Chapter 122

Outside, the air felt cold and oily against my skin, the night and everything else as black as I'd ever seen it. It looked like a nightmare, even in the backyard of my oasis, but I smiled through it anyway. With Jacek's hand in mine, the horrors didn't seem so frightening. They seemed farther away, a mountain to scale one step at a time. And I was, mashed potato brain and all. If I could just stick it together with some gravy or something, I'd be fine. It'd be like Thanksgiving in my head.

Inside the house, I dug my boxing gloves out of my duffel bag by the door while Jacek moved the living room furniture out of the way and rolled out the blue mats.

"Jacek?"

"Yes?"

"No stakes today, okay? I'm not even going to wear one in my hair because I don't want to stake you like I did Eddie or like I almost did to Detective Appelt."

"No stakes," he agreed. "We can bring out any other equipment you want."