He had to keep his mind on the priorities, both to protect his family and find his way back to Deidre before she disappeared from everywhere but his brain.
CHAPTER TEN
Deidre
Deidre’s heart raced as she stepped off the ferry onto the dock at Liverpool. She followed the crowd as they made their way into the city. It had been an exceptionally long time since she’d spent any time here, mostly just having paused before heading off to someplace further. The first order of business was to find a place to stay and make contact with the man who would provide her with documents she required to disappear.
The thought of it was a bit overwhelming. It would be nice to just become someone else. She could live out in the human world and do anything she wanted. She could work or go to school. Still, it was frightening to just walk away from everything you’d ever known, the good and the bad, and live a life on your own so far out of your element.
She had intended to find a cheap hotel but instead found herself passing an old building with a sign on the door that said they had rooms for rent. It looked like it had seen better days, but she’d instinctively gone inside.
“Aye, la. We’ve still rooms to rent. They’re by the week. Seventy-five quid,” a round face Scouser told her in a heavy accent.
“That sounds fair,” she replied.
“Come on, right. I’ll show you what we have,” the woman told her.
Deidre followed her out of the office and up a pair of creaky old stairs that seemed to go up forever.
“There’s no elevator, love. You’ll be carrying whatever you bring in. How long will you be stayin’?”
“I don’t know. Can we settle on a week for now?”
“Aye, la,” the woman replied, unlocking a door at the top of the stairs and stepping inside. “There’s no housekeeping or room service here. You’re on your own for meals and fresh linens if you stay past the week, but everything’s clean to start.”
Deidre stepped around her and looked around the room. It was actually quite large, a studio apartment that had seen better days. There were a double bed and a kitchenette, all furnished with the basics. To one side sat a small settee and chair.
“There’s no telly, but I do have some spare radios in the office if you want to buy a used one. We used to have them in the rooms, but they kept coming up missing. Thieves, ya know.”
“I’m fine. I think this will do,” Deidre told her.
“Very good. You have cash?”
“I do.”
“Then hand us seventy-five for your first week and I’ll give you a key.”
“No paperwork?”
“No. Too much to keep up with for my taste, and I can’t answer questions that I don’t know the answer to. If you want to stay longer than a week, just come and pay me again before your time is up.”
Deidre wasn’t sure how she felt about handing over cash for a room with no receipt, but she liked the idea of not having to provide any documentation. The worst that could happen was that they’d take her money or steal her stuff, and neither amounted too much. She pulled out some money from her pocket and paid the woman.
“There we go then. Enjoy your stay,” the woman told her, handing her a numbered key from the massive ring she carried.
“Thank you,” Deidre replied, walking her to the door and closing it behind her.
She looked around at her new home and sighed, walking over to the bed and dropping her bag on it. At least the place seemed clean and devoid of any multi-legged roommates. She felt safe here. Perhaps that was ill-advised, but she had the feeling that the woman downstairs didn’t give out information freely, so if anyone came asking about guests, they’d be sent packing pretty quickly.
That was one thing about dealing with humans in places like this. They didn’t know that there were people out there they should fear more than others. They were watchful for people with sharp objects, but never considered those could come in the form of claws.
Niall had told her to lay low for a few days while her paperwork was processed. It was to prevent anyone who might have picked up on her disguise or seen her with him prior to her arrival on the ferry. Even if they hadn’t, she couldn’t keep this getup on without the help of Sarah, and her face was already beginning to itch from the prosthetics stuck to her skin.
She began stripping off the disguise while she dialed Niall’s number. It went straight to voicemail, so she hung up and called the other number he’d programmed in, planning for a new identity with the man on the other end. They’d meet when it was dark and safer for her to leave.