Page 37 of Moros

I ensured the bedroom door was locked before I tried calling Dude, but my phone was now dead. That left me completely isolated because I hadn’t stopped to grab the charger in my rush to get us out of my place.

To get us away from the hail of bullets.

In the bathroom, I stripped down to nothing, turned on the water and sat in the tub under the downpour, crying again.

I’d spent my entire life alone.

No family.

No acquaintances.

No friends.

As an adult, I spent my time trying to stay away from people.

Yet, now, I found myself in a position where some unknown force wanted me dead and I’d walked into being some guy’s mistress with his woman in the same fucking house.

And it wasn’t that she was bad looking—Pasha was perfect and she fit together with Khadri in a strange kind of way.

I couldn’t even be mad at that.

He hadn’t kissed me because he wanted to.

It had to have been the adrenaline crash that made him a little loopy.

Maybe he was in a daze and mistook me for her because his mind was so gone.

I cried harder.

Bowing my head, I rested my forehead on my arm now folded on my knees.

8

RYANNE “SHORTY” LARWICK

Time passed.

Maybe it was because of all the excitement, I was suddenly lightheaded.

Maybe if I sat here, a little bit longer, the water would cool and calm my body.

When I lifted my head, I was lying on a bed, night had fallen and someone was standing at the window, his body silhouetted by the moonlight.

I cleared my throat.

He turned and smiled at me.

“Boss—what are you doing here?” I asked.

“I’m your shadow right now, Ryanne.” He replied, walking to sit on the side of the bed. “How you feeling?”

“Um—slight headache.”

I tried sitting up and was so weak, he had to help me.

Once I had pillows behind my back, I glanced around.

“This isn’t my room.”