Billion Dollar Vengeance

Chapter 22: Never Supposed to Meet

I hate living at Wayne manor. Jenna, of course, fits right in with Carly and Stella. She leaves early for work, but in the evenings, the three of them often hang out together and sometimes drive into the city to go out to dinner. I'm on bedrest for two agonizing weeks of boredom. After the first few days, I finally resign myself to stay here until the threat is gone.

I unpack my personal items slowly. The bed is perfectly soft with expensive sheets, but I rip them off and replace them with my own. The desk gets piled up with my personal belongings, and I stuff my clothes in one of the dressers. The staff wing isn't all gothic and ornate like the rest of the mansion, so it feels a little more like a real home to me. The kitchen is small, but there's comfortable couches and a giant TV. I hardly ever see Alfred, but Miss Dory pots around all over the place, and spends every evening watching game shows and knitting.

Bruce is neither seen nor heard. But the last thing he yelled at me haunts me. He's doing everything he can to make me safe again so that he never has to see me. It shouldn't hurt this bad. I know we can't be together. I'm the one who called the whole thing off in the first place. And now, I understand that even beyond the lies he told, it just isn't safe for me to be with him in case we're seen. Sometimes I stare at the thumb drive full of footage from our escapades, but I don't watch any of it. Mostly I just stare out the window or read as I wait for my brain and body to heal.

Carly and Stella only know that I got attacked when I was in the city. It isn't the most unusual thing to happen in Gotham, especially after the flood. Carly whispered something about a family curse when I told them. Jenna has tried pressing me for more details, but I just shake my head. The fear of spilling my guts out and revealing everything that has happened is too strong.

The weather outside starts to turn wet again as snow goes back to rain and March approaches. And finally, after wallowing in my self pity for two weeks, Alfred comes to check on me, and he agrees when I beg him to start working again. One benefit of living where you work, you get to sleep in a little.

Except today. I'm woken up to a pounding on my bedroom door at 5:30am. Naturally, I immediately panic, thinking something's wrong with Jenna. I fling open the door in my underwear, my bleary eyes blinking away blurry sleep as light from the hallway floods into my room.

The Batman stalks into my room. "We have to go. Now."

My feet stumble back as cold terror shoots down my spine. "Jenna?"

"She's fine. Everyone here is fine but us. Come on, pack a bag, we're meeting someone."

Meeting someone? His panicked voice makes me move all the faster. I throw some warm clothes on, shove a spare outfit into the biggest purse I have, then I rush to the bathroom, swishing around mouthwash as I gather my toothbrush, deodorant, and soap.

He snatches the bag from my hand and stalks out into the hallway while I'm still pulling my sneakers on. I barely keep up as he stomps through the manor, looking larger than life in this big space with the cape billowing.

"What are you wearing that here?" My quiet voice echoes in the hall.

"Not now," he hisses.

I keep my mouth shut all the way through the manor and down the steps into the tunnel. His black, reinforced motorcycle is sitting there waiting. He swings his leg over the seat and holds my bag in one hand so it swings under the handle bar beneath his grip. With a trembling body, I climb on behind him, my thoughts racing a hundred miles an hour. Will I never escape danger?!

Any grogginess I might have had gets left behind as he floors the gas. We race through the tunnel system as speeds so fast, all I can do is hold onto him with a death grip and hope that I survive. Cold air tangles my hair, but the warmth coming from his hard suit keeps me from shivering.