Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86240 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86240 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Ohhh,” I mouthed, finally getting it. It quickly hit me what it was I desperately needed. I whispered it in her ear, not wanting the guys to hear. She nodded and said, “I’m going to run out. Do you need anything?” She directed her question at Shawn.
“I’m good,” he said and went back to silently conferring with Griffin.
After she left, Griffin rounded us up. “You have a late flight. I’ve left a car in the garage for you to get there. Shawn has the keys.”
“Flight?” I asked, glancing at them both.
Shawn answered. “We already had a target on our backs. Knowing they’ve been tracking us, we need an advantage. That means getting out of the state.”
“Are you okay with that?” Griffin asked.
How could I not be? I wasn’t going to put Shawn in danger because I was too stubborn to leave. “Sure,” I answered.
Griffin went over the finer details, like us not being caught by any of the residents while we were here and when we left. We were to leave late tonight. The streets would be clearer, and hopefully, most of the residents would be asleep. We had to be out before the shift changed.
When Kelsey came back, she handed me a nondescript bag and then she and Griffin left. Shawn hadn’t slept the night before and decided to get some shut-eye. There was a hint that he wanted me to join him.
He was in the bedroom when I went for my bag. I realized that I didn’t bring the pj’s. I’d left them on the floor after my shower in the apartment.
“Do you have a T-shirt I can borrow to wear to bed?” I called from the other room.
“Get whatever you need from my bag.”
I heard him move into the bathroom and start brushing his teeth. His bag was on the sofa and already open. I leafed through the clothes and found a T-shirt at the bottom. When I yanked it out, something else came with it. Open, face up, was a wallet. I picked it up, planning to close it, when the name on the ID caught my eye. Matthew Moore. But the face was that of Shawn. What the hell?
21
MATT
When I finished in the bathroom, I noticed Tayla wasn’t in the bedroom yet. Griff had already explained that the bed had a new mattress pad and sheets on it. She shouldn’t be weird about that.
“Tayla, is everything okay?”
There was a second before she said, “Yeah. I’ll be there in a minute.”
I had no idea what could be holding her up, but I decided not to question her on it when she walked into the room.
As the silence continued, I finally asked, “Are you okay?”
She didn’t answer, only nodded. Something was definitely off. Evidenced not only by her nonresponsiveness but also by how she lay on the bed with her back to me. That in itself wasn’t telling. If she’d been positioned closer to the middle, I’d think maybe she wanted me to hold her or act on the sexual tension that had built during the meal. But she was so close to the edge that a light breeze could have pushed her onto the floor.
I walked out of the room and surveyed the main area. What happened in the last few minutes that changed the woman from playful to reserved? Nothing looked different except my bag, which was opened. I walked over, but all my clothes were neatly inside.
Back in the room, she was quiet. As much as I wanted to be an asshole and demand she explain what the hell had changed, I couldn’t be that guy with her. She’d been through enough and if she needed a moment, who was I to press her?
I turned off the lights and got into bed despite the early hour, keeping well on my half of it. Then I lay there, eyes open, staring at the ceiling, waiting for something. Nothing came. An uneasiness settled over me. She’d been my anchor from everything I wanted to forget. Now, all the warmth I’d felt from her was cold at my back. I kept my eyes open, afraid to sleep even though I needed it. I didn’t want my demons to appear. Some things you can’t completely control, and I may have dozed, though when my alarm went off, I felt as though I had no sleep at all.
Wakefulness didn’t dawn with any new revelations. Tayla jumped when I tapped her arm. She was off the bed like lightning had struck her. In her eyes, I spotted the mistrust, and I ground my molars. I had no idea what I’d done.
I went for an olive branch. “Do you want breakfast?” I asked. She shook her head and damn if I didn’t miss the sound of her voice. “We should get an early start then,” I suggested.