Velvet Roses Ch. 09

"Just remember, I have eyes and ears all over this city. Screw me over, and you'll both reap the consequences."

*Both*

As the word echoed in his mind, Dane's body tensed and his heart tightened. His hands fisted at his sides, and he could feel dread creeping into his gut. But before it could weigh him down he continued on, his boots splashing in puddles of water as he made his way out of the dank alley.

* * * *

A bitter wind blew past Dane, cutting straight through the barrier of his clothing and ruffling his hair, yet so engrossed in the sight of the building before him, he hardly took notice of the nippy weather.

Following his meeting with Slade in the alleyway, Dane had driven to Jeneda's, and for the past five minutes, he'd been standing outside of her apartment building, gazing up at the third floor where she lived.

Although her curtains were drawn, he could tell from the light shining through them that she was still awake. He could also make out her silhouette, and as he stood there staring wistfully at her window, he came to the realization that she wasn't alone.

Along with the unmistakable outline of Jeneda's body, there were also two other silhouettes. This led him to wonder just who these other two people were, and as the minutes passed by, he found that his eagerness to know was nearly overwhelming.

Despite the fact that he knew Jeneda wanted nothing to do with him, and would undoubtedly deny him entrance to her residence, he was still strongly tempted to make a go for it anyway, and as his eyes landed on the call box next to the building entrance, he found himself wondering if it wasn't at least worth a try.

A few more minutes elapsed before he retrieved his cell phone from his pocket, and after dialing in her number, he positioned his thumb over the 'send' button, yet instead of pressing it, he stared anxiously at the display screen.

Several seconds passed before he finally put the call through, yet to his disappointment, his call was diverted straight to voicemail. No surprise there, considering she was thoroughly disgusted by him, but it still stung like hell to know that she wasn't even willing to let his calls to come through.

He'd just slipped the phone back into his pocket when the lobby door to Jeneda's apartment opened, and as he caught sight of two people exiting, he instantly recognized them as Jeneda's friends. The last time he'd seen them had been nearly a month ago at the comic book convention, but that memorable day was firmly implanted in his memory, so he knew who they were.

As they descended the steps of Jeneda's apartment building, Dane turned his back to them, then leaned against his car, feigning a casual air in hopes that they wouldn't notice him.

Preoccupied with amiable conversation, neither Ethan nor Luna took note of his presence, and as they sauntered down the sidewalk in the opposite direction, Dane felt the tenseness in his body dissipate.

He already felt like a stalker, and was all too aware of just how pathetically creepy he'd become, so the last thing he needed was for her friends to bear witness to his sad display.

It wasn't until he heard the sound of an engine starting up, followed by their car driving off, that Dane glanced back up at Jeneda's window, and upon noticing that the living room light had been turned off, he headed towards the building, making a beeline for the fire escape.

He made his way swiftly upward, gripping the cold steel ladder tightly as he took the steps two at a time, and as he reached the landing where her windows were located, he lowered himself to a squatting position.

He then retrieved a small piece of notepad paper from his blazer pocket, as well as a single red rose. He placed them both on her windowsill, and after casting a lingering glance at her blind-covered bedroom window, he rose to his feet and made his way back down the fire escape.