Page 87 of Wrecked
She opened her eyes wide and blinked, trying her best to stay awake.
Sam said, “A shower sounds great. I’ve locked the door and fixed the window covering so it doesn’t fall open.”
“Thanks.” She headed to where he stood near the chair.
He caught her shoulders, and she lifted an exhausted gaze to his. “Go to bed,” he ushered. “Don’t wait for me.” She was so close to falling asleep that he worried she’d face-plant.
Patting his hand, she assured him, “I can stay up a little longer. I’ll watchyourback.” Then she gave him a sweet smile he would keep locked away in his heart for the days when she was gone, and he needed something bright to shove dark memories away.
She wanted to protect him while he was showering.
They’d started out adversaries, but little by little she’d proven to be a strong partner. He’d never had any woman determined to protect him besides Angie.
He had a special place in his heart for his aunt.
Hailey kept chiseling out her own spot in that petrified organ, opening the hole wider each time she smiled, and filling it with her own brand of warm happiness.
The sensation in his chest was more than protective.
It was a need to keep her close, something he had no business wanting. It was all he could do to keep Angie safe, and he hadn’t managed to keep her hidden. How could he think to be with someone like Hailey in any form that resembled normal?
They had just lost their best hope of finding Phoebe.
Hell, he had to get his head straight in the shower.
After a scalding wash job, the rest of his cleanup didn’t take long since he had no way to shave. He used her brush to comb his hair back from his face. He patted the damp rag over his forehead then rinsed out the blood. The wound would scab over by morning. He washed out his ravaged T-shirt along with his boxer shorts and hung them on the shower rack. The jeans could go another day.
Stepping out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, he expected Hailey to talk a bit about her plan. That would pull his head out of his ass and put it on track to get this operation done.
She had curled up in the chair and done her best to stay awake, but she made a soft snoring sound.
Cute. Call her that and she’d probably use one of her martial art chops on him. He knew without question she had them. She’d used her knees and legs on that guard in Venezuela and coldcocked him.
He turned down the bed, pulled the sheet back on one side, and clicked off the lamp on the nightstand, leaving only a nightlight glowing in the bathroom. Then he scooped her up.
She mumbled something that sounded irritated.
Giving him hell even in her sleep.
But she didn’t wake as he put her to bed and covered her. He took it as a sign of her feeling comfortable with him, maybe trusting him more, for her to fall asleep.
When he walked back past the shoulder bag she’d dropped next to the bathroom door, he paused. Nitro would be chewing his ear off to search the bag for any information.
Trust was hard to earn and easy to destroy.
He would not lose the ground he’d gained with her.
He didn’t want to sneak around and pilfer through her personal belongings like he would an enemy’s. He wanted Hailey to keep opening up to him and handing details over voluntarily, to share with him as a partner even if they didn’t have any idea where to go next.
He was not giving up on Phoebe.
He stretched out next to Hailey and smothered a groan. Having a bed when exhausted ran a close second to hot water. No telling what tomorrow would bring, but they’d made it this far by making some of it up as they went.
He’d worry about the future when the time came. His eyes drifted closed. His internal body clock would wake him before daylight.
Hours later, something slid across his neck, bringing him wide awake.
