Page 27 of Guarded from Danger

Of course, there’s still a lot to work through before that. Like this sick online game. Her trauma. My inexperience with relationships. The constant worry that I’m going to fail her again.

Niall’s forehead creases as he waits for my response. “Is she alright? Jade said Lucy seemed more upbeat by the time she left the other day. And they texted yesterday about watching a movie soon.”

“I think she is.” Sliding my phone out of my pocket, I read Lucy’s last text from thirty minutes ago.

Everything’s good. Just watching TV and doing some laundry. Hope your workout is going well!

Glancing up from the screen, I say, “She says she’s feeling better. And she’s been texting with her parents, now that their expedition is over, and some of her friends. So I’m hoping that helps. But I still worry. The nightmares… they’re terrible. Crying in her sleep, begging for help, waking up screaming… and I can’t do a damn thing to stop them.”

Niall frowns, pausing for a second before responding, “It sucks, Xav. I know it doesn’t help, but I’ve been there. Jade’s nightmares…” He shakes his head. “Fucking awful. They got better in time, but yeah. It’s terrible watching the woman you love hurting like that.”

We push through the door to upstairs, walking into the communal living space. Sarah is sitting on a couch reading, with her rescue dog, Rambo, dozing next to her. As she looks up from her book, she smiles and gives a little wave. “Hey, guys. Dante and I were thinking about hosting dinner this Friday. Are you interested?”

His face brightening, Niall replies, “Of course. Do you want us to bring anything?”

Sarah barely hides a wince. “Um, no. That’s okay.” After a beat, she adds, “Maybe a bottle of wine. Or some beer. If you want.”

Niall chuckles. “Icancook, you know. I just?—”

“You just choose not to,” I finish, repeating the same thing I’ve heard him say for years. And it’s partially true, if you consider cooking to be grilled cheese and pasta and scrambled eggs. Which, now that I think about it, is probably one step ahead of me.

“Like you’re some gourmet chef.” Niall snickers as he punches me in the arm. “Thank goodness Dante and Sarah stocked your fridge, or Lucy would—” He stops, his mouth snapping shut. “Shit. Sorry, Xav.”

“It’s okay.” I lift my chin at him. “No worries.”

“Do you think Lucy will want to come?” Sarah asks. “Of course I’d love to see her, but if she’s not feeling up to it…”

“I’ll ask,” I tell her. “Can I let you know later?”

“Of course. Anytime.” Sarah gives Rambo an affectionate scratch between his ears. “I didn’t want to push, but if you want Rambo to come for a visit, he’s nearly done with his therapy dog training. So it might help Lucy, if she’s struggling.”

My chest warms. Not only do I have awesome teammates, but Jade and Sarah are great, too. I couldn’t have picked better partners for my two friends. “Thanks, Sarah.” I make a quick detour to the couch to scratch behind Rambo’s ears. “I’ll tell her.”

And speaking of Lucy, I’m more than ready to get back to her. Today’s the first time she’s been alone in the apartment since I brought her to Blade and Arrow—aside from brief conferences I’ve had outside in the hall—and I’m still feeling a little uneasy about it.

She swore she’d be fine as she practically pushed me out the door this morning, saying, “You need to get back to yoursuperhero workout routine. Your five thousand pushups and lifting five hundred pound barbells and running twenty-five miles. I’ll catch up on my TV shows and do some laundry. It’ll be fine.”

I almost told her no, anyway. I was still thinking about a particularly bad nightmare from last night, when it took me a good half hour to calm her down enough to go back to sleep. But Lucy was adamant, and as I keep reminding myself, she’s an adult. A very intelligent and independent woman who wouldn’t appreciate me ignoring her wishes.

And it was only an hour and a half. Surely she’s fine. She said she was less than thirty minutes ago. I’ll get back to the apartment and we’ll have breakfast together, and then later, maybe we can go on another walk around the property. Check out the pond. Relax on the dock Dante built, so Sarah always has a place to enjoy the water.

Still. I want to get back to the apartment so I know for sure.

So while Niall wrestles with Rambo on the floor, I announce, “I’m going to get back to my place. Make sure everything’s good.”

Niall looks up at me. “Of course. Tell Lucy I said hi.”

“Same,” Sarah adds. “And don’t forget to ask her about dinner.”

As I head towards the east wing, where all our apartments are, my pace quickens. Not to a run, but definitely faster than a walk. Even though I know that Lucy’s safe, that she would have texted if there was a problem, I can’t shake the cloak of worry that’s settled over me since the day she went missing.

And when I get to my front door to find it slightly ajar, icy fear trickles down my back.

Why is the door open?

It doesn’t make sense. Not when I’ve seen Lucy surreptitiously checking the locks when she thinks I’m not looking. She wouldn’t leave the door open like this.

Unless she got scared and came looking for me? But then why wouldn’t she have texted? Called?

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