Now, all that worry had shifted. It morphed into a carefully controlled rage that had him gripping the mug in his hands a little too tightly.
Lauren sat up, and the blanket fell into a heap in her lap. When the chill in the air hit her, she pulled it up to her shoulders. “The power isn’t on?”
Zach sat forward, propping his elbows on his knees. “Nope. Probably won’t be back for a while. We’d better get used to fireside chats. Speaking of chats, let’s have the one where you tell me what you were doing last night.”
Lauren stared at him, but she didn’t move. They were in a face-off, and Zach was determined to be the winner this time.
“Can I at least brush my teeth and get some water first?” she asked.
Fine. If she wanted to keep putting it off, he’d just have to wait for the big blow. He rested his mug on the end table and went to her side.
“I can do it myself,” she argued.
“Yeah, but I’d like to get this over with beforedinner, so up you go.” He cradled her in his arms and headed for the bathroom.
Lauren didn’t say anything as he set her down in front of the bathroom sink and walked out the door. With his back resting against the wall, he watched the door until the knob turned.
When she opened the door, she looked everywhere except at him. His stomach sank. Whatever she’d been keeping from him had to be bad if she was this scared to tell him.
He picked her up and carried her back to the living room—the only room in the house that wasn’t freezing. When she was settled on one end of the couch, he took the other side, leaving plenty of room for the secrets between them.
Lauren picked at the edge of the blanket that was draped over her lap and kept her chin tucked to her chest.
“How’s your ankle?” Zach asked.
“A little better. I tried to put some weight on it in the bathroom, and it’s not nearly as sore as yesterday.”
“And your arm?”
“The bleeding stopped.”
“What about your back?” He’d noticed the small winces when he carried her. Each one was like a needle sticking into his eyeball.
“It’ll be fine,” she whispered.
He shook his head. “Are we gonna be fine?”
She inhaled a breath, but it was shaky. “Idon’t know.”
“Tell me a story,” he said, as softly as he could muster with the adrenaline humming under his skin.
Keeping her attention on her hands in her lap, she whispered, “I got a tip about Anthony.”
The name was a flashing red sign in Zach’s head. Anthony. Zach hadn’t worried about Lauren searching for her cousin in months, but he’d been stupid to lower his guard. She’d promised to give up, and he’d trusted her.
“Say again?” he asked carefully.
She lifted her chin. “Someone called in a sighting. They spotted him a few days ago in Winchester, and yesterday someone saw him on Sumpter Road. I thought I had enough time to drive by the area before the storm.”
“And you ended up in the woods? From a drive-by?” His volume rose as he sat up straighter.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It was stupid, but I saw a car and thought it might be him. I was going to see if I could at least find someone who could tell me if they’d seen him, but I slipped off the path and…”
He pushed his hands through his hair. “I can’t believe you were so stupid.”
“Hey, I said I know I made a mistake. I’m sorry I dragged you into this, but you don’t have to be mean.”
The pumping in his veins wouldn’t let him sit. Zach got to his feet and paced in front of the fire. “This is more than a mistake. You have no idea where you were.” He stopped and turned to her. “You wanderedinto…” How could he even explain what his people were doing?
