Chapter 19
Sarah
Ireached into the shower, opening the window to let out the steam and turning the water to the highest temperature. I hadn’t slept a wink after our almost-kiss last night. Fai was a breath away from kissing me, but his goddamned conscience had stopped him.
Which was my goal with my imagined relationship, but after a night of tossing and turning, I was kicking myself for lying about a boyfriend.
It was immature to lie in the first place and even more immature not to talk to him about my concerns.
I knew he wouldn’t push any boundaries if he thought I were seeing someone else.
I also knew he wouldn’t push any boundaries if I had simply asked.
I sighed, rubbing my hands down my face. I was ready to go home and get some space from Fai to think clearly. Being this close to him was messing with me in more ways than I had realized. I wanted to keep Fai in my life, but I needed space to decide how much I wanted him in it.
I leaned down to start peeling off my socks when a hand came out of nowhere, wrapping around my mouth and pulling me to a stand, forcing me against a wet, hard body.
I tried to fight, kicking and clawing at the hand that was clamped over my mouth, keeping me from screaming.
I had no time to think, my adrenaline rushing as I realized I needed to get free.
The person holding me pulled me away from the door, closer to the shower and vanity. My feet dragged, and I tried to kick at anything to make noise—to alert Gabriel someone was in here with me. Had they been in here the whole time?
Then I was faced toward the mirror where I finally saw my attacker.
Towering behind me, one hand over my mouth and the other wrapped around my torso, was Fai.
His eyes held a murderous glint, one I hadn’t seen before.
His hair was dripping wet, brushing against his eyes, and his T-shirt clung to his torso, molding to his body.
Every muscle was taut, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. I could see the pulse thumping in his neck, speeding at a rate I couldn’t understand.
I looked him in the eyes, stopping my fight. While I was confused, I knew he would never hurt me—not intentionally.
His arm that was wrapped around my torso loosened slightly, his hand moving to his lips where he placed his pointer finger, silencing me.
I nodded, showing him I understood. He released his hand from my mouth, leaning down to speak in my ear just above a whisper, the shower drowning out any eavesdropping ears.
“We need to leave immediately. Do you understand?” His voice was like gravel in my ears.
I nodded again.
“Through the window, okay? Keep the shower going.” He stepped silently away.
I noticed for the first time his shoes were off, his socks soaked through like the rest of him.
He must have come through the window. I opened the shower curtain to see the screen had been removed and his jacket was lying on the threshold.
We moved toward the window when a knock on the door had us frozen again.
“You okay? I thought I heard banging,” Gabriel called through the closed and, thankfully, locked door.
I looked at Fai frantically, unsure of what to do or say.
Fai rested a hand on each of my arms, mouthing silently: I’m not here. Lie.
I began to shake, scared but unsure of who or what I was supposed to be afraid of.
A flicker of emotion flashed in Fai’s gaze—the first I had seen. He leaned down next to my ear again, whispering softly. “Answer him. Okay, repeat after me, honey.”
I nodded, urging him to continue.
“I’m fine; I dropped my shampoo and it went clattering about,” I called as Fai whispered the words into my ear.
There was a pause, but I could see Gabriel’s feet under the crack of the door.
“Good, good,” he finally answered. “Are you sure you haven’t seen Fai? His truck is out front, but I can’t find him anywhere.”
“I know he’s taken up running lately. Do you see his shoes? Maybe he went out for a morning run?” I called, Fai still feeding me the lines. His breath washed across my neck as he whispered, his lips nearly touching the skin next to my ear.
“Hmm…” Gabriel spoke quietly. “Maybe. I’ll go check,” he finally conceded. “Are you sure you’re okay? I thought I heard you struggling. You didn’t fall or anything?”
I laughed lightly, hoping my anxiety didn’t bleed through. “Seriously, I’m totally fine. Just a total klutz. Let me shower off, and I’ll come help you look for Fai. Knowing him, he went for a run, got tired halfway, and walked back.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He started to walk away, his steps stopping again a few feet later. “Oh yeah, I was meaning to ask: Did you go into the office again?”
Fai’s grasp tightened on my arms.
“No?”
“I left the door unlocked,” Fai explained softly. The words may have been for me, but it seemed as though he were putting the pieces together himself—what gave him away.
“Must have been Fai,” Gabriel mused. “I’ll wait for you in the living room.”
Finally, he walked away, his steps growing distant. I turned back to Fai, who motioned toward the window with his head. We climbed through the running shower together, the water soaking through my shirt and leggings, my socks squishing under my feet as I stepped.
Fai took my hand, helping me step out of the window and onto the front porch. He followed slowly, his steps silent as he landed next to me. I started to speak, but he turned to me quickly, shaking his head. He closed the window slowly and softly.
I looked out at the property, seeing dark clouds rolling in from the distance. They only added to my fear, as I was still unsure of what was happening—only knowing I trusted Fai and that we needed to leave.
He picked up his hoodie from the porch deck, pulling it over my head. Taking my hand in his, he pulled me toward his truck, which was parked a few dozen feet away. I saw the plan and understood the plan, but there was one issue.
Each tire was flat.
