ferret’s still secure in his hiding spot.

Deran brushes past. Keeping me firmly behind him, he scans the living area. Nothing stirs. Even the air holds its breath. Cautiously, Deran slinks toward my bedroom. I scamper after him, not wanting to be left alone.

The bedroom is empty. No one hides in the shadows to pounce on us.

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