London seems eighty times more beautiful today. The sun's rays are peaking through the clouds like staircases to heaven. The common smell of rain reaches out to me in my office chair. My head drops back as I close my eyes.
I run over the clock in the corner of my screen and a sigh spikes my lungs. What I thought felt like minutes is only seconds. Today is going to be another long day of work.
My eyes reflect the humongous window pane in my office. I stare at the mysterious clouds hanging above the city as my elbow digs into the arm of the chair and I drop my head into my palm to doze off. The clouds consume me with all their beauty, luring me into the sky. Worries are no longer concerns and burdens refrain from mattering.
A small smile breaks the muscles in my face.
Danni is the only thing on my mind.
The way she walks, how she speaks—the sound of her voice, the way she makes me feel....feel something indescribable. How her eyes follow and lead me on. The mysteriousness surrounding her. Rapid thoughts strain my mind.
But she wants to take things slow.
Taking things slow. This is going to be new. I've never done slow in past relationships. It's always been one night stands, dates for a week, and a farewell it was fun while it lasted. What does going slow even mean?
Vibrations tackle the side of my leg. I reach down to grab my phone and flip it over revealing the name on the screen. Danni?
"Danni?" I hesitantly say into the phone, thoughts forming into words.
"Mr. Blake there's a—"
I cut her off and lift a brow. "Love, we've been over this a thousand times. It's Luke."
"Mr. Blake, that's not important right now. I need security to come down to the storage unit rooms of sub level three and help a woman who is severely injured. She needs an ambulance," she demands with a strong voice. I jerk up in my chair before jumping to my feet.
"I'm on my way." Right after storming out of my office, my eyes land on the first person who crosses my path. "Mrs. Parkaway, contact an ambulance and have them come down to sub level three," I instruct and she nods her head. Security is notified and I meet them on the lower floor before rushing to find where she is.
The guards do their part to survey the scene and declare it safe as I rush into the small storage closet. Bright lights shine on top of two blondes. I relax to see Danni safe and then pan my vision over to the injured woman.
Danni glimpses over to see me in the room. "She can't get up because of the shelf. I can't lift it." I motion security to help and move out of the room. Once the woman is supporting most of her weight on Danni, I smell the blood as it pours from her leg and drips over the floor.
The woman looks up to meet my face. "I-I apologize for interrupting your work Mr. Blake—"
"What happened?"
She takes her time. I wait for my answer as we bring her out of the storage room. "S-someone attacked me from behind while I was in here. I think he had a knife." Three paramedics enter the conversation from behind.
Danni shuffles over to a stretcher they have set up and willingly gives the woman into their hands. I look back at the room with spilled blood wondering who would do this. Why, who, when, and how long has she been stuck in there for?
Danni has a short conversation with the victim. Thank yous and your welcomes are spouted in the air and she's taken away by the paramedics. I order one of the security men to have the mess cleaned up immediatly and they all disperse back to the ground floors.
After seeing the vicitm off, I gently press on the small of Danni's back and lead her over to my private elevator. The doors close, I press my keycard against the scanner bolted to the wall, and turn to her. "What happened?" She shifts her chest to me. Swallows. Her cheeks are slightly flushed from the event.
"She said a man, about six feet, entered the room with her, dressed in black. His face was covered by a hat. He cut open her leg as she was looking for something. But when she fell to the ground he started cursing. It sounded like he messed up or something." Danni is steadily holding her voice until she tells the last part of the story. "He kept asking her questions and when she couldn't answer he shoved the shelf on top of her."
I shift my weight to my other leg. "What kinds of questions?"
"He was looking for me."
I don't move. The shock of it all overwhelms me. Someone willing to hurt innocent people wants Danni. Why?? Ideas and assumptions consume me like a tidal wave, fast and hard. Then it hits me. The reason why that man went after the woman instead of Danni. They look identical.
It makes sense. Danni and the other woman have roughly the same height, build, and hair color. That's why he was upset. He targetted the wrong five-foot, blonde-haired woman. He must've gotten word that she was on her way down to level three and took his chance to strike before she managed to make it.
I'm staring at the floor wondering what would've happened if Danni was the one to get hurt. What would I do? What would she do? Would she call me? Would she handle it on her own? Why is she shaking?
My eyes peer up to her twitching hands. "Hey," I call but she's caught in her reflection of the elevator door. Her shoulders look rigid and tense. My hand feels the warmth around her wrist and pulls her into my chest. She takes a deep breath, a little shaky. "You okay?" She says she is.
I don't believe her.
Danni stays by my side for the rest of the day as I write up a police report on what happened. Sometimes she catches her reflection and it takes her a minute to snap back to reality. I can't help but watch her. Can't help but wonder if she's really okay with everything that just happened.
At the end of the day, we ride down to the parking garage and climb into my car.
"Can you take me home?" I grip my hand on the steering wheel and look at her. Just as I'm about to agree a shallow breath hits my lungs. I breathe out in disbelief
"No," I start off, raising my eyes, "A man stabbed a woman because he mistook her for you and now you want to go back to your apartment, knowing that he could be waiting and ready to strike again?" Like hell, I'm going to take her home. Over my dead body because if I do then we both might as well be dead.
She looks away to the dashboard. "Look, if you don't want to give me a ride to my apartment, I'll just take the subway." Danni leans into the passenger door of my car and steps outside.
"Danni wait," I call after her. When she doesn't stop, I swing myself out of my car and rush after her. "Danni." She keeps walking.
Why does she have to be so stubborn?
"Danni!" I give her a quick shout and take a hold of her wrist. Her hair flies behind her as she whips her eyes in my direction. "Well?" she shatters the silence between us in the empty parking lot and raises her brows.
