Page 27 of Shadows of Before

“Aren’t you coming?”

“No. Clean yourself up.”

He mumbled an expletive.

Meanwhile she found his keys in his pants and went to his car. Sure enough there was a go-bag in the trunk. Some habits die hard. She brought it back to him. Dropped it in the bathroom. Then left.

He came out a while later wearing a sweat suit. He smelled like his soap. He was barefoot and sat on the side of the bed.

She asked, “What happened?”

He stared at her.

“Will, tell me why you did this.”

Still, he waited. Finally he got out, “I heard from the Secret Service.”

She’d never thought of that. “What did they say?”

“I’m out of protective duty. The SAC said I could have a place in Treasury until I could retire and get a pension, which is only three years.”

“Hell.”

“I told them to fuck off.”

“Really?”

“No. I quit, though.”

“Oh, Will.”

She touched his arm.

His head dropped. “I don’t know who I am, without a protective job, you know.”

She swallowed hard. “I know, Will.”

He gave her a meaningful look. “Of course you do.”

Suddenly, he bolted up and raced to the bathroom. She could hear him retching. Instead of leaving him alone, she went inside, knelt next to him and ran her hand around his back. “Go ahead and get it out.”

When he finished she got him to the sink, he used his toothbrush, then leaned on her back to the bedroom. She let him flop on the bed. His eyes closed.

She sighed. He had it as bad as she did. The hopelessness. The anger. The dread of the future.

Glad she came to the hotel, she dropped into a chair beside the bed to wait for him to wake up.

* * *

Will awoke. His head pounded but his body felt better. Boy, he must have slept a long time. And his mouth felt clean. He turned over in the bed. Next to it was a glass of water with three ibuprofen pills. He gulped down both. Where did they come from? Oh, man. He remembered. Katie had come here. He had a vague recollection of her going into the bathroom with him. He stared up at the ceiling, watching the fan whir. He remembered more than that.

He’d lost his position in the Secret Service.

The door opened. Pleasant scents of coffee and food wafted into the room. Along with Kate. “You stayed here for four hours?”

“Uh, huh. I was searching home wall hangings online for my house.”

He chuckled.

---