Page 57 of Hunted
“Because this is going to spread. Everyone will know we’re here.”
“That we’re alive,” King adds, before looking down at her. “And so are you.”
“Are we in danger here?” she asks nervously. I rub my hands up her bare calves, hoping to comfort her a little.
“We’ll protect you, don't worry,” West grunts. Her face pinches, but she stays silent. I know that wasn’t really an answer, but she’s smart enough to realize that they don’t know how to respond right now.
“They won’t know who she is, though,” I add, knowing that she’s been declared dead for the past fifteen years.
“True. But someone tried to take out your plane. And they know you’re alive. And in Madagascar,” Reece adds.
“I don’t want to watch TV anymore,” Darla says, frowning at the repeating footage. I click the TV off, having to agree with her. Arnold already informed us he couldn’t find any English DVDs when he was at the store. If only we could get Netflix working…
With an idea forming in my mind, I pull out my phone and start researching. I might not be as tech savvy as some of our employees, but I’m sure I could figure out how to get us English shows on Netflix in this house.
“Oh my god, Bower!” Zee laughs as she stares down at a photo on my phone while I fumble with the final settings on the tv. “You look so strange with short hair!”
“Strange, huh? You don’t think I look sexy like that?” I ask, giving her a wink over my shoulder where she’s still reclined on the couch.
Her eyes connect with mine, and she smiles. “You know you look sexy either way. But I like your long hair.”
Smiling, I turn back to the TV, hoping I’ve figured out the final settings to get Netflix working in English. I had to get Arnold to get us a couple signal boosters, but I’m almost there now. While I worked, we’d each given Zee our phones so she could scroll through our photos. It was like giving her a snapshot of our lives.
Luckily, we all had backups of our photos on the cloud storage, giving her enough content to keep her busy for the past few hours.
I see the English language option and click it, and then press play on the first episode ofFriends, something she has said she used to watch when she was younger.
The sounds of Monica speaking in English fill the room, and Zee cheers in delight. “You did it!”
Standing, I turn to her with a satisfied smile. “Now is the tough part, figuring out what you want to watch.”
Her eyes flick to the TV as she asks, “Can we watch this, at least for now?”
“Of course.”
I take my phone from her and gently rearrange her on the couch, so her head is in my lap, my fingers running through her hair.
At some point, West switches places with me, giving me a chance to stretch my legs. When it’s time for dinner, Arnold cooks something a little less rich this time, chicken, mashed potatoes, and carrots and Zee is able to eat a bit more than the previous day. We take turns helping her eat on the couch by propping up extra pillows behind her.
And that’s how we spend the next twelve days.
The three of us spend each night in her room, and I know Reece is fighting his need to be in there, too, but is respecting the fact that they are starting out as friends.
We feed her all her meals on the couch, and she grumbles about wanting to get up and walk around. Reece and West take turns policing her, making sure she doesn’t get up.
We bingeFriendsand a few other shows. I introduced her to some survival shows that she was really into, and I loved when she often pointed out what they were doing wrong, and what they should have done instead.
We tell her more about Titan Tech and our families, and she starts to open up about her childhood and the memories she shares with Reece. I can see their bond growing every day and by the looks they both give each other makes it clear they are both ready for more than friendship, but I don’t think either of them know how to take that next step. Especially when Zee is still recovering.
“Earth to Bower.” Zee pokes my chest, and I shake my head, bringing myself back to the present. I look down at her head in my lap. She looks up at me with amusement in her eyes. “Where’d you go just now?”
“I was just thinking about how nice it’s been to just relax here for the past two weeks. Things will be a bit busier when we get back to San Francisco.”
“At least I’ll be able to move around again. I’m so tired of being stuck on this couch,” she says with a pout.
“It beats being stuck in the hut, though, right?” I ask as I twirl a strand of her blonde hair around my finger.
She nods. “Yeah, definitely, and at least we have TV this time.”
