After we left the station, we strolled hand in hand down Woodward Avenue heading toward the Detroit River. The leisurely pace we set was a welcome change from the desperate race we’d been on ever since we’d left Salem.
While we walked, Evie pointed out apartment buildings, and we made up stories about the people who might live in them. It was something we’d done from time to time—usually whenever I promised that one day we’d stop running. Although I was certain she played the game more to placate me than because she believed my assertions. Still, it was a nice distraction from the danger that had been close behind us. We talked about the life we’d have if it were us.
The farther we walked, the more the idea of staying in one place seemed to resonate with her. I allowed my hopes to rise in conjunction with her excitement. On our walk, we passed the places the city’s downturn had yet to claim—places that still drew some of the almighty tourist dollar.
“This will never work,” Evie murmured as we passed buildings we’d never afford to live in and that were impossible to live in rent-free.
“Trust me?” I’d visited Detroit a couple of times during my travels with my family and tasted the decay first hand. There were plenty of opportunities for two wayward souls like us to find a place to live among the edges of society.
By the time we reached the intersection of Charlotte Street, I almost felt like the universe was guiding us home. The name, Charlotte, would forever be synonymous in my mind with our first reunion and the lessons I’d learned since then.
I tugged on Evie’s arm and turned onto that street, leaving the main road to head into areas a little more suitable for our needs. Within minutes of walking, the atmosphere had changed, shifting to show all the signs of the unfortunate deterioration of the once beautiful city.
“Can’t you imagine settling down here?” I asked, waving my hands around the deserted streets and overgrown lawns.
She snorted. “It’s not exactly the dream.”
I pulled her to a stop, swinging her around so that I could meet her gaze.
“You know what my dream is?” I brushed my fingers across her forehead, tucking in a few strands that had fallen loose during our walk, before caressing her cheek with my palm. “My dream is to spend more than a few hours in a bed with you—preferably not sleeping.”
I pressed my lips against hers, exerting the lightest of pressure but drawing out a wanton sigh regardless.
When I lifted my mouth from hers, a sly grin crossed her lips, and it became clear she was starting to see it my way. She was as desperate for me as I was for her. My heart beat faster, and my cock started to swell in celebration.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, tucking her body against my side as we walked more slowly, surveying the area and assessing the houses nearby. The way she pointed out different places, it became very clear that I wasn’t the only one who was looking for somewhere to stay any longer.
Even if it was only a temporary stay, we weren’t heading back for the Amtrak station anytime soon.
CHAPTER THREE
A LITTLE FARTHER up the road, we stumbled across a small low-rise apartment building, which, with its bay windows and romantic archways, must have been a beauty in its day.
Fenced off, boarded up, and with a bright green carpet of moss covering most of the bottom third of the bricks, it wasn’t a great permanent solution. However, it would definitely suffice for a night or two. Certainly long enough for us to entertain ourselves by not sleeping for a while.
Before our travels, I would’ve worried Evie might be against staying somewhere so rundown, but we’d slept in a couple of buildings in similar, and worse, conditions. It was almost ironic that before our last separation, before I had indulged of the forbidden fruit and knew how good it tasted, I would’ve refused to make love to her in such a hovel.
Now the run-down building was like a beacon to me for the promise of carnal fulfillment it offered. My need was so desperate it took everything I had to stop myself from claiming her on the spot, regardless of the possibility of prying eyes. The one thing that convinced me was that being arrested for public indecency wouldn’t do much to help my argument that we could pass through Detroit unnoticed.
“Maybe we could stop for a few hours,” she said, confirming my assessment that she was as desperate as I was for some uninterrupted alone time. Seeming to read my mind, she dragged me closer to the building I’d already earmarked as a potential hideaway.
“I’m not sure a few hours will really cut it,” I said as I drew her against me.
The evidence of my desire pressed hard against her hip. The need she’d inspired in me had to be obvious. She bit her lip before I coaxed it from between her teeth by dragging my own across it.
“Maybe a night or two?” I suggested between soft kisses. “If you still want to keep running after that, we will.”
“Oh god,” she moaned as I cupped her ass before slipping my fingers around to brush briefly over her body to inflame her need further.
Her cheeks were flushed and a new heat radiated from her body, branding me with her desire. I craved her, and was more than ready to deliver everything she wanted—to fulfill her every desire.
With the silent promise of what would come next on our lips, we broke apart to scope the area. While she scanned the streets for potential witnesses, I jumped the fence and hunted for an access point. A quick lap around the base of the building confirmed the lower level was too well secured to gain access.
The glass was missing from a number of the windows on the first floor though. I would be able use that to my advantage.
The decorative green molding that ran the length of the building offered a handhold. As I grabbed hold, I hoped like mad it wouldn’t simply crumble in my hands as soon as it bore any weight. Careful to avoid knocking the hardened and desperate parts of myself against the brick wall, I hoisted my body up onto the first floor and scrambled inside through the first open window I found.
