“I was worried you had a weapon,” Garret answered with a shrug.
Daniel and I both scowled at him, which made him grunt again and flash another one of those split-second smirks.
He lumbered to his feet. God, the man had to be six-five or six-six. Maybe even taller.
“Try not to kill each other tonight. I hate paperwork.” He nodded to Daniel. “Thanks for the cocoa, Ayres.” His eyes turned to me. “Try not to bite anyone else while you’re in town. They’ll consider it an invitation rather than an insult.”
With that, he left, his heavy footsteps echoing throughout the house, leaving me to gape at his back.
What in the heck did that even mean?
After he was gone, Daniel and I stared at each other. Yeah, I couldn’t ask him. He wouldn’t tell me the truth.
“My room?” I asked.
My voice was dull. I sounded tired. Probably because I was. I was beginning to understand what people meant when they talked about adrenaline crashes on those TV shows.
Without a word, Daniel left the kitchen. I trudged after him, carrying my shoes in one hand. I expected him to put me back in the room I was in before, on the first floor, but he went up the staircase.
I trailed my hand over the smooth railing, absently admiring the texture and grain of the wood. He turned at the top of the stairs and headed to the right, stopping in front of the third doorway.
“This room is right next to mine. That way I can hear you if you need anything.”
Even though his back was to me, I smirked. “You mean if I try to leave again.”
“That, too.” He smirked as though he knew something I didn’t, but didn’t say anything else.
He shifted to the left, back toward the second door in the hall. “First aid kit and toiletries are in the bathroom. I’ll have someone bring your suitcase over here tomorrow.”
Even though the reality of the situation was rapidly settling in, I was too numb to react.
“Whatever.”
I pushed the door open and stepped into the room.
The door was almost shut behind me when Daniel spoke. “Cari.”
When he didn’t continue, I turned my head to peer at him through the crack in the doorway. “Yes?”
He looked…pained. “I’m sorry it had to be this way.”
“I don’t care.”
I shut the door on his wince and locked it, uncaring if he heard the click or not.
* * *
I never thoughtI would sleep that night, but I was wrong.
In fact, I slept better than I had in a very, very long time. Pure physical and mental exhaustion could do that to a girl, I guess.
After I shoved a chair under the doorknob, I found a huge t-shirt and pair of flannel pants lying on the bed in the middle of the room. I wanted to throw them in a corner because they were probably Daniel’s, but my only other option after a shower was to sleep naked. And I definitely wasn’t going to do that.
And I couldn’t skip the shower. I had twigs and leaves in my hair, and, if I wasn’t mistaken, maybe even a bug crawling around in there.
Once I showered, doctored my scrapes and blisters, and dressed, I crawled under the blankets on the bed, fully expecting to stare at the ceiling all night.
That was the last thing I remembered before a sharp knock on the door woke me up.
