Chapter 82: Danny
I scoop Sofia up from the washroom counter and carry her back to the living room, settling her on the couch. This girl... she's fucking incredible. She's everything. Her voice, her face, her smile are enough to drive me crazy, so her body... her body turned me fucking insane. I could've had her pinned against that walls for hours. She felt so good.
As I grab the remote to put on a movie she fell asleep while watching last night, a thought crosses my mind, and I excuse myself, running back to the bathroom to grab her hairbrush. When I return, she’s already curled up on the couch, looking cozy and warm. I sit behind her, gently pulling her back so she rests between my legs. I can feel her relax into me, a calm warmth spreading between us as I slowly run the brush through her hair. The strands are soft, almost like silk, slipping easily through my fingers.
After a few minutes of quiet, Sofia shifts a little, tilting her head as she watches the movie screen. I can sense something on her mind, though, in the way her fingers play idly with the edge of the blanket around her.
“Danny?” Her voice is soft, and I catch the hint of hesitation there.
“Yeah, baby?” I keep my hand moving with the brush, hoping to keep her at ease.
She takes a small breath. “How are you all going to get out of this lifestyle?” Her voice is laced with a nervous curiosity, and I stop brushing for a moment, feeling the weight of the question hit me. I didn’t expect it, and it’s clear from her tone that she’s genuinely scared for us—for me.
I shift, moving around the couch so I can crouch in front of her. Her eyes meet mine, full of worry. “We’ll figure it out, Sof. It’s… it’s complicated, but we’re not planning to stay in this life forever.” I try to keep my voice steady, but the truth is, I’ve thought about it too, about what it’d take to break free.
Her brows knit together, and she swallows, glancing down. “Why can’t you just… leave?” she asks softly. “Find someone else to take over, retire, and walk away?”
I reach out, taking her hands in mine, trying to find the right words. “It’s not like leaving a normal job, Sof. In this world, the second you leave, you’re no longer protected by a crew, and that makes you vulnerable. There are people out there who don’t forget old conflicts, people who would come after us to settle things or to use us as leverage.”
The realization seems to hit her like a ton of bricks, her face going pale as she takes it in. Her eyes well up, and a tear slips down her cheek. I reach up, brushing it away, feeling a lump form in my own throat. I hate seeing her like this, scared for us, feeling that sense of helplessness I know all too well.
“Hey,” I whisper, pulling her close. “We’ll figure it out. I promise you that. You don’t have to worry about this.” I keep my arms around her as she sniffles, her head tucked against my shoulder.
“But I do worry,” she says, her voice muffled. “I worry so much… for all of you.”
I shift over again to sit beside her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. “You know,” I start, keeping my voice low, “we’ve actually talked about that. Getting out, moving somewhere quiet… maybe out of the country, even. Somewhere we could just… live normal lives.”
Sofia’s still got that sad look in her eyes, but I can see the idea interests her, if only a little. “You’d do that?” she asks quietly, glancing up at me. “You’d really leave all of this behind?”
I give a small nod, staring at a spot on the floor as I picture it. “Yeah. We all dream about it sometimes. I mean, the thought of having a house in a small, quiet town, doing normal jobs, not looking over our shoulders every second… It sounds almost unreal, but we’d do it if we could.”
She sniffles, smiling softly, and I can see the wheels turning in her mind. “Where would you go?” I ask her gently, nudging her a little to lighten the mood. “If you could start over anywhere?”
She sighs, brushing a stray tear from her cheek. “Somewhere with a beach, I think. Small town, with little restaurants and cute, colorful houses. Not a lot of people, but enough to feel alive. I’ve always imagined it somewhere warm, with just the right mix of sun and calm. Maybe even one of those coastal towns where everyone knows each other, and there’s a market in the square on weekends.”
I chuckle softly, letting the image settle in. “So, you’d have us all living in a seaside town, hmm? Sunburns and sandy floors and all?”
“Exactly,” she laughs a bit, finally breaking a smile, and I feel that tension in my chest ease up.
“Then maybe that’s where we’ll go,” I say, squeezing her shoulder. “Some little spot by the water with the warm sun. It sounds perfect, actually.”
Sofia glances up at me, her face softening as she leans against me. “Danny, you really think you guys could do it? Just… leave everything?”
I take a breath, letting it out slowly. “It’d be hard, yeah. It’d take planning, timing… but we’ve got a lot of reasons to make it happen.” I tap her shoulder lightly, giving her a warm smile. “One very special reason, actually.”
Sofia’s cheeks turn pink, and she snuggles in closer, settling her head against my chest. “Then I’ll start dreaming of it too,” she whispers, her eyes drifting shut as she relaxes against me, and I hold her just a little tighter, letting that dream become a little more real in both our minds. I've been wanting to leave this behind for a while, we all have. But now, looking at my girl in my arms, I just can't wait to make it happen.