Page 43 of Question Everything

Kyle balanced all four glasses with the tips of his fingers and carried them into the kitchen. The sliding door was open, and the room was freezing cold. At first, his senses stood at full alert; had someone left the door open or did an intruder break in? But then he heard the quiet tone of female voices and realized that Mia and Sibby were outside on the deck. He put the glasses in the sink and stepped over to the door.

“Ladies, you’re bringing the house temperature down. Are you coming in soon?”

“Right now, brother,” Sibby said as she stepped back into the kitchen with Mia trailing behind her.

He shut the door and locked it, then put the safety bar down, preventing anyone from jimmying it back open from the outside.

“I’m heading up to bed. Don’t stay up all night, there’s work to be done in the morning.”

“We’re right behind you, Sibby. I’ll wash these glasses and we’ll be up as well.”

“Thanks, brother. See you both tomorrow.” Sibby turned and disappeared down the hallway.

Once she was out of sight, Kyle pulled Mia into his arms. “How long were you out there? You’re freezing!”

“I’m not sure,” Mia replied as she rubbed her hands together. “It was mesmerizing. So many stars…”

“Well, if you give me a minute to take care of these glasses, I’m sure I can think of a way to warm you up from the inside…”

She smiled at him then and he felt his entire body come alive. He quickly let her go, turned to the sink, squirted some soap onto a sponge and rinsed away the remainder of the foamy beer from their glasses and washed the dirty wine glasses as well, balancing them on the drain tray next to the deep stainless-steel basin. He squeezed the excess water from the sponge, placed it on the dish set there for this purpose and grabbed a towel to dry his hands. He then reached for Mia who had been standing off to one side, watching him.

“Ready to go up to bed?”

“Always,” she replied.

Her words made his blood hum and race through his body. He reached for her hand and led her through the hallway and up the stairs to his room. Once there, he closed the door behind them and pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply, releasing all the tension he’d felt throughout the day, knowing that he’d soon have her naked in his bed. For whatever time together they had, Kyle knew one thing. He’d make her feel like the cherished beauty that she was. He would worship her, body and soul with every ounce of his being for as long as he could.

Kyle wasn’tsure how long he’d been asleep when he heard Mia crying. He turned to look at her and realized that she wasn’t awake.She must be having another nightmare,he thought. Not wanting to scare her but wanting to stop whatever this bad dream was from consuming her this way, he put his hand on her chest and slowly began to apply some pressure, hoping toreassure her that she was safe here with him. She grabbed onto him and slowly opened her tear-filled eyes.

“Kyle,” she gasped. “Kyle…”

“Shh, Mia, you’re okay. You’re safe. You’re here with me, remember?”

She pushed herself up to a sitting position and leaned back against the headboard. He could tell that she was pretty shaken from the effects of the dream.

“No, Kyle, no. I may be safe, but Daisy is the one who’s in danger. They’re coming to get her. I know they are.”

CHAPTER 24

“Who, Mia? Who’s coming for her?” Kyle asked in a whisper.

“Those men. I took her away to keep her safe, but it’s not enough. They’re going to find us. I know it.”

He was sitting on the edge of her side of the bed now and she felt his hand reach for her shoulder. She knew that he was trying to reassure her, but there was nothing he could do to calm her down. She felt herself shaking and gasping for air, trying to regulate her breathing. Her heart was pounding, and she felt sweat form on the back of her neck. That dream wasn’t a figment of her imagination, she was sure of it. It was a large piece of memory that had been unlocked, the true reason that she was on the run, and she felt the terror of it deep in her bones.Her daughter was the one in danger! But why…

“Tell me everything about that nightmare, Mia,” Kyle said. “Every detail you can remember.”

She struggled to keep her voice steady. “I was in a hotel room, Daisy was asleep. I saw two men through the peephole in the door and I knew they were there for her. They wanted to take her away from me.”

“Was one of them her father?”

“No. No, they were looking for Daisy.”

“And how did you get away from them?”

“I created a diversion. I lit a fire and the hotel’s sprinkler system came on. The alarms started to sound. When I knew that lots of people would be in the hallway, I took Daisy and ran to the car. I got in and started to drive away, but then they were on the road behind me. I took the exit too fast, and… well, you know the rest.”

He nodded his head.

---