Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
Waiting is hell.
Very little of the torture has to do with the fact that I’m soaking wet, and shaking as I huddle on the floor, pressing my face to my knees. “Please be safe. Please, Evan, come back.”
I try to think about our conversation to distract myself, but it only serves to make me more nervous.
I’ve got a bad case of the feels for the man.
How can I not? He’s the perfect man. I’ve even started to feel okay about thinking his name wasn’t Walt. How can I be mad at him for doing his job?
All I care about is him being okay. Argh! Being stuck in this bathroom makes me feel so helpless.
And the stupid running water!
I silently groan and twist my wet hair into a knot at the nape of my neck. The weight of it sits heavy and cold against my spine.
Foolishly, I didn’t grab a towel when I followed his instructions. Lock the door. Sit in the corner.
A puddle of water surrounds me on the tile. But being uncomfortable is the least of my worries.
Evan is out there facing an intruder…
The lump in my throat grows.
It’s impossible for me to hear what’s happening outside the bathroom door, giving my imagination free run.
“Stop.” I rub my fists in my eye sockets.
He’s a SEAL. He can handle intruders.
For a few minutes, I worry at my fingernails. Then my eyebrows. Then chew on my lip.
He’s a trained warrior. His body is ready for battle.
I run down a list of reasons he’s going to be fine, but I’m really a mess inside. I don’t even know how much of what I’m feeling is fear for myself. He is all I can think about.
My blood is icy and my hands are numb from my raging emotions when I finally crawl on my hands and knees to the towel rack by the door.
On my way back to my corner, I stop to stare at the running shower. Would it hurt if I cut the water off? Then I could hear…
The internal debate intensifies until two sides of me are yelling at each other.
But Evan said to leave it on.
I push to my feet, staying in a crouch. Maybe I could cut the flow of the water back a little.
Reaching for the control knob, I slip. My elbow hits the bottle of shampoo Evan left on the bench.
“Oh no!” I whisper hiss.
But I can’t catch the thing before it crashes to the shower floor.
The sound of a plastic bottle bouncing on tile echoes through the bathroom.
I gasp and scramble to catch it as it turns into a spinning top under the stream of water.
Oh my god.
I’m a shaky mess with my heart in my throat by the time I get it under control. Clutching the bottle to my chest, I pant into the darkness.
Such a stupid move.
I crawl across the room on one hand and two knees.
I’m almost back to my assigned corner when a beam of light slices through the bathroom window startling me.
I duck, and dive toward the corner, my cheek pressing to the wet floor, my pulse flying as I clutch the stupid bottle of Wonder Lust Lemon shampoo like it’s a weapon.
Someone’s moving around outside. The light is coming from the motion-detector activated floodlight on the corner of the house. The light Evan installed.
Breathe.
Impossible.
Get in the corner and wait. Evan’s coming back for me.
I scoot further into the darkness, but can’t resist the urge to move. To raise up on my knees because my imagination has convinced me that I might need to help him.
With my bottle of shampoo…
I tilt to the left, trying to see through the sheer curtain as I cup my ear.
Please be safe.
That’s when I hear pounding feet. Unmistakably men running.
But I can’t see anything.
An engine roars. Not a truck or car. The noise is high pitched and odd.
A chainsaw?
The door to the bathroom rattles. I slap my hand over my face to stop the scream in my throat.