Page 47

Forty-Seven

S he barely heard Alice’s parting words as she flew up the stairwell, heart pounding, boots thudding against worn concrete steps. Her breath came hard and fast, fogging in the cold air.

Alfie.

Three months. Three impossible, surreal months—and he was here. Just upstairs. Just on the other side of a door.

She reached the landing and knocked—then thought better of it and knocked harder.

After a few seconds, the door opened. A tall man filled the frame, wiping his hands on a rag. He wore grease-streaked blue overalls, and the smell of engine oil and cigarettes wafted out with him.

Darius blinked, his mouth slowly falling open. “...Leonie?”

Her name came out low, like he couldn’t believe his eyes.

She nodded, throat tight. “Hey.”

He looked her over—worn, pale, her coat rich and out of place in this old hallway—and said, “Nah, this ain’t real. You’re meant to be gone. Disappeared.”

“I was,” she said, breathless. “But I’m here now.”

A scuffle of nails on linoleum rang out from inside, followed by a familiar bark.

And then Alfie was there.

The little mutt launched himself at her like a comet—furrier, a bit leaner, but alive and whole. His front paws thudded against her chest as he licked her chin, nose, cheeks, whimpering frantically like he couldn’t believe it either.

Leonie sank to her knees. “Oh my God, Alfie—baby—oh, I missed you so much?—”

She buried her face in his fur. He smelled like dust and mechanic grease and something faintly floral. Someone had bathed him. Loved him.

Her eyes welled with tears as he covered her in licks, his tail a blur of joy.

Behind them, Darius leaned against the doorframe, arms folded, watching.

“I told that lil’ thing to stop waiting by the window,” he muttered, softer than before. “But he wouldn’t listen. Like he knew.”

Leonie looked up, wiping her eyes. “You looked after him.”

Darius gave a small shrug. “Didn’t think I was a dog person, yeah? But I dunno. He grew on me. He’d stare out at your flat like he was waiting for a signal or something.”

“I can’t thank you enough,” she whispered.

He nodded. “I didn’t have the heart to send him off. Not when he clearly had someone.”

Leonie stood, Alfie cradled in her arms, still wriggling with joy. “I’m going to take him now. I need to.”

“Of course,” Darius said, though there was a flicker of sadness in his eyes. “He’s yours. Always was.”

She hesitated. “You should get one of your own. There’s plenty of rescues in need of homes.”

He chuckled. “Don’t start. I’ve already been thinkin’ about it.”

There was a moment—strange and warm—where things almost felt normal. Her dog in her arms. Her neighbor gently teasing. The hallway creaking with the old sounds of life.

Then the air changed.

He was behind her.

She didn’t need to turn. She felt it in her spine, in the pressure shift of the hallway, in Alfie’s slight growl as his ears twitched back.

Darius’s posture straightened. His eyes sharpened. “And who’s this?”

Leonie turned slowly. Karian filled the narrow hallway with his broad-shouldered frame, dressed in a long, sleek coat that shimmered just slightly wrong under the lights. His disguise still held—his features smooth, his form human—but there was something… off. Unplaceable.

Like he didn’t quite belong in this world of chipped paint and damp air.

Karian’s eyes flicked from her to Darius, unreadable. “I heard raised voices,” he said, voice smooth, rich. “I came to ensure you were safe.”

Darius stepped forward, subtly angling himself between Karian and Leonie. “You with him?” he asked her quietly.

Leonie hesitated—just for a heartbeat. Then nodded. “Yeah. I am.”

Darius didn’t look away from Karian. “He your boyfriend or somethin’?”

Karian tilted his head, amused. “Something like that.”

Darius frowned. “You sure you’re alright, Lee? You’ve been gone three months. Show up outta nowhere. Now you’re leavin’ again with some guy nobody’s seen before?”

“I’m alright,” she said, gently. “I promise.”

Darius didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t press.

“You ever need help,” he muttered, stepping back, “you know where I am.”

“I know,” she said, clutching Alfie close. “Thank you. For everything.”

With one last glance, she followed Karian back down the stairs, Alfie curled in her arms like a piece of her soul restored. Behind her, Darius stood in the doorway, watching, uncertain.

And as she descended into the cold evening, surrounded by the echoes of her past, she felt both sadness and elation.