Free Perfectly Normal by Jaden Wilkes Page A

terrible things,” he said and ran his hand over his head. It was a simple gesture, but one that thrilled her now. It made him seem human somehow, and vulnerable.
    “I don’t care what you’ve done,” she replied and reached for his other hand, holding them both in hers. “I’m here and I see you for what you are, and I love you for it.”
    “I’m toothless now,” he said and chuckled, “I used to be lethal but now I’ve grown soft. I’ve let my fear make me soft.”
    “Then let’s fix that,” she replied, “forget about tonight, let’s start going out again. We need to get out of the apartment more often.”
    “But you’ll be seen,” he said, “like that fucker in McDonalds. I could have smashed his fucking head in like a melon, but I didn’t want to end up online doing it. I don’t want anyone to know where I am…yet.”
    “I’m tired of living like this,” she replied, “I don’t know how you’ve done it for so long without losing your mind.”
    “I think I did lose it,” he said and smiled, “before you came along I was quite mad.”
    “So was I,” she admitted, “but I didn’t know it. I feel like I’ve found my mind again, since finding you. Even if it means being on the run and always eating cold French fries.”
    “You won’t always be on the run,” he told her, “I had the concierge go back and find that man. He was apparently a vacationing police officer, not a casual traveler.”
    “Did he hurt him?” she asked, alarmed and intrigued.
    “No, just shook him up a little,” he replied with a small grin. When Columbia shot him a skeptical look, he said, “What? You have to trust me, the man is alive and kicking…he’s just on his way out of Hong Kong.”
    “Where did you send him?” she asked , not quite certain if she wanted to know.
    “We gave him a little one way trip to Northern China, Shandong Province. It’s difficult to get out of and almost nobody speaks English. He’s unharmed but won’t be able to alert anyone anytime soon.”
    Dimitri seemed pleased with himself. “Why didn’t you just kill him?” she asked and casually took a bite of her cold burger. There was a part of her that wanted him to kill the guy in McDonalds. The bloodthirsty part that wanted Dimitri to stab the man repeatedly until he was mangled beyond recognition. A bloody slab of ruined flesh and bone. She wanted her Dimi to come home, covered in blood and wildness in his eyes so he could throw her onto the bed and ravage her. She appreciated this calmer, more civilized version of him but longed for something more. It must have been the stress of being cooped up day after day that was getting to her.
    “Sometimes the only thing you can do is kill somebody,” he replied and sipped his soft drink. He grimaced and set it aside to reach for his decanter of scotch. “In this case I found it prudent to keep him alive, so he can eventually make it out and report that he saw you.”
    “Why would you want him to report me?” she asked, perplexed at his reasoning.
    “By the time he does, we will be long gone,” he replied and sipped his drink. “That’s better,” he said and savoured the flavour.
    “Gone? Why? Where are we going?” she asked him, distressed at the thought of leaving this place so soon. She felt like they had just gotten here, so why leave now?
    “We will decide over the next few days, but we have to leave to protect you. I know you want more freedom, and I know I need more. I know for both of us we need to get out more and not be so confined. We must find some place to accommodate us both,” he answered. “Don’t worry, we will go somewhere you will love, I promise you this.”
    “ What if somebody finds me in the new place? Then we’ll have to move again?” she asked, her anxiety level rising as the practicalities of a life on the run sunk in.
    “Eventually they’ll stop looking,” he reassured her, “your case will fall off the side of somebody’s desk