"I'll take you home," I agree in defeat, mostly because I don't want her walking out in the night and taking the Metro Train, "but if I get any sense that something's off, you're coming back to my place." She lets out a sigh before strolling back over to the Lamborghini and entering the passenger's side.
As the two of us zoom through the streets of London, I catch Danni endlessly staring out of her window. She looks tired. Beat and worn down. I tighten my grip around the wheel.
After parking into one of the spaces in front of her apartment, I reach over and rubbed her shoulder. Immediately after, she jumps so high her head almost crashes into the ceiling.
What was up with her lately? I couldn't figure her out.
"We're here, love," I say quietly, then open my door and step out to open hers.
She gives me a quick smile and we start walking up the stairs of the apartment building. Our footsteps echo down the hall of her floor. Some of the floorboards creak beneath us as I follow her.
Everything seems to be going well as I give a moment's notice over and see someone else's door slightly open. Light from the room shines into the hall as I turn my head in front again. Half of my sight catches the room number. Room twenty-two.
Last I checked that was her apartment.
"Danni," I capture her attention.
She stops to turn her head in my direction and responds back with a simple, "hm?"
"Where are we going?" I catechize, sliding my hands into the pockets of my slacks. I'm carrying a stern look now, staring at her. Her eyes flicker to the side and swirl with bafflement.
"To my apartment room?" she questionably states and I squint my eyes, making an "ah huh" sound.
"Which is what number?" She rotates her head to look and point in the direction of her room. I inch closer to her while she's turned around.
"Room 28," she answers and immediately jolts back after finding me a foot away. Her pupils dilate after I lean into her face. Concern cleans her face as her expression broadens.
"Don't lie to me," I whisper in her ear, hearing her breath shake. "Your room doesn't go this far down the hall." I drift away from her ear to stare straight through her eyes. After the seconds disperse in the air, I leave her behind and dash back to the mysteriously lit room.
"Luke!" I open the door. Once my eyes adjust to the yellow lighting, they blaze open in shock. I scan the area left to right still holding onto the handle of the door. All of the furniture has been turned over, cabinets were all forced open, and even some of her clothes were thrown onto the floor.
I wander around the room at a slow pace. Danni's hands touch the walls of her room as she saunters around.
I blink a few times before biting down on my jaw. "Danni—" I shift my head in her direction.
"It's not like they broke anything—" she tries to convince.
"Danni—" I repeat, wanting to grab her attention.
"It's not even that bad." Her hands pick up some of the clothes and turn over a chair. I stand by as she runs from corner to corner, cleaning as if an unexpected guest has arrived.
"Danni—" I keep my voice calm.
"I'll be okay, I just need to clean this—"
"Pierce," I breathe out.
"I thought I told you never to call—"
"Well, exactly how else am I suppose to get you to listen to me?" She stands completely still and rubs the arm hanging by her side.
I walk up to her. "You're staying at my place for a while." Her eyes knock up and finally meet with mine. She releases her arm and takes a small step closer to where I'm standing.
"Listen, I know it doesn't seem safe—"
"You're damn right it's not safe," I copy her statement, pasting it back in the air.
"I can handle myself."
"Oh really?" I throw my fist at her and she's able to block it. My next three attempts fail before I'm able to pin her to the wall. After winning the argument, I back away. I give her space.
"Danni, why do you want to stay here so badly?"
"Luke, I'm a grown adult who can perfectly handle herself in a situation like this—" She pauses after side-stepping into what sounds like glass. Both of our eyes drop to the floor. I recall her statement from before about nothing being broken.
The edge of my eyes finds a bag and I take it upon myself to stroll over to her closet. Danni follows me, asking what I think I'm doing, but I don't answer. Her voice calls to me and I ignore it.
"No Luke, don't go in there," she demands as I begin opening all of the drawers to her dresser. I finally came across her shirts, pants, and underwear. My hands open the bag and hold it out to her. Confused, she asks me for the hundredth time what I'm doing.
"Throw some of your clothes in the bag or I will," I command in a harsh voice.
"No Luke," she snaps back at me, propping both hands on her hips.
My shoulders shrug. "Have it your way." My fingers pick handfuls of shirts and socks. Then move onto her underwear drawer.
"Luke stop!" she shouts, tugging on my arm.
I shake her off and move onto the next drawer, picking up the first pieces of clothing that catch my eyes. "The deal was if I found anything suspicious that we would leave. I've found more than enough evidence to prove my theories. So we're leaving." My hands knot off the bag and drop it to the ground. Now it was time for the difficult part.
"Luke, everything's fine just—"
"Danni your bed covers are on fire!" I bellow with worry splayed on my face.
"What?" She spins around in the direction of my eyes, panicked. By the time she notices that no fire is present, I hurl her onto my shoulder and wrap an arm around her waist. With every opportunity, she ventures to roll out of my grasp and a grunt leaves her chest. In the time I'm calming down the stubborn beast on my back, she's kicking her legs in the air. "Luke put me down! I'm staying here!" she hollers in the open room as I try to quiet her down.
"No, you're not. You're coming with me whether you like it or not." The moment I say this, her body tumbles off of me until my other hand quickly, and unintentionally, winds up grasping the side of her butt. Danni gives a slight shriek but stays positioned on my shoulder. "Took you long enough," I complain, relieved that she's stopped moving.
I pick up the bag of clothes, carry her all the way back to the car, and leave the apartment.
In the meantime, I throw her in the passenger's seat, switch on the child safety lock, and listen to the car door as it closes.
"You're so stubborn, you know that right?" I mention while starting the ignition of the car and reaching my arm over the seat to look behind for any oncoming cars. Before backing out, a glimpse of Danni rolling her eyes like a child phases me. I try to hold back a tempting smile. I try to focus on my driving.
The persistence and stubbornness she obtains only makes me crazier about her.