Chapter 21

Danika woke late and wasn't surprised to find the apartment empty. She decided the best way to pay James back was to clean his place. Going through his stuff didn't seem right, so she was happy when she found the vacuum cleaner in the first closet she looked in.

After dusting the flat surfaces with a rag, she vacuumed the floor and then mopped the kitchen and bathroom. She cleaned the sinks and the tub, wiping down the counters before deciding to do his laundry.

The clothes he wore to workout in were very stinky and dirty. She searched online, making sure she wasn't doing anything wrong with his Navy shirts before she separated his clothes and washed the ones that weren't that dirty first, then she threw the stinky ones into the wash, letting them soak for a little while.

She ate the leftover spaghetti and meatballs for lunch and then took a nap before finishing his clothes. By the time he arrived home that evening, the place was clean, not that it had been bad before .

James stepped in and paused, sniffing the air. "You cleaned."

"How could you tell?"

"It smells better. You really didn't have to clean the place."

"I wanted to. It wasn't that dirty, just your clothes."

"Oh God, you really didn't have to take that on. The stuff I workout in is terrible. I'm sorry you had to deal with it."

She shook her head. "I'm not. It wasn't that bad. I mean, it was obvious you got sweaty, but it wasn't awful."

He set his stuff down and moved closer, pulling her up off the couch and into a hug. "Thank you. I don't expect you to clean up after me."

"I know. But I wanted to thank you for taking me in, for helping me."

He kissed her cheek, and goosebumps spread down her arms and across her shoulders. She wanted to lean in and do more, but James stepped back and shot her a devastatingly beautiful smile.

"So, dinner tonight. I haven't gone shopping in a few days. How about we order a pizza?"

"I could make something."

"No. Let's get pizza and watch a movie."

She nodded hesitantly. "Okay. Sounds good."

"Now, the hard questions. What toppings?"

She narrowed her eyes and tried to think back to when they'd been younger. They'd gone out to a local pizza place a few times, and the one thing she remembered most was he, like many other people, hated anchovies. She shot him a wicked smile, and his eyes narrowed.

They both said, "Anchovies," at the same time, then burst out laughing.

"You remembered," James said .

"Not everything, but I do remember how much you hated them. How about sausage and olives?" Danika said.

"I remembered that you liked those two together. We'll order that, and I'll get a supreme."

"Good. I'd like that."

He placed the order, and she felt a little guilty about the cost, but he said not to worry. She needed to start looking for a job that was close enough that she wouldn't need a car. She couldn't believe that moving to London with Ezra had wrecked so much of her life. Before the move, she'd had a good enough job, a car, a place to live, and money in the bank. After leaving the USA, little by little Ezra had taken everything from her. She had nothing to speak of, not even a job now.

"Hey, why so sad?" James asked as he stepped from his room.

"Just thinking about everything I gave up when I moved to England. I let him take over everything, and it wasn't really like me. But I didn't do anything to stop him. I thought I could trust him."

James leaned against the kitchen bar and crossed his arms over his chest. "Sometimes we put faith in the wrong person. I don't think my mom really liked the shit my dad did, but she didn't do anything to stop it."

"I remember your mom was nice, but she seemed powerless. After you left, she became a shell."

He nodded. "It sucks. I know she's gone, and I blame my dad. I didn't want to lose contact with her, but I had to leave. She didn't try to stop me. But if I could have said goodbye one more time, I think…I don't know. How the heck can any of it make sense? My mom did nothing to help me, but I know she was powerless against him."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could have done something at the time. I didn't know it was that bad. "

He shook his head. "We were both kids. How could you have known? In my job I see helpless kids who have been placed in unimaginable situations. They have no agency. They are used at the whims of their parents or grandparents or leaders in their community. It's awful."

"Have you ever been able to help them?" Danika asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I have a specific job. Going in and killing a warlord who is using everyone around them helps in a way. The world is full of terrible people who do really bad things. Sure, it's balanced out by people who are just living their lives, trying to find some happiness, or at least not staying in terrible situations. But every time we get rid of one horrible monster, it feels like there is another waiting around the corner."

She felt his words hit deep in her soul. By the time she'd realized that Ezra was a monster, she was in past her neck. She let go a sigh and met his gaze. "Being with Ezra, I feel like I was part of the problem. I need to atone for the sins I committed."

There was a knock at the door, cutting off whatever James had been planning to say. She almost didn't want him to reply to her comment. She knew she'd done wrong in the past. Karma would come back to get her. Maybe that's what was happening now.