Page 203 of Soul So Dark

“Apologies for the lateness of the hour,” Ezra greets me with a hint of amusement. “I just need to do a wellness check of sorts.”

I furrow my brow. “Wellness check?”

“Who’s in here with you?” Ezra asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

“My girl,” I reply, leaning against the doorframe.

“Mmm,” he nods, a smile tugging at his lips. “this wouldn’t be your boo from GalactiCon, would it? Would you be able to produce said girl?”

I peer at him through slitted eyes. “What for?”

Now he can’t contain his smile. He looks down the hallway, making sure no one is within earshot.

“Your neighbor, Felicity Stratton, was taking her dog out and said when she walked by your door, it sounded like a young woman was being brutally murdered and dismembered in your apartment.”

I should’ve known; Felicity Stratton and her $15,000 Yorkie with the $10,000 diamond studded collar. I’m surprised she even takes her dog out herself, as the wife of a supreme court justice who has her nose in everyone else’s business.

“That’s funny, the same sounds come from her apartment when she’s out of town for one of her Right to Life fundraisers.”

“Well, next time give me a call and I’ll be sure to notify her of any disturbances of the peace,” he chuckles. “In the meantime, I just need to confirm everyone in your residence is alive and unharmed.”

“Dallas,” I bite my bottom lip, trying not to laugh, “there’s someone here who needs to speak with you.”

A few seconds later, Dallas slowly peeks out from around the corner. When she sees Ezra in his black uniform and body armor, much like the kind I wear every day, she furrows her brow and shrinks back slightly. I shoot him a look to imply that he should hurry it up and not linger too long.

“Good evening, ma’am,” he nods. “I received a concern about your well-being, can I check on you?”

Dallas takes a small step around the corner, but remains partially obscured by the wall. “Yes, I’m alright,” she says softly.

Ezra nods and then turns to me with a smirk. “Ishouldbe asking you if she’s of legal age.”

At least he says it so she doesn’t hear. The last thing Dallas needs is someone implying she still looks like a kid just because of her size.

“She may not be able to rent a car, but she can purchase alcohol and eat more chicken wings than you any day of the week.”

“I don’t even want to know what that means,” Ezra turns away with a shake of his head and starts back down the hallway. “Have a good night, Barrera!”

I shut the door with a chuckle and head back into the apartment, but Dallas isn’t at the table where I left her. Instead, she’s standing across the living room next to the wall of windows, looking down at the container that Thatch brought all the way here.

“They’re called Gunnison’s Mariposa.”

Dallas glances over her shoulder at me, and then back down at the light purple flowers, blooming as if they knew she would be here to see them.

“What?” she murmurs barely loud enough for me to hear.

There’s a long silence after I take my seat at the table again, watching her from across the room.

“I thought AJ—” but she stops herself, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that we are one and the same. “I thoughtyouwere Bowen because of that picture you sent me. The one of the flowers in the mural at JFK, because of the bluebonnets in it.”

“Those weren’t bluebonnets.”

“Yes,” she insists. “The blue flowers.”

“No, Dal,” I smile. “Those are bluebells and the mural was a photo some famous photographer took in Colorado. Bluebonnets grow in Texas. Theycan’tgrow in Colorado.”

“How do you know all this?” she squints at me.

“Because,” I gaze at her against the dark backdrop of the night sky, “you’re from the valley,Mariposita,and now you’re finally home.”