Page 71 of Mine to Protect

Darkness encroached from the corners of my eyes, sealing off my vision until everything was dark, even with my eyes open.

Internally, I thrashed against the growing dark cloud, desperate to wake up, to watch for more threats.

But for the first time in a long time, the panic attack won, and I gave in to the blissful pull the darkness offered, knowing I would be safe, with him.

* * *

“Why isn’t she waking up?”someone said close by, the voice familiar enough to not cause fear even though I still couldn’t see.

An animal-type growl rumbled near me, and for some reason it made me want to smile—if I could work my facial muscles. “She walked up on some psychotic asshole’s makeshift heart made out of tortured rats.” That time my lips responded, ticking upward. “That would be enough to send anyone into shock, but add in her past—” A loud, frustrated groan vibrated in my ears. “We should call a doctor.”

“Chipmunks,” I somehow got out past my desert-dry throat and mouth. Willing my eyes to open, I blinked several times before the two men’s faces cleared. Cas was at my side, hand tangled in my hair within seconds.

“What?” he asked. Concern and worry dripped from his words, making my heart flutter with something I couldn’t identify.

“Not rats, chipmunks.” Ribbed material pressed into my palm as I pushed to sit up. My mouth fell open. We weren’t at the park anymore. Somehow he got me back down the mountain, into the truck and back home all without me waking.

“Jiminy cricket, my head,” I said with a tight breath. Leaning forward, I wrapped both hands around my skull and pressed hard to ease the throbbing.

“Here.” He moved one of my hands from my head and set two small capsules in the palm. I squinted up to find a glass of water held out as well. “It’s Tylenol. It’ll help.”

I stared at the glass. I knew there was nothing in the water. He wouldn’t do that to me. But still, I couldn’t take it from his hand. My throat seemed to crack and bleed from dryness the longer I looked at the thirst-quenching goodness, but the battle raged in my mind. One side desperate for the relief the water would provide, the other flinging up horrible memories of being drugged and the days that followed.

The fear won.

With a sad smile, I looked to Benny, whose head rested on the couch with his dark brown eyes staring up. “Water,” I said and pointed toward the kitchen. Like he was happy to be useful in the situation, he trotted to the kitchen. The scratching of his nails against wood made both men’s heads swivel toward the kitchen just as Benny rounded the lower cabinets, bottle of water clutched between his jaws.

“If that dog can do that with a beer, I might steal him,” Chandler laughed. The seat cushions popped up as he fell to the couch beside me and stretched a long arm down the back.

Now for the Tylenol. The water bottle crackled in my hand as I withdrew it from Benny’s teeth. Holding it to my ear, I listened to the snapping of the plastic pieces before twisting the cap off and chugging half in one swig.

A loud pop of the bottle releasing from the pressure made me flinch. Inspecting the two white tablets in my hand, I hesitantly placed both on the back of my tongue and took a long gulp of water.

Seconds ticked by with none of us saying anything until I couldn’t take it any longer.

“What happened?” I leaned back against the couch and massaged my temples with both thumbs. “I remember the chipmunks—” The now-clear memory shot me back up.

Cas cringed. “I took care of them,” he said in a dead tone, and my heart broke all over again for the poor innocent creatures. “Hauled you down the mountain. Thank goodness the trail going down was easier than the way up. When you didn’t wake up in the truck, I called this dipshit, brought you here. That was—” Looking over his shoulder toward the kitchen, he sighed. “—ten minutes ago.”

If my math was right, which it probably wasn’t, that meant I’d been out for over thirty minutes.

Goose bumps sprouted down my arms. I didn’t realize I was rubbing my hands up and down them until a thick blanket covered me. Resting my chin on my shoulder, I smiled up at Cas. “Thank you.”

“Listen, Birdie,” Chandler said and leaned a little closer. “Mathews and I were talking it all over while you were out, and none of this makes sense. The bastard in the Smokies never stalked women this way, so it’s odd that he’s started with you.”

“You think I’m lying?” I couldn’t keep the hurt out of my voice. Before the notes started, I’d told my supervisor at the time about some random customer who gave me the creeps, which he blew off as me being a dramatic female. Then again when the notes began to appear. No one took me seriously until Dad stepped in and vouched for my… sanity, I guess.

“No.” The coffee table made a pained groan as Cas’s weight settled on the edge. Leaning forward, he gripped my hands in his and squeezed. “We need to know a few things though. Could this be in any way related to what happened in Texas ten years ago?”

I tugged the blanket tighter around my cold shoulders and gripped the edges in one hand to gnaw on the thumb of the other. “There’s no way.” I focused on a chip in the coffee table until it blurred in my vision. “He died.”

“Are you sure?” Chandler pressed.

Still focused on the chipped wood, I nodded. “My roommate shot him in front of me. See, we’d made plans to meet up in Dallas before Thanksgiving, but I didn’t show or answer any of her messages. Beth came back to school to make sure I was okay.” Needing space, I stood on shaky legs and began to pace the room. “She walked in on him—” Embarrassment flooded my veins, heating my cheeks and urging me to tighten the blanket as a makeshift shield. I faced the wall. “He had me tied down on the bed and was too focused on me to notice her come through the front door. Not everything is clear because of how high he kept me those few days, but I remember the gunshots, all five of them.”

“Your roommate happened to have a gun?” Chandler asked.

My shoulders rose and fell as I nodded and smiled. “That's a Texas woman for you. We’re always packing. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Beth put five 9mm slugs in his chest.”

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