Page 31 of Hidden But Not Safe

Naz missed her.

He’d never missed anyone before. Diego naggingly checked in, making it impossible to miss him, and there was no one else that he’d wanted to have around.

When his life had changed at the age of twelve, he’d been too angry at his father to miss him at first. He’d watched his father fail to save him, watched the man who’d been his whole world die.

Remembering the good moments made the shitty stuff even harder, so his memories had fractured and faded. He could look back at what was left of them now and know his father was a good man. He could want to be like him, but he was glad his father wasn’t around to see what he’d become.

Meg, though. He wanted Meg around him.

She no longer snuck into the warehouse to sleep near him. He’d been struggling to fall asleep every night, as if he was waiting up for her.

He still saw her over the days that passed—Julio liked to show her off—but it was different. She didn’t talk to him. Her laugh was that awkward, strained one, and whenever he caught her looking at him, her amber eyes appeared dull.

Naz leaned against the outside wall of the warehouse, staring down at his phone. He pulled up Ramiro’s contact information, scrolling up to his ‘not yet’ message.

If he wasn’t around, would Meg be happier? Would her laugh seem more natural?

His eyes took in the low battery percentage of his phone. When he pulled out the portable charger, even it was low. That was what he got for avoiding the trailers.

He made his way to the one with the shower and smaller kitchen, where his second portable charger was plugged in, planning to switch them out and leave again.

He hadn’t seen her that day, but Meg mostly stayed in the other trailer, the one Julio preferred. It had the biggest bedroom.

Naz cut off those thoughts. He’d gotten better at avoiding all the sex they had; plus the frequency had lessened. Julio seemed to be losing interest, just as Meg had predicted.

The thought raised his own memories of men losing interest in him. He’d always been relieved, but someone else had showed up before long. Until Diego slaughtered the last ones.

Meg wasn’t acting relieved. Whenever he saw her, her smile looked more and more brittle, and anxiety carved creases near her jaw.

Naz switched out the charging devices. He considered plugging in his phone for a while. Deciding against it, he turned away, and his phone vibrated in his hand.

‘Proof of life.’

Had it really been a week since he’d last seen Diego? The empty days had stacked up.

He lifted the phone, took the picture, and sent it.

A returning vibration had him frowning down at the phone.

‘Is that a woman’s foot?’

The hairs on the back of Naz’s neck rose as he looked at the picture. A high-arched foot was visible on the bed through the doorway behind him. What was Meg doing in the spare room? Worse, why hadn’t he sensed her at all?

He deleted the picture, turned slightly, and snapped a new one without her foot.

Diego still wasn’t going to forget.

Naz looked inside the room, feeling guilty for not giving her space like she’d asked.

Meg lay still on the bed. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn’t making a sound. She looked too pale, her fingers almost blue.

His nerves skittered, the hair rising along his arms.

He moved into the room. Residue clung to the edge of her mouth. At first, he didn’t think she was breathing. Her chest finally lifted, but it was shallow, and the movement didn’t repeat for long seconds.

He rushed to the kitchen, jerking open the top drawer. The empty baggie on the counter mocked him as he searched the second drawer for the nasal spray.

Naz ran back into the room. His hand moved under the back of Meg’s neck, finding her skin clammy as he lifted her head and tilted it back. He pushed the nozzle into her nostril and pushed the plunger firmly until it clicked.

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