Page 33 of Devious Madness

I sit for another minute, waiting for him to come back with more instructions, but then I hear the screen door slam.

The water in the shower softens my muscles, but it does nothing to take the edge off the electricity jumping from nerve to nerve. The image of that man lying on the forest floor keeps popping into my head. What if he wasn’t here alone? What if Rurik is out there right now fighting off another guy, and I’m in the cabin having a nice, relaxing shower?

I quickly get washed up and cut the water. If there is someone lurking in the cabin with me, I wouldn’t be able to hear anything with the shower going. Listening intently for unwanted footsteps, I wrap a surprisingly lush towel around my torso and check out the clothes on the counter.

Rurik left me a pair of his boxers and a black t-shirt. Both of which are too big, so I dig around the drawers of the bad guy’s bathroom until I find some safety-pins.

A quick look in the mirror reminds me of what a shitshow my life has turned into. The bruise on my cheek is turning into a messy mixture of green and yellow, the cut above my eyebrow has a bruise around it as well. And now we have the addition of the cut on my neck.

Rurik’s right, it’s not deep. And now that it’s not bleeding, it’s just ugly.

Time drags on while I’m stuck in the bathroom. Curiosity nags me to sneak out of the bathroom and explore the cabin while Rurik does whatever he’s doing with the body. But I decide against it.

My mind wanders to imagining what Rurik might bedoing out there in the dark. I assume he’s burying the guy, which makes me consider that he might have a family. Someone out there could be waiting for him to come home or to call and say good night.

They’ll likely never find him. So now I’m sitting alone in the bathroom with the only distraction being the gut punch of guilt.

An eternity later, the screen door closes again. Less of a slam this time, so I take that as a good sign.

When the door to the bathroom opens, I’m sitting on the counter next to the sink.

“You actually listened for once,” he says.

His boots are covered in mud, as are his jeans and his arms. Sweat has rolled down his temple, leaving a trail through the dirt clinging to his skin.

Dried blood mixes with the dirt on his hands, on his forearms.

“I need the shower.” He steps into the bathroom, his bag with him again. “If you think you can behave, you can sit in the living room.”

“Yeah. I can…can do that.” I hop off the counter, my bare feet hitting the slightly damp tiled floor and slipping. He catches me before I fall against the wall, leaving a dirty handprint on my elbow.

He lets me go as soon as he realizes we’re touching.

“If you need to pee, just come in and use the bathroom. Don’t go wandering off into the bushes,” he says as I step into the hall.

“I didn’t mean—” I’m cut off as the door shuts in my face.

Taking the hint that he needs some space, I pad into the living room. There’s a smart TV hanging on the wall over the fireplace, but the remote is missing. I’m not sure digging through drawers is a great idea, so I explore the rest of the cabin.

It’s definitely not as rustic as it looked on the outside. Lush carpets cover the floor in the living room and what looks like an office. The kitchen has smart appliances and marble countertops. Whatever this guy did for a living, he was doing extremely well for himself.

Some comfort is offered when I realize there’s no family pictures anywhere to be seen.

As I reach the back of the cabin, the water turns off in the shower and I hurry back to the living room.

The door to the bathroom opens and Rurik steps out in a pair of clean jeans, and only the jeans. His belt wraps around his waist, but he hasn’t buckled it. It’s just hanging open, drawing my attention not only to it but the muscular abs just above.

“You managed not to get into any trouble. I’m impressed,” he says catching me staring at him from the recliner in the living room.

He ducks back into the bathroom and a moment later comes back out with his bag in one hand and his dirty clothing bunched on top of his boots.

“Here. I can take those outside and get the dirt off.” I get up, reaching for the boots.

“It’s dark outside by now. There’re wild animals around here; you stay inside.” He walks past me to the front door of the cabin and dumps the boots on the floor.

“Did you move the car?” I peer out the front window, finding it parked right outside the cabin now.

He’s right about it being dark outside. The sun’s gone. The only light is the yellow light of the porch.

---