Being sure to step around the obvious areas of dry rot on the wooden floors, I did a quick assessment of the place. It wasn’t the Ritz, but it would do until I could find something more permanent.
If we decided to stay in Detroit like I wanted that was.
I turned back to the window and signaled for Evie to follow me. In almost no time, I was helping guide her slender frame through the open window. The moment she was inside, I attacked. I didn’t care how rotten the floor was, or how high the chance was that the whole building would collapse on top of us with a single step in the wrong place.
I wanted her.
Needed her.
Craved her.
Brushing my tongue against hers, I held her in my arms and relished the burn that accompanied her magic touch. The way she clutched at me, as if her hands couldn’t decide which part they most wanted to hold, assured me that my every feeling was reciprocated. It had been only a few days since we’d last succumbed to desire, but it felt like a lifetime. Even if I’d been getting my fill daily—hourly—I didn’t think it would be enough.
As our clothes fell to the floor, we used them to form a makeshift mattress among the peeling paint and warped, lifting floorboards. Our surroundings soon disappeared and I was lost in her embrace, no longer lying with her in the middle of the rabble and debris.
Her eyes captured me and held me captivated as I moved over her. Entering her was like inhaling oxygen after being deprived for too long—a much needed deep breath that would allow me to survive.
“Fuck, Evie,” I murmured as I moved inside her to the symphony of her desperate moans. “This is . . .” My voice trailed off as her legs wrapped around my waist, drawing me deeper and demolishing all capacity for thought.
Too soon, it was over, and we were both boneless and spent. The only consolation was that we had time to do it all over again before we had to move on.
We spent the rest of the afternoon, and most of the night, wrapped up in each other, safe inside the tiny slice of
paradise we’d carved for ourselves.
“YOU KNOW what I want more than anything else in the world?” I asked as I threaded my fingers with hers before lifting them into the soft light of the rising sun filtering through the open window.
“What’s that?”
“I want a long, normal life with you. I want a white picket fence and a house in the suburbs.”
“Kids?” she croaked. Her face paled, and she turned away.
“No!” I said, perhaps a shade too fast. We both knew there was only one known way for a phoenix to reproduce—death. I didn’t want a family that way. Ever. I could do without kids, so long as I had her. Rolling onto my side, I wrapped my arm around her naked form before kissing the side of her neck. “Maybe a dog.”
“What sort of dog?”
“Does it matter?”
She sighed. It was possible, but unlikely, I imagined the sorrow in the tiny sound. “I’m just trying to picture it.” Her voice was wistful, longing.
“Umm, how about one of those little white fluffy ones that just yap yap yap all day long?” I moved my lips over her skin. With each yap, I made the sound first against her throat, then her collarbone, before lifting up to reach her breasts. “Girls like them, don’t they?”
With a playful swat, she pushed my yapping mouth away from her. If nothing else, I had succeeded in making her smile.
“That noise would drive me insane,” she said.
“What about a great big German Shepherd? Something that can keep watch over you all day and make sure you’re safe.”
Her hands closed around my cheeks. “I’d rather you be my guard dog.”
“So, no dog then.” I gave the best shrug I could from my half-prone position. “How about a swimming pool?”
“Why?”
“For late night skinny-dips of course.”
She gave a soft chuckle. The sound was so beautiful that it made me want to draw out another. “Of course,” she said, “how would we survive life without late night skinny dipping?”
“Exactly. I’m glad you understand the logic.” I leaned forward and kissed her but was interrupted by her yawn. We’d had some rest earlier in the night, but each time we’d found sleep her nightmares had woken us. “For now though, I think you should try to get a little more sleep.”
“I’m not tired.” She yawned again, giving away her lie.
I cocked my brow at her, putting my doubt on display. She was trying to be strong, I could see that, but I would feel guilty if she didn’t have enough sleep because of me. As much as I wanted to insist on entertaining her in other ways, she needed rest.
Once she let go, she was asleep within a half hour despite her protests and resistance.
As soon as she was snoring lightly, I left a note telling her I’d be back soon and then headed out to gather a few supplies for breakfast. A few blocks from our little overnight squat, I found a small dive bar that was open for breakfast and decided to treat Evie to something hot and filling.
After ordering our food, I started to chat with the bartender who instantly recognized that I wasn’t a local—perhaps because I hadn’t ordered copious volumes of alcohol as a liquid breakfast like every other person in the bar. I confirmed that I was a visitor, but that I was interested in settling down. Despite giving me an odd look—perhaps because everyone else was trying to get the hell out of the city—she told me that there were plenty of available apartments around.
I nodded but was a little worried about the ability to get something long-term without a job history or giving out too many details to the property managers.
While I waited for my order, the guy beside me at the bar, one with a Bloody Mary in front of him despite the early hour, moved closer. “Did I hear you right? You’re looking for an apartment?”
I shot him a suspicious glance. “Yeah, why?”
He flicked a business card up between his fingers. “I manage a building a couple of miles from here. I’m always interested in new tenants.”
