Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Kara didn’t realize just how safe she’d felt around Arrow until after he’d left her at Jen’s apartment.
All of a sudden, the dread she’d managed to push down since arriving in Norfolk returned tenfold.
It wasn’t because she didn’t like Jen, or the apartment, or even the building.
The security was top-notch, and it wasn’t easy to get inside or onto the floors.
There were cameras everywhere, and the residents had control over who was allowed to come up to their apartments.
But the second Arrow left her—with the promise he’d be in touch later to see how she was doing—Kara felt extremely uneasy. Her thoughts returned to Nolan. Was he alive? Where was he? Was he pissed she was gone?
Of course he was. Hadn’t he told her more than once that if she somehow escaped, he’d do whatever it took to get her back? Knowing he was out there somewhere, very likely searching for her, made her paranoid.
For some reason, being around Arrow calmed her nerves. It was as if he were a bubble of safety. Which was stupid. He couldn’t be by her side every second of the day and night. He wasn’t a bodyguard. He was a real-life hero with his own life to live.
But…she liked being around him. Liked how blunt he was. How he wasn’t afraid to talk about the difficult things. For instance, about the fact he knew she’d barricaded her door last night. Yet, he hadn’t demanded she open it or gotten upset with her for blocking him out.
She hadn’t done it because she didn’t trust Arrow, it was…
Why had she done it? A moment of temporary insanity?
She wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she’d felt vulnerable in that room, all alone.
Arrow had reassured her that no one could come in without him knowing, that she was safe.
And she believed him. Until she once more began doubting her own instincts. As if she couldn’t trust her judgment.
After all, she’d thought Nolan was a good guy. He’d gone slow, hadn’t pushed for intimacy. Hadn’t pressured her for sex, which a lot of guys did even after the first date. He was funny and charming, and she’d completely let down her guard around him.
Kara didn’t want to be too stupid to live for a second time. Didn’t want to succumb to the instant trust she felt for Arrow.
Even as she was moving the dresser, she’d had second thoughts. Just not enough to put it back. Now, in the light of day, knowing that Arrow had realized what she’d done and still didn’t seem upset, she felt bad that she’d doubted him for even a moment.
And he’d made a very good point…if someone managed to get through the window, that dresser would’ve slowed Arrow down in getting to her. In protecting her. Nolan might’ve had enough time to break the window, grab her, and take her away once more.
Shaking her head, Kara realized her thoughts were all over the place.
She didn’t feel as calm as she looked on the outside.
Inside, she was spiraling. She felt as if she couldn’t breathe.
As if she was having a panic attack. How could she get a job, go back to work, and not constantly be looking over her shoulder?
Something cold and wet touched her hand, and Kara nearly jumped out of her skin.
Looking down, she saw Fred, Jen’s black lab, nudging her hand and gazing up at her.
“He’s kind of good at knowing when people are upset,” Jen said quietly.
She was sitting in the living room in a comfortable-looking oversized chair, reading a book.
She had the day off because Fred had a vet appointment later that afternoon, and she’d already informed her boss at the search and rescue agency that she wouldn’t be available for any assignments.
Kara crouched and nuzzled Fred, while he desperately tried to lick her face. She ended up laughing at his antics, which made the panic she’d begun to feel recede a little.
The rest of the day went by quickly enough. Kara did some searches for accounting jobs on Jen’s laptop, and even managed to log into her cloud account to make sure all the files for her writing career—manuscripts, contacts, graphics, among other things—were still safe. They were, thank goodness.
Nolan had gotten rid of her laptop, along with all her other belongings.
He’d thrown in her face that he’d taken great pleasure in destroying it.
Kara had made a show of acting devastated, but she hadn’t been too worried, since she had everything backed up in the cloud.
She was actually glad he’d taken a sledgehammer to the laptop.
That meant he couldn’t attempt to access her email—or somehow use it to find her now.
She really should try to work on her current manuscript some more, but she definitely wasn’t in the mood.
Hell, she barely remembered what the story was about, since it had been so long since she’d thought about it.
It sucked that Nolan had taken that from her as well.
Writing used to be her safe place, what she did when the world felt overwhelming.
