She was regretting how she had handled seeing him again. She shouldn’t have blown up at him like she did. It wasn’t herbest move, going on the attack, when he was who she was here to see. Telling him to leave her alone and she’d handle it wasn’t exactly her brightest moment. He must think she’d lost her mind. She needed to get herself under control before she saw him again.
River returned with another woman in tow, carrying three plates of food between them. River handed one to Bailey, who took it gratefully. It was just meat and veggies, nothing special, but to her hungry stomach, it looked like a damn cornucopia.
“This is Hannah.” River introduced the other woman, who smiled kindly in greeting. Bailey vaguely remembered seeing her when she had rushed in the building asking for Aaron.
“Hi there. If you need anything while you’re here, let me know. I tend to have the most interactions with the guests with their day-to-day needs. The guys are more involved with keeping the place running and the bigger problems.”
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” Though Bailey had no idea how long she’d be here.
“I also heard your meeting with Aaron earlier didn’t go too well,” Hannah remarked. “So, I figured you would probably want some space to yourself to regroup and rest instead of going to sit with everyone else for dinner.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Bailey replied. These women were being so kind to her, but all she could think about right now was Aaron.
“So how many people usually stay here?” she asked, keeping her voice as casual as possible. She didn’t want these women thinking she was trying to scope the place out, though that was exactly her intention. She needed to know how many people she was looking at, and then she could figure out where to go from there.
“Anywhere from ten to twenty on average,” Hannah replied through a mouthful of food. “It’s pretty busy in the cafeteria in the evenings, as everyone eats together.”
“Well, thanks for giving me an out from that,” she replied. She appreciated it. The thought of being around so many people she didn’t know was discomforting right now, to say the least, especially after what had happened to her. Her instincts radar seemed to be malfunctioning.
“Hey, I get it,” Hannah replied. “Most people who come here need a little time to themselves at first. It’s not unusual.”
She paused for a moment, staring at Bailey, and then exchanged a glance with River.
“So,” she said, “how long are you planning on staying, exactly?”
Bailey didn’t know. These women were being so nice to her and they hadn’t asked her to leave, but she wasn’t sure how to respond. She knew they were curious as to why she was here in the first place, broken and beaten no less. She wasn’t sure what she could tell them that wouldn’t guarantee more questions she couldn’t answer. Not yet, anyway.
“Until I get what I came here for,” she replied firmly. That was something, right? Enough for them to go on for now.
“And what did you come here for?” Hannah inquired.
“To get information from Aaron,” she muttered, more to herself than to the other women. And with that, she turned her attention back to her food, shutting off the conversation before it could go any further.
Once they had finished dinner, River and Hannah cleared out and left Bailey to get some rest, much to her relief. She was exhausted, and her body still ached, despite the pain meds. She tried to remind herself that this wouldn’t last forever—she would get better soon.
Right now, she just needed to rest and work on rebuilding her strength. Hopefully, they’d let her do that here. She could feel her eyelids getting heavy as she snuggled down under the covers.
She drifted off with thoughts of Aaron and the last time they were together before her life went to shambles.
Answers first, then she’d maybe see if there was anything left of them to salvage.
She startled awakeand it took her a minute to realize where she was. Looking around the room, she felt everything come rushing back. Kings Mountain, her attack, finding Aaron, Warrior Peak Sanctuary. She suddenly felt like the walls were beginning to close in on her.
It was dark outside, and she didn’t hear any activity or voices inside, but she needed to get out of this room. She slowly rose to her feet, even as her body screamed in protest, and silently opened the bedroom door. The painkillers were starting to wear off, but she didn’t care. She needed some fresh air. Hopefully, it was late enough that she wasn’t going to run into anyone.
She made her way through the quiet corridors of the lodge, half expecting to bump into someone, but found the place empty. She took a couple of wrong turns, but eventually managed to find the lobby. She stepped outside the main entrance and inhaled a big lungful of fresh air. Her ribs protested, but the stretch still felt good. She wasn’t used to lying in a prone position for so long. It was colder up here on the mountain, she realized. The air felt crisper, cleaner.
In the distance, she saw the trees swaying in the breeze, the sound of the leaves rustling the only noise around her. Her back still ached like crazy, and she knew she wasn’t going to be able to take a walk or anything like that, but at least she could get out of that room and try to clear her head.
She had no idea what she was going to do, now that she was here. Get the truth from Aaron, sure, but what then? She didn’t have a clue. She was in no condition to go back to work, and evenif she did, those corrupt cops in the department wouldn’t allow it. If she ever showed her face around there again, she wasn’t sure she would walk away with her life this time. She wasn’t sure why she had now. The thought sent a shiver down her spine.
She spotted a small porch seat around the side of the building, and she slowly made her way to it, glad to take the weight off her injured leg. She hated feeling this weak. She might be small, but she had always prided herself on being strong and fit. To be enfeebled and injured was an awful feeling. She wanted to heal so she could take on the men who had done this to her. She wanted to expose them for everything they had done, not just to her but to the community. But right now, she couldn’t have won a fight against a kitten.
She heard footsteps behind her, and without even having to turn around, she knew at once who it was. A weight landed on the seat next to her, and she smelled his cologne, the familiar scent of him that she had grown to love so much when they had been working together.
“What are you doing out here?” Aaron asked her. “You should be resting.”
She didn’t reply. She wasn’t going to take orders from him, and she didn’t feel like arguing. He wasn’t her boss or even her friend, anymore. Nobody who really cared about her could ever have done something like he did, no matter the reasons.
