So, I do the only thing I can.
I tell him the truth.
“You.”
I didn’t expecthim to leave.
Certainly not to do it without a word.
But the moment I finished speaking, he was on his feet and leaving the room, closing the door behind him.
I lurch toward it, flicking the lock before I start searching through the drawers for a weapon, for a way out of here.
It doesn’t take long to find the can of air freshener and I set it aside before continuing my search.
Towels. Toilet paper. Soap.
No good weapons.
Search complete, I take care of business and wash my hands, pulling up my pants and retying my boots. The can fits in my pocket—barely, the bulge far too obvious, and far too challenging to pull free in a hurry. But it’s all I have.
I exhale.
Then brace, patching up those spiderweb cracks, my mind turning through the possibilities, trying to find a way out of here that doesn’t end up with me dead or in prison.
All that bracing, that mind spinning…
And it doesn’t make the least bit of difference when I pull open the door and see him standing there.
Fuck, he’s beautiful and the impact of that sends cracks skittering through me once again.
He tilts his head and pushes off the wall, uncrossing his ankles and turning in the direction of the front door.
I watch his back as he walks away from me, as he moves through the space and into the kitchen, pulling open the door of the fridge.
“It’s unlocked,” he calls.
I hadn’t even realized I’d moved, trailing him but pausing in the intersection of hallways.
Forward leads to the open-space living room, the kitchen, and dining area. Left…leads to the front door.
“You can go.”
Head jerking up at the sound of his voice suddenly so close, I see he’s stopped in front of me, a bottle of water in his hands.
“But I hope you’ll stay just a little while longer.”
He offers up the water bottle and I take it with numb fingers.
He said those words before.
Years ago when I was considering my exits, plotting the best course of escape.
And I’d stayed. I’d listened and talked andfell.
In like. In lust. Inlove.
Then he’d shattered all of that without a single look back.