I pulled him to a stop, pointing out the problem. He swore under his breath, looking around for another way to escape, but there was none. For the first time since we had arrived, I began to understand just how utterly alone we were out here.
We were stopped halfway between the house and the truck when the front door flew open, rebounding against the side of the house and shaking on the hinges.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Gabriel yelled to us, stalking toward us.
Fai pulled me behind him, shielding me with his body.
We had less than thirty seconds until Gabriel would be on us.
I looked around, seeing where we could hide.
I didn’t want to go back into the house, knowing Gabriel could lock us in together.
Our best bet for safety was out here. I looked in the distance, seeing the treeline at the back of the property.
It was less than a quarter-mile away, with another quarter-mile until the trees became dense enough that you couldn’t see deeper.
I threaded my fingers through Fai’s, squeezing slightly. I stood on my tiptoes, whispering one word—one command.
“Run.”
He didn’t need to be told twice. The two of us took off on foot, sprinting around the house and toward the trees. Fai let go of my hand, allowing me to run freely but keeping me in front of him at all times, acting as a physical barrier between Gabriel and myself.
“Fuck!” Fai yelled. I tried to turn to see what he was worried about, but he took my hand and ran faster, now pulling me behind him. “Do not stop, you hear me? Do not stop!”
I didn’t nod, I didn’t speak. I just pumped my legs harder, watching the treeline grow closer and closer… and then I heard it.
Boom.
The shotgun echoed around us, reverberating off the trees and the house.
“Run!” Fai yelled again.
We broke into the treeline, the leaves obscuring the sky and branches snapping under our feet.
Boom.
I ducked as a tree to my right exploded from the impact. I wanted to cower; I wanted to scream and cry. I wanted to demand answers from Fai about what the fuck was happening, but we didn’t have time. We kept running, winding through trees, the sounds of Gabriel’s pursuit growing fainter behind us.
Boom.
The shotgun was fired again, but it didn’t scare me this time.
It was farther away, the sound obscured by the trees growing denser with each step.
Fai took my hand again, leading me up the mountain.
Our steps slowed from a sprint to a run after a few minutes, to a fast walk after another half hour, and finally to a slow crawl once another hour had passed.
The trees surrounding us were tall, reaching high into the sky. The ground was only dirt, covered in snapped twigs, leaves, and the occasional fallen, rotting tree. The sounds of Gabriel had ceased miles back, but we didn’t stop moving, putting as much distance between us as possible.
Finally, we came to a rest. Fai collapsed onto the ground as he fought to catch his breath. While his clothes had dried from the shower, they were damp again from sweat, a bead dripping down his forehead.
I breathed heavily, bracing my hands on my knees and looking down at my torn, dirtied socks. I knew my feet were beat up, but the adrenaline still pumping through my body obscured the pain.
“What the fuck just happened?” I finally asked through heavy breaths.
Fai looked up at me, the dangerous edge I had seen in his eyes earlier melting away the longer they were trained on me. “I don’t actually know.”
“Okay.” I raised a hand toward him, the other on my hip. “What made you sneak into the bathroom and get us out via the window? How did you know Gabriel was going to… snap? Shoot at us? What the hell just happened, Fai?”
Fai took a deep breath, and then another. He ran his tongue along his teeth before he finally spoke. “I don’t know who he is, but I don’t think he’s Gabriel. I don’t think Gabriel exists. It’s just a character he used to get closer to us…”
“What?” I asked in shock.
He reached his hand out, and I took it readily. He pulled me down to the ground with him; my legs were grateful for the break, my muscles burning from exertion.
“I went to get us coffee, and the barista told me the cabin is a rental—he doesn’t own it.
When I got back, I went through the office.
I don’t even know what I found… but he’s not who he claims to be.
I don’t know what he wants, but I know it’s bad.
I can’t explain why, but I can feel it.” Fai looked at me, real fear in his eyes. “I think he wants you.”
I jerked back, trying to process it all. “What was in the office?”
“Folders—at least a dozen of them. He has one on each of us, all the people we know. Our friends, our family. They’re filled with details, documents, pictures—everything he needs to know about us,” Fai explained.
I swallowed a lump in my throat. “Why do you think he wants me?”
“Yours was different.” Fai turned to me fully, cupping my face in the palm of his hand.
“I don’t even know how to explain it, besides that it’s crazy.
It’s like he found every bit of information he could on you and filed it away.
He must have figured out what I saw. I don’t know why else he would have fucking shot at us. ”
I stood again, despite my aching legs, and began pacing. “Why would he want me? Why invite us out here?”
Fai shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know. I just knew I needed to get you out of that house… and fast.”
“Oh my God…” I muttered, whipping to face Fai again. “The money in the Bible—or Book of Mormon, whatever that was. You see those in hotels.”
Fai nodded. “Think about all the different genres of books he had. They weren’t his favorites; they were picked to cater to guests.”
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“Yeah,” Fai agreed.
Our reality came crashing in. We were in the middle of the woods—woods we didn’t know—with only the clothes on our backs, hiding from a madman with no way out. The tires on the truck were slashed; there was no service, no neighbors. We didn’t even have shoes on.
We were totally and royally fucked.