Chapter Nineteen
The sound of the door crashing inward sounded like the end of the world. The footsteps, the countdown. In that instant, Liz knew without a doubt, she was going to die. Mitch was going to die. Her only solace was that they were going to die together. In the light—not locked in some dark room.
A battle cry roar blasted from around the corner of the wall, while the muzzle of a pistol flashed forth. “Down.”
She hit the floor.
Mitch stayed where he stood, waving his arms above his head. “Safe! Safe!”
Reese rounded the corner with his gun aimed, then quickly pulled it down when he saw the two of them. “What the hell was the thud and the pop?”
Helping her to her feet, Mitch grabbed the bottle. “She dropped her milk and cookies.”
A joke? He was making a joke? She was scared out of her mind, and he was making a joke. She jerked away from him, backing up as she pressed her palms against her cheeks. Too much…this was too much. She pulled her shaking hands into prayer mode.
“You two men are crazy. Crazy, I say.” Huffing air in and out, she swayed. Suddenly woozy, she braced her hand against the wall. “Do…do you know how afraid…” She fisted her other hand against her chest. “I…I can’t breathe. I can’t…”
Pulling her into a hug, Mitch held her tight as he caressed her hair, her cheek. “You’re okay, Liz. You’re afraid, that’s all. Just afraid.” Little by little, he loosened his hold. “That’s right, breathe in…out…in…out. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
Of course, he was right. She’d been scared. Having guns pointed in your direction could do that to a person, never mind the fierce expression covering his face as he jumped over the rail. She knew, without a doubt, that he would use everything available to protect her. But exactly what did everything include? That was the part she didn’t know. The part she didn’t really want to know.
Reese held out what had been her bag of cookies. “Sorry. Guess I stepped on them.”
Mitch grabbed the bag, tore it open, and poured a handful of crumbs in his hand. Gulped them down, then tossed the bag to Reese, who did the same thing.
“Tastes good to me,” Mitch said.
It didn’t take a fool to see they were trying to lighten the situation, so she took the rest of the bag and headed to the stairs.
“Thank you for stopping by, Reese. Thank you both for the protection.” She gave each of them a hug, which they each awkwardly returned. “Please don’t think I’m ungrateful, but I’m going back to my room now. I’m going to eat the rest of my crumbs and get some rest. Hopefully, all this will be forgotten in the morning.”
This had been a long day of emotions. For now, all she needed was some sleep. Maybe tomorrow she might feel safe enough for a walk on the beach, do some shell collecting. Anything, to feel normal again.
Mitch leaned against the rail as she started up the stairs. “Sure you’re okay?”
She nodded rapidly, biting her lower lip to stop the weepy tremble trying to take over.
“Good. Stop in my room and say hello to Josh on the screen.”
“On the screen?”
“Computer screen. I asked him to check on your bank accounts again. See if he needs any more specifics from you.”
Heading slowly up the steps, she subconsciously heard Mitch telling Reese about the house, the setup, the deck security. Reese asked something about a message, then she heard thewhooshof the patio doors folding back. When she glanced back, they were both huddled in conversation on the deck. Would this day, this night, never end? She glanced at the decorative clock on the back wall of the balcony. Almost midnight and the two guys were still going strong.
“Liz,” Mitch called up to her.
After placing the items in her hands onto the end table next to a wicker chair, she leaned against the balcony railing. Down below, there was no sign of Reese; he must have gone out on the deck. But there was Mitch. Mitch with the ever-present serious look on his face.
“What?” she asked.
“I don’t want you wandering around by yourself. So be sure to let me know if you leave the floor during the night.”
Hopefully, her mind had fuzzed with the lateness of the hour, otherwise that sounded ridiculous. Plus, an awful lot like an order. “So let me get this straight. If I need a drink of water, you’ll go all the way downstairs to get it for me.”
He nodded.
“I don’t need a shadow,” she said.
