The next day was much of the same thing. If the bad guys didn’t find me and kill me, the waiting would. It was hard to keep my mind occupied. I’d finished my book, cleaned the living room, and rearranged all of the food in the kitchen. Owen didn’t want me to go outside, so I was left pacing the house.

I caught Owen staring at his phone. No one had called him back the entire time we’d been here. Instead he spent his time on the internet, checking the news and who knew what.

I suppose I should be glad that he was staying busy. With all of this time on our hands there was no knowing what would happen. And the more time I spent around the man, the more I wanted to know about him. There was something sexy in the way he offered to do things for me, as if he wasn’t used to spending time with someone and he was rusty at being companionable—that he was only trying for me.

Down that road was trouble, though, and I needed to get my mind on something else.

Tessa. I sat down in a chair facing the front windows.

I was worried about my friend. What if they had found her and planned to hurt her if I didn’t go to them first? Were the police making her stay somewhere else? Did she and Danny have to go get his bloody car out of impound?

I needed to talk to her. Reach out and make sure she was okay in some way. She was the only family I had left.

“I’m going to take a shower.” Owen stood up and stretched. With quick movements he undid the buttons of his shirt and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his fingers as they worked. When he finished he threw it on the back of the couch with his discarded tie. I could feel his gaze on me the entire time, but couldn’t find it in myself to be embarrassed. The man was delicious and he knew it. I looked up into his darkened eyes and contemplated offering to scrub his back.

“Okay.” The word exited my mouth softly. Apparently I wasn’t brave enough to follow through with my little fantasy.

“Do you want one?” He raised an eyebrow and my pulse quickened.

“Want a shower?” Damn it. Did I sound too excited?

“You could go before me. The hot water heater isn’t very large.” He smiled, his teeth gleaming in the low light.

“Oh. No, go ahead.” Yep. That was definitely disappointment in my voice.

“I’ll be quick.” As he walked away, he pulled his undershirt off over his head and tossed it on the couch. The muscles of his back rippled and I fought the urge to jump up and shout I VOLUNTEER! The thought of watching soap run over his skin made me want to…

I shot out of my chair and paced back and forth. I needed a distraction. I needed to get a grip. My eyes fell on his laptop and I stopped in my tracks.

I needed to contact Tess.

I heard the water in the bathroom come on and I tiptoed across the room to listen at the door. Once I was sure I could I could hear him splashing I ran across the room and lifted the lid to his laptop. It was password locked. Damn it. I tried a few words and then gave up. Closing the lid, I made sure it was in the same spot he had left it and looked around the room. His phone was still on the table so I picked it up and smiled. He had been streaming the internet with it and it hadn’t shut down all the way. Quickly I flipped through his apps and signed into an old email address of mine.

How could I let her know she was in trouble in a way that wouldn’t let others know it was me? In the subject line I kept it simple. An old nickname she had when we were in school—Grumpy. She was anything but grumpy, but it drove her crazy when people called her that. In the end our friends had all ended up with a nickname from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves—including me.

Congrats. Heard you got married and ran away to Italy. If I was you I’d stay there for a really long time. Leave the trouble of the city behind and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Speaking of peace and quiet I’ve gone to visit the country. Met a friend and he’s helping me find a place to stay.

All my love,

Sleepy

I hit the send button and signed out quickly, then went back and made sure my login didn’t pop up when you reopened the app. I set the phone back on the table trying to make sure it was just like it had been. Feeling as though I had finally accomplished something, I decided to reward myself with some food.

The soup from earlier hadn’t really cut it and I was craving something more substantial. In fact, I was starting to hate the thought of soup. I’d probably never eat the stuff again. There were canned beans, vegetables, and some kind of tinned meat that scared me. I did find some crackers and a can of beef stew. It would probably taste like dog food, but at this point I wasn’t going to be too picky. I picked up the can opener from the counter and started working on the beef stew.

Something moved out back by a shed and I froze. It was dark out, but I could have sworn I saw a person. I ducked out of sight of the window and tried to catch my breath. A moment later I peeked back around the cabinets but couldn’t see anything. Taking a deep breath I walked into the living room with my can and can opener still clutched in my hands. I tiptoed across the carpet and lifted one of the blinds with a finger. The crunch of gravel drew my attention to the road and I saw a dark car with no lights making its way toward the house.

I jerked back around and dove for the chair where my gun was still lying. I threw the beef stew on the couch and wrapped my fingers around the pistol’s grip. My body was moving without thought, some kind of survival instinct kicking in. Every cell practically screamed, “Don’t die! Don’t die!” I sort of floated to the bathroom door. It didn’t feel like my feet ever touched the ground. One minute I was scrambling for my gun and the next I was pressed against the wooden door. Not sure if anyone was listening to what was going on in the house, I rapped gently with my knuckles.