five
Opening the vehicle’s ashtray, he took out a pack of gum and tossed it to her before prodding around at the coins inside to retrieve some change. Glad of the chance to dilute the taste of her attacker’s bloody tongue from her mouth, Nya squeezed out two gum nuggets.
Archer scooped out the money and left the car, but when she tried to follow, her door wouldn’t open. She was stuck until Archer came around the hood to let her out.
“This door only opens from the outside,” he said, hooking a finger through the metal loop on the leather cuff he’d buckled to her wrist. The maneuver was signal she was still on his leash, and a sign he didn’t want to chase after her if she tried to run.
Nya would rather he touched the accessory than her, and it was better than being carried or dragged, too