After glancing at the card he’d offered, which was almost blank except for a barely legible, handwritten phone number on it, I took a moment to assess his attire and attitude. With my experience dealing with less than ethical people, his behavior screamed unprofessional and dishonest. If I was reading him right, his shadiness might work to my advantage.
Even though I probably should have consulted with Evie, the idea of being able to surprise her with a plan, with a solution for the future, made me too excited, and I decided to find out what options we had as soon as I could.
The bartender returned to hand me my order but before I left, I struck up another conversation with the property manager.
“So what do you have available at the moment?”
Raking his hand through his hair, he scoffed, “What don’t I have available? Or have you been living under a rock?”
I decided to take a gamble on his potential underhandedness. “Let’s assume I have cash and am able to move in immediately, what do you have?”
“You have cash?” With a laugh, he waved me off. “So did the last three tenants that skipped out on me. No point having cash if you don’t have a job to get more.”
“If you can get me somewhere cheaper than a grand a month, I can do at least four months upfront.” The figure was likely to be high for Detroit, but I hoped it would be enough to earn his interest.
He sat up a little straighter and offered me his undivided attention. “What do you need exactly?”
For a moment, I paused to consider his question. We wouldn’t need an expensive apartment with all of the trimmings. All I wanted was to be able to give Evie the basics she’d had to endure without for years, like a permanent place with electricity and running water. “Anything with basic utilities and a bed.”
As an out-of-towner looking for something under-the-table, I knew I was going to be taken for a ride on the cost. It was worth it for a place to settle with Evie for a while though. Besides, it was likely the extra cash would go a long way in keeping his mouth shut if someone came looking for us—or at very least give him a reason to give us a little warning to get out.
“I think I can help you out.” He offered a grin that had a predatory edge. “Come see me at ten.”
After confirming the address with him, I headed back to Evie with a skip in my step. Things were definitely looking up.
We ate breakfast in our hideaway, and I spent the time putting out feelers about how she would feel about settling down in Detroit for good, or at least for a few months. Her initial response wasn’t overwhelmingly negative. In fact, it would have been excited if not for the little fearful tone her voice took on when she spoke about being found. It was enough to make my decision for me. If the guy could show me even one apartment that I thought was suitable, I would jump on it.
Within an hour, I was out of the house again, on my way to the meeting. It wouldn’t have surprised me if Evie suspected what I was doing, but she didn’t question me on it when I said I needed to head out for a few hours on my own.
During the walk to the address I’d been given, I passed cookie-cutter houses and perfectly manicured lawns and started to worry that the apartment he wanted to show me would be like those. As much as I wanted that life for Evie, I was a realist. We couldn’t have that yet—or maybe ever. The reality was that in smaller communities like the one we’d wandered into, everyone knew everyone else’s business. Their pasts, their plans for the immediate future, and any secrets they had never remained hidden for long. Everyone knew everything about their neighbors even if they never spoke to them. I couldn’t risk someone being that inquisitive about Evie. It was far too dangerous.
When I closed in on the meeting point, I relaxed. The vacant lots grew more frequent, the grass more unkempt, and the buildings grew in size from single family houses to multi-story apartment buildings. I stopped in front of a four-story building. At a guess, it must have held at least fifty apartments. The exterior of the building hinted at deep
corridors and confusing labyrinths. It was run-down and in desperate need of some TLC. Cracked windows and broken sills featured heavily across the apartments that faced the street. Despite that, it wasn’t quite ready to be condemned.
Better still, because the building was already tenanted, we wouldn’t have to worry about being caught climbing in and out of an abandoned place. Determined to keep Evie safe from discovery by my family—the Rain in general—and to give her the best life I could, I was ready to move on it. Despite its obvious flaws—in fact, because of them—I had decided the apartment was probably perfect without even stepping inside.
After finding the property manager for our meeting, he showed me an apartment on the first floor. The mold on the ceiling and rising damp on the floor suggested that the room wasn’t supposed to be available for rent. No doubt there was something less than legal being offered, but I didn’t care. Those flaws were easily fixed. The most important thing was that the apartment would keep us off the grid.
While showing me around the small one-bedroom, the man went on about how he’d been the property manager through four different corporate owners. That he didn’t mind taking his liberties here and there to ensure he received his fair share. His boasts about what amounted to larceny continued while a cacophony of people screaming at each other or having noisy sex played on around us.
I was sold.
The place was cheap, available, crowded enough for us to easily disappear into the background, and relatively close to the Amtrak station. Although I wanted to settle down for a long time, I needed to be realistic about the fact that we might end up back on the road again in a hurry.
Within minutes, I’d reached an agreement with the property manager, telling him it was perfect before handing over the four months rent. “Perfect” might have been a slight exaggeration, but it was enough. Unless we wanted to keep traveling forever, it was unlikely we would find anywhere better. Besides, I could see us finding a place of peace among the noisy neighbors. After all, the people who didn’t want to answer questions were usually the ones least likely to ask them in return.
Among the Debris (Son of Rain #2) Page 3
