She curled herself into the leather couch and opened a hardcover book in her lap. The very same that’d been collecting dust on her nightstand for the last year.
He was my primary target, but she’d become tangled up in something dark. I grit my teeth together, half wanting to warn her, throw in the assignment and tell her to run from this man she thought she loved. But she’d made her bed, gone into a life with eyes wide shut, and now she faced the consequences.
I heaved a sigh, only watching her half-heartedly as she buzzed around the empty room. She was alone a lot, that was the first thing I noted about her life.
Like he was laying low because he knew he had a trail. Of course he didn’t know — I was a pro, highly trained with a very specific skill set that allowed me to fly under the radar and observe every moment of any situation that most glossed over as unremarkable.
I was convinced that she was in the dark on every vile thing he’d done. If she knew, would she stay? The question rang between my ears like the incessant chop-chopping of helicopter rotors, haunting me long after it should be out of earshot.
Freya climbed the stairs to her bedroom after dark and tucked herself into bed with her phone, golden lamplight casting the only glow. I zoomed in on her screen, which from my position I had a remarkably good view of, and watched her scroll through news headlines before falling asleep.
I watched with attention long after she was sleeping, feeling every part the stalker I’d become. I snapped another picture, hoping I’d never need to use these photos. Hoping they’d never see the light of day, wishing I could burn them along with all the other evidence that may implicate her in his crimes.
Seven
He’s gone.
That was my first thought when I opened my eyes the next morning.
I rolled over in bed, my eyes not even adjusted before I could sense the lack of his presence. Tav’s energy ate up the room. Even while he slept.
Sunshine streaked across the duvet as I pulled myself out of bed. Tav's shoes were gone, he always kept them neatly under his side of the bed. I brushed my teeth, quickly straightened my hair and then wrapped myself in a robe and went downstairs.
The first thing I noticed when I reached the kitchen was Tav’s missing laptop. If he’d only gone for a quick morning hike, why would he have taken his laptop? My eyes searched the room and I registered that his backpack and duffel, normally sitting at the door, were also missing.
I went to the front door, opening it quickly. A burst of chilly air washed over my skin. The sun glinted off of the snow-capped mountains in the distance, and Tav’s footprints tracked down the path and out of the driveway. Or at least where the driveway would be under the massive snow drifts. The nights had been below freezing which left a stiff crust on top of the snow. Tav’s prints sunk only a few inches into the top layer.
I frowned, hugging my arms around my waist as I took in the vast isolation around me. What would it be like without Tav here? I didn’t think I’d be able to handle all of the aloneness without driving myself insane. It’s funny, it only took him being gone a few minutes for me to miss him.
I was about to head back inside and get dressed to follow his footprints down the driveway, when I spotted the top of his head coming over the horizon line. I smiled, eager to talk to him. He looked up then, frustration clear on his face. I waved happily, and his frown turned up a little and he waved back. I waited for him at the top of the steps, and when he was close enough I said, “How was your morning hike?”
“Worse than I anticipated.” He paused at the bottom step, squinting into the sunshine. “We’re snowed in.”
“Well, we already knew that, didn’t we?”
He shook his head. “The car is buried under snow, I couldn’t even make out the top—a snowdrift covered it completely.”
I swallowed the growing tension tightening my throat.
“And the bridge is out.”
“Out?” Fear rippled through me.
“Ice snapped one of the suspension cables. They’ve closed it until the ice melts and it’s safe enough for crews to assess the damage.”
“How long will that take?”
“As long as it takes.” Tav clamped down on his bottom lip. “There’s more snow and ice coming tonight. I checked for service as I hiked, even tried to find any open networks or satellite connections. We’re in a dead zone.”
“A dead zone.” I repeated his words, truly afraid for the first time since we’d been here. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” he hissed, annoyed, “we’re at the mercy of nature.” He passed me on his way into the house. “Andeach other.”
“Why didn’t you wake me up to go with you?”
He wasn’t paying attention, only began unhooking his backpack and rifling through it for his laptop. “Couldn’t sleep, wanted to get a jumpstart on daylight. I guess that project action report will have to wait until later.”
“Project action report for what?”