Bowie and Penny stopped by after school let out, and being around the friendly and outgoing little girl was a great break.
While they were there, Jen took Fred to his vet appointment.
Kara and Bowie shared a snack, and the little girl asked what seemed like a hundred questions about North Carolina, her life there, and if she liked the FLATOUTbear Bowie had given her.
She also talked nonstop about her school, her best friend named Abigail, and how her teacher was helping their entire class learn how to read Braille.
Jen arrived home while her neighbors were still visiting, and when Bowie started talking about her mom’s upcoming wedding, Kara was surprised. She didn’t even know Penny and Pyro were engaged.
“Kylo-Pyro asked Mommy to marry him. And then asked me if I’d marry him too.
So he could officially be my daddy!” The little girl was so excited.
“Of course we said yes! Kylo-Pyro is my hero. He gotted hurt protecting me and even though I was scared when he helped me out that window and I had to walk for ages and ages by the ocean, I trusted him.”
It was a good thing Kara knew the story of what had happened to Bowie and Pyro, otherwise she would’ve been completely confused and probably freaked out by that description.
Arrow told her all about how his teammate and the blind little girl had been kidnapped, and how Pyro helped her escape out a window in the basement where they were being held.
How Bowie managed to walk along the shoreline until someone spotted her and got help for Pyro.
“You thought more about the ceremony?” Jen asked Penny.
The other woman nodded. “Yeah, we’re going to keep it low-key.
We don’t want to make a huge deal out of the actual ceremony, but we are planning a big ol’ party for our reception.
I don’t care if we get married at the courthouse, but I want to make sure all my new friends are able to get together to celebrate. ”
“And we’re going to have chicken nuggets!” Bowie exclaimed.
“That sounds awesome,” Kara told her. She wasn’t lying. She hadn’t been to many wedding receptions, but the ones she had attended were stuffy and formal, and the food hadn’t been at all to her liking. But chicken nuggets sounded right up her alley.
“I know Casper wants to marry Laryn as soon as possible as well,” Jen said.
“Yeah, we’ve talked about it. We might combine our receptions. I mean, we know all the same people, so it kind of makes sense.”
“Oh, that would be awesome! You wouldn’t feel weird about sharing your special day with someone else though?” Jen asked.
Penny immediately shook her head. “No way. I love Laryn, and I’d feel honored to share a celebration with her.”
Hearing the sincerity in Penny’s voice made Kara understand a little more how close the friends were. She wasn’t quite ready to say her luck had finally changed for the better, but she felt blessed to be exactly where she was, and among the people she’d found herself with.
By the time the mother-daughter duo left, Kara felt much better. For a brief while, she’d forgotten all about Nolan.
But the second they were gone, it was as if a switch had been thrown, and memories threatened to overwhelm her once more.
The fact that she had only a handful of belongings to her name made the complete restart of her life feel overwhelming.
How in the world was she going to afford to get her own place?
And would she even be able to live by herself again? Kara wasn’t sure.
The threat of Nolan hung over her head like an oppressive cloud that wouldn’t lift.
It was around five-thirty in the afternoon when Jen got a call. She and Fred were being requested to help track down a three-year-old girl who’d wandered out of her yard when her mom wasn’t looking. The house backed up to a marshy area, and the parents were freaking out, with good reason.
Jen was reluctant to leave, but there was no way in hell Kara was going to tell her not to take the job.
And, once alone in the apartment, all Kara’s fears began to creep up on her. She imagined Nolan was in the parking lot, waiting for his chance to grab her.
To keep busy, she began to clean an already spotless apartment. She found a vacuum in a closet and used it in all the rooms. Then she wiped down the countertops in the kitchen. And still feeling the need to stay busy, she started organizing the cabinets.
An unfamiliar noise made her jerk with fright, and it took a moment for Kara to realize it was her phone ringing. Included in the bags of stuff the women had bought was one of those pay-as-you-go cell phones. It wasn’t the fancy kind she used to have, but Kara was grateful for it all the same.
Rushing into the sitting area, she grabbed it from one of the small end tables next to the couch and saw Arrow’s name on the screen.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Kara. It’s me. Arrow.”