Page 100 of Trapped

He gave the number of the cell phone, then gulped. “I feel like my brain is on fire. Do you know what that’s like?” he shouted, then added another string of curses for good measure. When he was finished with the blast, he apologized with a shaky, “Sorry.”

He paused for effect, then went on. “Listen, I can’t hold a thought for more than a few seconds. Please, I need some more of that medication I was taking. That made me feel better. I want to hook up with Dr. Montgomery, but I don’t know how to reach him, and I don’t know how to get back to the bunker. I went down to West Virginia and started searching, but I’m so turned around that I can’t find my ass with a flashlight.”

He glanced at Sophia.

“Good,” she mouthed.

He gave her an apologetic look. “That chick who got me out of the bunker—she left me high and dry. Just because I roughed her up a little. She said I was crazy as a bedbug, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She told me I needed medical treatment. I didn’t want to believe her. But now I think she’s right. Only the bitch took off while I was sleeping. And she didn’t even leave me with any meds,” he whined, going back to the previous topic. “I can’t handle this. I need help. If Dr. Montgomery is willing to take me back, I’ll do anything he wants. He said hypnosis could help me. I didn’t want to do it before, but I’ll try anything. Please, call me back.” He gave the number again, then hung up.

“Now we wait to see what he says,” Frank said.

“And if he doesn’t respond?”

“Then we go to plan B.”

“Which is?”

“We’ll figure that out if we need to.”

Cash leaned back and closed his eyes. He was completely wiped out.

“You should get some sleep,” Sophia murmured.

He didn’t have the strength to object.

“When Luntz calls, you can talk to him. And we’ll monitor the conversation,” Frank said.

“Yeah,” Cash answered, then blinked. “I don’t even know where I’m bunking.”

“I’ll show you,” Jonah offered.

He followed the other man down the hall to a room with a double bed. He half expected Sophia to barge in after him, but when she didn’t appear, he figured she was giving him some space.

He fell onto the bed with his clothes on and was instantly asleep. This time, there were no dreams.

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Sophia paced back and forth in the hall. She knew Cash had to sleep. But she also knew that he could have asked her to share the room with him.

She walked past his door and stopped, thinking that she could go in and lie down next to him. That way, he’d have to speak to her when he woke up. Or maybe not. Maybe Luntz would wake him up, and then he’d have to be on his toes.

Other people at the complex passed her in the hall. Some of them smiled. Some nodded. And she tried to return their greetings. But it was difficult to focus on anything else besides Cash.

He had been through a horrible ordeal. And it wasn’t over yet. In fact, she’d suggested that he put himself in danger. But she knew it was necessary and not just for the reason she’d given everyone. Montgomery and Luntz had damaged Cash’s self-esteem. They’d used him in the worst possible way—first by sending him on that mission and then by screwing with his mind. They’d intended to get what they wanted out of him—then kill him.

Well, he’d escaped from the damn bunker. But he needed to show them that he was the winner in this situation.

And once he proved to himself that he was back in charge of his life, they could deal with their relationship.

But what if Cash walked away from her again when this was all over? That would be like a kind of death.

She clenched her fists. It was all she could do to stop herself from charging into his room, waking him and demanding that he tell her what he intended when he had his life back.

But she knew he wouldn’t give her an answer. Not yet.

Was he smart enough to realize that the two of them belonged together—had always belonged together?

Or would he throw their future away because he thought he wasn’t good enough for her? All she could do was pray that he came to the right conclusions.

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