Florence crept from the alley, staring at the bouncer’s huge body on the ground in shock. 

“You’re a really good actor,” he handed me back my knife and I placed back into the band, exposed now that I had only half a dress, “are you ok?” 

I shrugged and removed the bouncer’s sweatshirt, “I’ve had worse,” I tossed it to Florence, motioning for him to put it on, “The driver was supposed to wait nearby, but I don’t see him anywhere. We’re gonna have to go on foot.” 

He looked at me nervously, eyeing my self-inflicted wound, “Are you sure you didn’t cut too deep?” 

“I’ll be fine,” I hissed through gritted teeth as I started walking with swift intention, “And the drop off point isn’t that far.” 

 We made it there twenty minutes later, dark blood dripping down my arms and legs as they throbbed in unpleasant harmony with my shoulder. There were no cars in the parking garage that the Kill had instructed me to deliver Florence to. I sat down hard on the floor, and groaned, tilting my head back to stare at the flickering florescent lights overhead. 

Florence crouched beside me and stared at me, “Am I saved now?” 

I growled and shot him a glare from the corner of my eye, “Yeah, princess, just about.” 

He smiled and sat down, picking at his fingers absently while we waited. I pulled out my phone from my bra and peeled back the case, pulling the envelope from where I had hidden it. Dialing the number on the crumpled paper, I put it on speaker and dropped my phone beside me.  

“Hello?”  

The voice that answered was gruff and tired, almost as if I had woken him up. 

“It’s me,” I glanced at Florence and winked, “the hire. I’m waiting for you at the drop off.” 

The man on the other end of the line groaned and spoke to someone in a low tone. He cleared his throat and returned to the conversation at hand. 

“I’m afraid we can’t help you at the moment,” I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply to calm my boiling anger. 

“And why is that?” I asked forcefully. 

He hesitated, “Mr. Amallio and Director Nao are not quite done working out their...agreement. We are to retrieve the boy in 24 hours.” 

Florence made a noise beside me, and I looked over to see his eyes wide with fear. 

I shook my head and reached an arm out, pulling him closer until his head could rest on my shoulder. I hung up and shot a quick text to Bex, then slipped my phone back into my bra.  

“Shh,” I sighed in frustration as my sight went blurry with exhaustion, then returned to normal, “I’ll take you somewhere safe for now, don’t you worry princess.” 

He cried for a while, stopping just as a small car pulled up in front of us and the driver’s window rolled down. Bex stuck her head out and whistled, her radiance more blinding than ever. 

“Vik, honey, you look rough!” I struggled to stand, mumbling a quick thanks as Florence practically lifted me from the ground.  

We settled into the car, Florence sitting close to me in the back seat as I snarled under my breath, “This is why I don’t do fucking extractions.”   

Bex reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a towel and a couple of water bottles, “Try not to get too much blood on the car, yeah?”  

I grinned at this, and I held the towel to my bleeding thighs, handing the waters to Florence, who finished them within minutes. 

“Where are you taking me?” He sounded so tired as we drove. 

“Back to our place,” I nodded towards Bex who smiled in the rear-view mirror, “you can rest up there until tomorrow.” 

Florence’s eyes pooled up again with tears and I made a face, rolling my eyes as he leaned towards me again. 

“You really saved me,” He whispered into my shoulder, “Thank you so much.” 

I rolled my eyes again but found myself smiling as we pulled up to our house. 

“Dear lord, woman!”  

I winced as Donny grabbed my hands and pulled me into a clean embrace. He pulled away just long enough to make a face and survey his destroyed work. 

“What the hell happened?!” 

Florence, who was clinging to me like a lost puppy, glanced around at the cluttered house, his eyes still rimmed with tired tears. Donny sighed, looking from me to Florence then back. 

“Go shower and get some rest, honey,” He shot me a look and stomped off, grumbling about all of his hard work not being appreciated. 

I made my way up the stairs, Florence still behind me, and pointed to Donny’s bathroom, “You can shower there,” I panted and stumbled into him, mumbling an apology, “I-I’ll be patching up in the other bathroom if you need me.” 

He grabbed my arm as I started to collapse, my leg throbbing as the color in my face drained, “Vik!” 

My words were slurred and my breathing, fast and heavy as I lost more and more blood, “I’m fine...” I pushed Florence away and stumbled into the bathroom I shared with Bex, “Go shower.” 

Florence stared after me helplessly as I closed the door behind me and started the shower. I fumbled through the drawers under my sink until I found my first aid kit. Stripping off my half of a dress and spandex, I crawled into the shower and sat there for a while, too exhausted to even reach for the soap; I just let the water run over my body util the pain had subsided in my limbs and the blood had mostly stopped. When I finally stood and got out of the shower, I reached for a towel and dried myself off, breathing heavily all the while. Stitching up my wounds where I had cut myself for the sake of some guy and $800,000, I quickly got dressed into a pair of baggy sweatpants and the most enormous, oversized shirt that I could find. I stared at myself in the mirror and tried to smile; my eye only twitched, and I looked like I was about to murder everybody...which was not false. At all.  

A tentative knock on the door sounded and I let the horrifying expression fall from my face. Snatching up the first aid kit, I opened the door and looked up at Florence.  

Looking up at him now, I gave myself a moment to observe Florence, now clean and glittering with warmth. His eyes, light brown and blue, were still rimmed with the redness of exhaustion, but they tracked my gaze with a softness that many would consider to be kindness. His neatly trimmed hair was a faded auburn color (I had thought it was brown with all the grime and blood), and his skin, unblemished and smooth, was a slightly olive color that hinted at his Mediterranean roots. I shook my head and averted my curious gaze, suddenly embarrassed that I had stared for so long.   

“You can sleep in my room,” I started down the hall, Florence following me closely as I opened my door and kicked a duffel bag full of guns away from the door, “I just washed my sheets, so everything is clean.” 

I grimaced and moved my files and notes to my already cluttered dresser. Florence shuffled uneasily by the door, and I shot him an odd look.  

“Where are you gonna sleep?” He looked so small and innocent, even though his stood a good foot taller than me, “You’re probably more tired than me.” 

He’s not wrong, I thought to myself with a small smile.  

“Don’t you worry your pretty head about me, princess,” I shifted my clothing to reveal neat bandages climbing up my torso and down my leg, “I’ll be downstairs if you need anything. Come down if you get hungry or thirsty and I’ll whip something up for ya.” 

Florence bit his lip and nodded, crawling onto my bed and under my covers. From the make-shift nest of pillows and blankets that I burrowed into every night, he sighed deeply and slipped into a silent sleep.