Buttons and Pain (Buttons 3)

I finally halted the tears and dragged my hands down my face. I wiped away every drop of moisture and returned my face cheeks to the dry surface they’d been before. My eyes still felt red and puffy, but after a hot shower they would return to normal.

And I could move on with my life.

I walked into the kitchen and saw the business card sitting on the counter. In black embroidery was his name and contact information. I stared at his cell phone number and tried to memorize it just to give my mind something to focus on. I would never call Crow so there was no reason to keep it, but I couldn’t throw away something he gave me. It contained a form of his essence, and to toss that aside was like throwing a piece of him away.

I opened the kitchen drawer and dropped the card inside. His name still looked up at me, the font hinting at his profound masculinity and power. The card didn’t even explain what he did for a living, but the appearance made it clear it was something important—and dangerous.

I shut the drawer then went back to bed. Maybe if I went to sleep I would wake up refreshed and with a new start. Maybe this would just feel like a distant bad dream that I could forget about in a few weeks. Maybe it would feel like a new beginning.

***

After I got off work I went by the grocery store and picked up some groceries. Right now, the only edible things in my house were Top Ramen and stale crackers. Ordering a pizza wasn’t an option because I ordered so many over the past few weeks I was officially sick of them.

When I approached my building I saw a tall man with greasy hair standing off to the side of the entrance. He wore a black leather jacket that didn’t look manufactured in America, and when his eyes landed on me he gave me a look blacker than coal.

Like he knew me.

I kept walking and pretended I didn’t notice anything suspicious. He was the kind of guy that hung out with a bad crowd. There were a lot of ruthless men in the city so it wasn’t strange to see a shady man looking conspicuous, but it did seem strange that his hostility was directed at me.

A name popped into my head.

I took the stairs to my floor and walked down the hallway. The paranoid set in and I kept thinking about the distinct features that man possessed. He was harder than steel and more evil than the devil. I could feel it deep inside my gut. And something told me he was there for a reason. The look he gave me was coincidental. It was full of purpose.

Bones.

I got my keys in the lock and opened my door. My hands were shaking and I dropped the bags of groceries onto the tile without any intention of putting them away. A small part of me was convinced I was just being paranoid. After Crow left, I was an emotional wreck. I was so depressed I couldn’t think straight. Maybe this was just a side effect of his absence.

But what if I was wrong?

I pulled out the business card from the drawer and grabbed my phone. If I really were in serious danger the police couldn’t help me. Bones was too deadly and powerful. With an endless supply of men and weapons, he was a tank that couldn’t be bombed. Crow was my only savior if my hunch was right.

I typed the number into the phone but didn’t make the call. If I were wrong about the whole things Crow would come back for no reason. And if I had to say goodbye to him again I’d kill myself. That was hard enough the first time.

“Here.” A man’s voice came from the hallway. Two pairs of footsteps accommodated him, heavy boots hitting the hardwood floor outside my apartment. “234A.”

That was my apartment number.

Shit.

I hit send and placed the phone against my ear. I listened to it ring and waited for him to answer as I held my breath.

The doorknob gently turned but stopped when it hit the lock. They were testing out the door to see if they could just walk inside and find me standing there.

Shit.

I grabbed the biggest knife I could find and listened to the phone ring.

Goddammit, Crow. Answer.

He finally came onto the line. “Crow.”

I only had a second before I was captured so I said everything as quickly as possible. “Bones’ men are here for me. They’re about to break down the door—”

The second they heard my frantic voice they broke down the door with their massive shoulders and entered the apartment. All enormous with guns on their hips, I was no match for any of them. I wasn’t a match for even a single one.