Twenty-Six
Asia
A yelp and the sound of shattering glass finally pulled us apart.
I glanced at Jack, sparing just a moment of regret that we weren’t able to finish the conversation. But then we quickly adjusted our clothes and ran into the dining room.
I glanced around the dining room, searching for the danger.
My gaze settled on the mess.
Pickles all over the floor.
A pile of broken glass.
Elliot standing by sheepishly, again looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. “I never liked pickles anyway.”
The windows were covered with garbage bags as Miles, seemingly unconcerned, rechecked his work.
Lourdes gave a soft laugh.
Jack didn’t.
Instead, his gaze swept the room. I was sure he was looking for anything else that might be dangerous, but he finally settled on Caitlin.
“Keep it down.”
“It’s a natural reaction. Things are tense,” Caitlin said, standing up taller, her gaze on Jack’s.
“I didn’t notice,” Jack said. Then he looked at Lourdes. “Elliot murdered the pickles, so I guess we’re not eating those. Did you find anything else?”
“Beans. Tortillas. Hot sauce. Olives. Everything else is spoiled,” Lourdes answered.
“I can’t believe I missed the pickles,” I muttered.
Jack smiled. It was brief, but it landed, and the tension in the room ratcheted down enough that I could let out a breath.
He focused on me now. “Door’s barricaded. Someone needs eyes on it at all times. Eat something. Rest if you can.”
Lourdes worked on the food without speaking. She used the candles to warm a couple of cans of beans, and a few minutes later, we had makeshift bean burritos. We retreated to different areas, and while we ate in silence, every few minutes at least one of us would glance at the door.
A low hum started in the pipes, and I looked at Jack. His hand was at his waist, his body tense, but he didn’t move. We all stayed still and silent, waiting.
My mind started to drift to places I shouldn’t have allowed. But I couldn’t stop them.
What if it wasn’t the pipes?
What if it was them, clawing at the door, pounding at it until it gave way.
What if they came flooding in, clawing hands, snapping teeth, literal death coming for us while we sat here stupid, clueless, pretending we were safe?
Jack’s deep exhale mercifully shattered my thoughts. “There’s air in the pipes. They’ll burst sooner or later. ”
We settled.
Miles and Lourdes whispered quietly in one corner.
Bridget worked through a Sudoku book she’d found, while Caitlin watched, waiting her turn.
Elliot wiped down the table Lourdes used to prepare the meal, his movements measured and methodical. Like his contribution to order could hold back the chaos.
He paused to set an overturned hot sauce bottle upright. Watching him made something twist in my chest.
I sat, but was aching to move.
To do something.
But there was nothing left to do but think, and that was almost as scary as what I knew lurked outside.
I dared not look at Jack, though I was acutely aware of his presence.
My gaze flicked to Caitlin. She saw me and didn’t look away. It was one of the few times I didn’t see malice in her eyes. I hoped that would hold.
Eventually, when I couldn’t avoid it anymore, I looked at Jack. He was stationed in the corner focused on the door, though I knew he was aware of everything.
He looked calm, and knowing him, he felt it.
I felt the opposite. Those moments with Jack in the closet were tense and then intense and then perfect. I should have been used to it when Jack was around, but I still couldn’t wrap my head around it.
How could he send me to the heights of pleasure, making me feel safe, and make me want to throttle him in the space of forty-five minutes?
I didn’t know, but I knew I would miss him when he was gone.
That thought sent a sting through my chest and settled in my stomach next to the food I now wanted to throw up.
Instead, I walked over and sat next to him.
I sighed and then looked at my feet. “Should I be brave enough to take off my boots?”
He chuckled. “You strike me as the type who likes to live on the edge.”
“Why? Just because the first time we met, I crawled down an elevator shaft? ”
“It made an impression,” he said.
I looked at him and saw that his expression was serious. He still had more to say about this change of plans, but I could tell he let it go.
For now.
I’d take it.
I gave him a slight smile and then shrugged and pulled off my boots.
The relief was instant.
I sighed and stared down at my feet.
“Should’ve found more socks,” I muttered.
I still wore the same trouser socks I’d been wearing at the courthouse. They were not built for boots.
Not built for any of this.
“You’ll manage,” he said.
“Your faith in me is humbling, but your sympathy lacks.”
“I’m plenty sympathetic. But I know you. You can handle it.”
I glanced over at him and stared at his profile. His expression was almost serene.
Like the world itself hadn’t cracked.
“How do you do that?” I whispered.
“Do what? ”
“Stay so calm.”
But his voice came low. “Something I picked up over time.”
“You’ll have to teach me,” I said.
“I hope you never need to learn.”
Something in his tone made me pause.
My gaze dropped to his arm. “Oh! You didn’t say anything.”
“About what?”
“You’re bleeding.”
He glanced down and shrugged. “It’s nothing.”
“Hold on.” I stood and didn’t bother with boots. I was anxious to move before, but the adrenaline wore off and the exhaustion settled in.
Still, I moved back through the restaurant with more energy than I felt, past Caitlin, who was curled up in a booth, then Miles shifting nervously near the entrance to the kitchen. I grabbed the first aid kit and the pack of wipes Lourdes gave me and returned to Jack.
“That’s not necessary.”
“Can’t have you getting an infection,” I said.
“Asia, this isn’t necessary.”
I looked him in the eye. “Hush, Jackson. ”
He let me clean and bandage the wound without another word. His skin was warm under my touch, and even though it was just antiseptic and gauze, it felt like something else.
Felt like trust.
I finished and sat next to him. He shifted slightly, shoulder brushing mine, and that tiny contact might as well have been a vow. I didn’t lean in, didn’t push. But my body noticed.
So did his.
Even through the garbage bags, I noticed that night was starting to fall.
I leaned closer to Jack then, and wasn’t even embarrassed about it.
We just sat like that.
Waiting.
Shoulder to shoulder.
Whatever came next, we’d face it together.