Collateral Hearts

in her rickety kitchen chair, arms crossed and head tipped back against the wall. Every creak in the hallway made her eyes snap open and every car horn below her wi

e a soldier, with a single breath and a flicker of his eyes that made it clear he never really slept. He didn't even look at Ava at first, he just checked th

ally sleep?" she asked her voice was raw from too many hours without rest. Ethan cracked his neck, "When it's safe." Then A

beat she saw how tired he was under the layers of c

anyway, wincing at the bitter burn. She needed the heat more than the taste, they sat across from each other at the table littered with bills

e steady now. "Why me? Why my n

"Your ex-husband owed the wrong people and he needed a clean name to hide dirty money while they moved it. You were perfect, no p

obbery?" S

inger over the lip of her mug and herr mind pulled up memories she'd buried, Kevin's sudden trips with the way he'd come home with new shoes while she juggled past-due

ttered. "I wa

"No, You trusted the wrong person,

nd If she'd still have Lila curled in her bed or if some uniformed cop would knock on her door and drag her away while her daughter screamed for a mother she might never see again. Ethan snapped her back t

sh harder until you crack or they get sloppy,so

sible for them to pretend you're disposable." A bitter la

tayed alive by selling stale beer and cheaper lies. "Kevin's been seen here and he's been using an old contact of mine to stay out of sight." Ava leaned over the m

... walk in there? W

like she had left. "I'll be with you. They won't expect you to loo

s to be over but Lila's cough in the next

deep brea

e he hears you're asking ques

hallway, her hair sticking up in every direction and the bunny tucked under her arm. Her eyes

?" she asked, voic

d to her knees, gathering Lila into her arms. The girl smelled like slee

said, glancing up at him, "He'

een punched in the gut by something small and pure,then crouched down, close

id softly. "You'r

ast while her mother plotted how to keep her out of a cage. Ethan stood and looked away, clearing his throat,he ran a hand through his hair and back to business as if the mom

id, voice firm now. "We

bag, and looked around the cramped kitchen as if memorizing e

be easy,

ed. And this time, her v

reet outside her apartment. She pulled the collar tighter under her chin as Ethan locked the passenger door beside her,he didn't

ins and streets lined with buildings that leaned into each other like drunks at closing time. Neon flickered in and out of broken windows,the waterfront was worse and whole blocks abandoned to squatters and ghosts,the kind of place where secrets didn't bother bu

about this

the fear had time to get

mile, but the closest she'd seen. H

d by years of lies and cheap whiskey. A jukebox wheezed out a song nobody listened to and a few men hunched over drinks, eyes half-shuttered, the kind of eyes that knew not to look too long at other people's trouble. A

ouched on a barstool, picking at a bowl of peanuts like he hated

an said, fla

touched his eyes. "Well, look what the tide

rested lightly on the ba

va, lingering. "Who's

off with a small shake of his

problem when you come crawling through my door a

ing your backroomand we both know he's not paying

ked it between his teeth like a threat. "You thin

isted it just enough to make the bigger man grunt in pain. Ethan's voice was calm as a quiet

fists,then he spat a curse under his breath,"Back hallway at

rent nearly toppled off the

er. Ava's pulse rattled like a loose bolt in her chest,she could feel the panic rising and the old fear that Kevin still owned pieces of her, pieces she'd never wanted him to have. But

chipped paint and he pressed his palm to it, his eyes meeti

me, let me

Silence,then shuffling inside,a lock scraped, and the door cracked just enough for a sliver of stale heat

an she remembered his hair longer with his beard patchy and eyes darting like a rat cornered in a drain. The room stank of old beer and sweat and a laptop sat open on a card table, next to a half-smoked cigarette

ack with a shaking hand,"What are yo

epped closer, crowding Kevin back toward the table, "You kn

"Hey, hey, come on, man, It's

of spring. "Shut up, Kevin, No more lies!! ." Ava yelled. Kevin's smile slipped completely now and he

ord, she hated that

n't break, "You dragged me into your mess,you used my name,you

shield, anything,but Ethan's expression said there

Ethan's voice was calm and d

w it too and ,he stepped past Kevin and flipped the laptop around. Spreadsheets,of

as the one handing it to her. Kevin lunged, a flash of movement,and Ava saw the glint of metal too late and Ethan grabbed Kevin's wrist, slammed it down on the table so hard that the laptop

Kevin's pulse jump at his throat, she'

r was voice shaking but clear, "You'r

But he was wrong,she could feel it, the thing she'd buried under years