Page 16 of Red

“No,” I grumble, playing up the recluse that most people in these parts believe me to be. Not that they're wrong. I don’t usually like to be around people. Blanche is the first person that I want around me. I usually just use women to get the release I need, nothing more. My number one rule is that no one comes to my cabin. It's in the middle of nowhere surrounded by woods. This makes the fact that these men found my cabin even more disturbing.

"If you do, here’s my card. She might need medical help.”

“Ok.”

Closing the door, I keep an eye out through the window until he’s gone. I hear a car door shut and then a black Jeep leaves,followed by most of his men.

These men don’t know who I am because I can see the two shadows that they left behind. Double-checking that those are the only two I go back to the kitchen and look out the back to see the others are gone.

I guess they think that those two men are enough to hold me. They have another thing coming. I will sneak out in the middle of the night and take care of them. Before they even realize what happened, Blanche and I will have moved to my other house.

Chapter 11

Blanche

Sitting on the toilet of the bathroom holding the knife Zeev gave me in one hand, I try listening through the door. My heart is beating so loud it's all I can hear. I’m pretty sure that all the men outside can hear it too. Trying to settle myself down, another loud knock from the front of the cabin causes me to jump.

Reminding myself to stay calm, I mutter to myself, “Blanche, take a deep breath.”

I inhale a breath and then let one out. Doing this over and over until I feel more in control. Making sure I keep my wits about me, just in case Zeev can’t make them go away and I need to defend myself.

I can hear the front door opening and then just a murmur of talking. I place my ear against the door hoping that I can make out what these men are saying. Needing to be prepared, but this door must be super thick because I can’t hear very much. I grip harder on the knife.

When the front door closes, a few minutes later I hear a knock on the bathroom door. Hoping it’s Zeev but not wanting to be caught unknowingly, I stand behind the door just in case I need to defend myself. When the door opens, I hold my breath, but let it out immediately when I see Zeev standing there.

“Did they leave?”

“Yes, most of them have left. Two of their soldiers were left behind and are hiding in the trees. I want you to stay away from the windows because we want to make sure they don’t know you’re here. Once it’s dark, I’ll take care of them and then we need to move to a new safe house.”

Letting dark thoughts start to infiltrate, I whisper, “I can’t go back to that house.”

Zeev grabs both sides of my face with his hands, forcing me to look into his eyes, “Don’t worry, they won’t get to you. I told you I’ll protect you. Now, let’s get out of this bathroom.”

***

Placing my book on the side table next to the bed, I decided to go see what Zeev is up to. I open the door and all I see is him sitting on the couch shirtless. I look him up and down and can’t help but check him out. I mean you would too, if you saw this sexy as fuck man. After ogling him for a bit, my eyes are drawn to a giant wolf tattoo on his chest.

The look of the wolf is so realistic, looking as if it could jump off of his hard body. With gray fur, it’s standing on the edge of a cliff, looking majestic as if it was the king of the forest. The eyes are staring at me as if he is trying to peer into my soul. A full moon stands above it. The wolf’s head is tilted towards the moon, howling at it. Zeev looks up at me with a grin. Shit. He just caught me checking him out. His grin gets bigger as he knows what I’m thinking and he gives me a wink.

My heart skips a beat with this action. A skeptical voice whispers in my head, “What was that feeling?”

Ignoring that small thought, I walk around the couch to join him. I look at the coffee table as he’s cleaning his weapons with a huge smile.

“Are you hungry? I made dinner for when you're ready. Once we eat, we’ll move to the next safe house.”

My stomach responds for me before I can even get the words out of my mouth. His smile gets even bigger. Standing up, he points to the stool at the counter.

I take the hint and walk over and drop down on the stool when a plate of delicious smelling, and -by the looks of it- homemade macaroni and cheese with pieces of broccoli shows up in a bowl right in front of me.

It looks so good. I can feel the saliva in my mouth start to pool. Not wanting to make my stomach wait any longer, I pick up my fork and dive in. My taste buds are drowning in yummy cheesy goodness.

After swallowing my first bite, I look up at Zeev and decide to ask him more about himself. I don’t even know much about him.

“How did you learn to cook?”

“When I was younger, I moved foster families a lot and in some of them, I wouldn’t have gotten any real food if I didn’t learn how to cook for myself. How about you, do you know how to cook?”

“Not really, I don’t like to cook. I did go to culinary school, but I prefer to bake. I’d just started my own wedding cake business before my grandmother dropped me into this mess. When I was younger, I would go over to my grandparents' house to spend time with them during the summer. I spent most of my time with my nanny who taught me how to bake. That’s when my love of cakes started.”

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