Chapter Four #2
“What is he…” I started, but my throat was too tight to squeeze out any other sounds.
“Oh, Rune?” Sofia asked, smile huge.
Oh, God.
Oh, how had I screwed this all up so epically?
“I let him in. I figured you wouldn’t mind.”
Why, why, had I given her his name?
Dammit.
Rune’s gaze had been on me since I’d walked in, but now he shot me a lazy grin. Like this was all so amusing.
“Been talking to little sis about me, huh?”
“What were you going to tell me?” Sofia asked.
“Oh, um. Chip wants us to plant a vegetable garden. Actually, can you, uh, do me a favor? Can you run down to Church Street and help him? He rode his mower down there to get the starter plants. He’s not going to be able to bring them back on that thing.”
“Stubborn old man,” Sofia said, shaking her head. But she was already getting her shoes on. Good. That was good. She’d be safe out there. Then if this guy needed to kill me, then, well, so be it. But she’d be okay.
“Thanks, Sof,” I said as she brushed past me.
“Come on, Hamster. Let’s take a walk.” That was the magic word for the dog, who rolled over, fell off the couch, then lurched to her feet with her ass about to fall off from wiggling so hard as she got her leash attached.
“Maybe I’ll even get that garden started,” she told me with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. “So you guys can have some privacy.”
Before I could respond to that, she was gone.
And we were alone.
I stood there for a moment, listening to Sofia coo at Hamster as they moved across the porch, down the steps, her voice growing thinner as she got further away.
For a second, there was nothing but silence. But my thundering heartbeat, and my jittery nerves.
I wasn’t even conscious of the decision to move.
But one second, I was standing two feet inside the door.
The next, I was making a mad dash toward the kitchen.
To, I don’t know, grab a knife or something.
But Rune was prepared for me to run.
He shot up off the couch cushion, snagged me around the waist with one arm, and dragged me back with him.
I landed with my ass half on his thigh and struggled enough to drop down at his side instead. There was no use trying to get away. His one arm was stronger than my whole body. It pinched around me too tightly, making me try to shrink smaller to ease the ache.
“Should we talk here, or make our way up to the bedroom like your sister suggested? Apparently, we were fucking last night.”
There was no reason, none at all, for the little shiver that sliced down my spine, or the way my belly flipped at his words, at the way his breath was warm on my ear as he said them.
A strange squeak escaped me before I swallowed back my spit and asked, “How did you find me?”
“Well, baby, your super professional-looking criminal outfit aside, a real pro would know not to get their plates caught on camera while fleeing.”
Great.
That was just great.
“I thought about covering them,” I said, mostly to myself. But I’d been afraid of getting pulled over and arrested for not having my plates visible.
“If you had, I wouldn’t be here.” His fingers drummed on my stomach where he was still grabbing me.
“Are you going to kill me?” I asked, hating how shaky my voice sounded.
There was a pause, then a strange false note in his voice when he said, “I haven’t decided yet.”
So, yeah, that false note was because he knew he was lying. He was absolutely going to kill me. The question was just when. And what happened to me before.
“Can you do it somewhere else?” I asked, trying to stand, but his arm just tightened.
And as I settled back down, trying to accept that my blood would be splattered all over the only couch my sister and I had ever possessed—where we’d been the first owners—and the very carefully curated gallery wall behind, I heard the damn mower chugging closer.
Not two minutes later, the door burst open, and there was Sofia with a bouquet draped over her arm.
“Crazy old man conned the gardener out of one of his milk crates, then strapped it to the back of his mower. He didn’t need my help.
But look! Pretty daisies. Your favorite!
” She paused, sensing the tension in the air.
“Everything all right? Did I interrupt something?” Her eyes went bright.
“Because I wouldn’t want that. Not after how long of a dry—”
“Aren’t you supposed to be gardening?” I cut her off as Rune chuckled beside me, the sound vibrating into me with how close we were sitting. We’re not going to talk about where that sound also vibrated. Or how good this guy smelled: spicy, warm, with just a hint of… lemon cleaner.
“I am. Chip insisted I go inside and put on sunblock and a big hat. He’s actually kind of sweet beneath all that barbed wire.”
With that, she ran up the center steps with Hamster on her heels.
“Please don’t hurt my sister,” I whispered.
“I’m not going to hurt your sister.” His voice was soft, and seemingly sincere. I hoped.
We sat in silence, listening to her digging around in her room, then the bathroom, while Hammy played with one of her toys, making it let out an ear-splitting squeal.
The damn thing was nothing but scraps these days, but when we’d tried to throw it away, she’d whined and moped all day until Sofia went and dug through the trash at the street to save it before the garbage men came.
The two came rushing down the steps a moment later, then ran past us toward the back door.
It wasn’t until the door slammed that anyone spoke.
“So, tell me, Carmen,” Rune said, and I tried not to react to the way his voice caressed the letters of my name. “Why did you want to kill me last night?”
The words were out before I could even realize they formed in my head.
“I wanted to kill you a lot longer than that.”