Mr danger
545 Words
I was halfway to the door when my father spoke again.
“You’ll be escorted to work.”
I froze.
“I don’t need an escort.”
“You do now.”
I turned. “Since when?”
“Since last night.”
My pulse jumped. “What happened last night?”
My father shut his laptop with a decisive click. “Nothing you need to worry about.”
There it was again.
That phrase.
Before I could argue, a familiar presence moved closer.
“I’ll take her,” Mr. Unknown said.
His voice was exactly how I remembered it low, controlled.. The kind of voice that didn’t need torepeat itself.
My father studied him for a moment, then nodded. “Good, and you’ll need some help Sam will join you as well”
I stared between them. “Excuse me?”
“You’ll be late,” my father added, already reaching for his phone. “Don’t argue.”
Of course.
Outside, the morning air was crisp, the sky washed pale blue like it was pretending nothing was wrong. The car waited at the curb, engine already running. Sam already seated inside.
Sam was looked quiet and I didn’t bother to strike up a conversation with him. He looked like he didn’t want to be bothered.
Mr. Unknown on the other hand.
He opened the door for me.
“Are you always this quiet,” I asked, pausing before getting in, “or is that just part of the job?”
“Depends,” he said.
“On what?”
“On whether talking makes things worse.”
I snorted. “It usually does.”
That earned me a glance.
Not sharp this time. Not dismissive.
Curious.
He closed the door once I was inside, circling the car before slipping into the driver’s seat. The engine hummed beneath us as we pulled into traffic.
Silence settled between us.
“What should I call you?” I asked eventually.
He kept his eyes on the road. “You don’t need to.”
“Everyone needs a name.”
“Not everyone deserves to use it.”
I tilted my head. “That sounds dramatic.”
“Danger usually is.”
I studied his profile,the hard line of his jaw, the way his hands rested loosely on the wheel like they could become weapons if needed.
“You don’t like me,” I said.
I turned to see Sam resting or asleep.
He exhaled slowly. “That’s not true.”
“Then what is?”
He hesitated. Just a second.
Long enough for me to notice.
“I like you too much,” he said quietly. “That’s the problem.”
My breath caught.
Before I could respond, the car slowed to a stop outside my workplace. He was already opening the door, already stepping away, creating distance like it was instinct.
“Be ready at four,” he said. “We’ll be here.”
I watched him walk back to the car, back into control, back into that locked-down version of himself.
And I understood then.
He wasn’t avoiding my eyes because he didn’t care.
He was avoiding them because he did.
And whatever danger had followed him into my life…
it wasn’t leaving anytime soon.
- Writer
