Page 68 of In The Trenches (Owens Protective Services)

I thought of my bum arm and laughed. “I wish I could claim that.”

He watched me thoughtfully for a moment. “Well, we’ll get to that one, but first thing’s first. We need a TV, popcorn, Reese’s Pieces, and someplace comfy to sit.”

“You make it sound like we’re going to the movies.”

“Only the best. I’m telling you, you’re gonna love this,” he said, his grin stretching across his face, once again making me feel like the danger lurked inside him.

He walked over to the door and peeked outside before waving me over. I was conflicted about going with him. This could very well be a trap. There was every possibility that he had some other reason for wanting me out of this room. I was constantly getting myself into bad situations with men. Why couldn’t I find a gaggle of women to hang out with? But if I stayed, I would be alone for hours or longer. I was hungry, and while popcorn wasn’t the most appealing thing when I was so hungry, I couldn’t deny that at this point, anything would do.

As he walked out into the hall, I followed, keeping my distance from him. He instantly pulled me right behind him, almost as if he was hiding my body with his. We crept down the hallway until he led me to a second set of stairs that was hidden in a dark corner of the basement. Following him up the stairs, I kept looking behind me, thinking I would see someone chasing after us at some point.

When we got to the top, he motioned me to follow him down a series of hallways. I had no idea where we were. This definitely wasn’t anywhere near the main entrance. Cash hadn’t said anything about this on his tour, and when Fox opened the door, I realized why. It was a bedroom.

“These are my private quarters.”

“You live here?”

“Hell no,” he scoffed. “But sometimes we work jobs that require some of us to be on standby. Technically, it’s not just mine, but nobody wants to share with me.”

“Why?” I asked, not sure that I wanted the answer to that question.

“Well, they all think I’m psycho,” he said with a sadistic smile.

“Are you?”

He cocked his head to the side. “Why don’t you spend some time with me, and I’ll let you make up your own mind.”

“That doesn’t sound like something I want to do.”

“Well, you could always go back to the interrogation room. However, this room has a nice bed. And let me tell you, it’s a really comfy bed—big enough for both of us.”

“I’m not sharing a bed with you,” I said quickly, the thought making shivers roll over my body. I squeezed my eyes closed and pushed out the images, just like I’d done a hundred times before.

“No problem. The chair is just as comfy. Now, you stay here while I get the snacks.”

He headed for the door, just leaving me behind. “How do you know I won’t run?”

“Well…you could, but you’d most likely end up shot. Everyone knows you’re here, and if you run, they won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.”

That didn’t make me feel any calmer. In fact, it scared the shit out of me. “Then you can’t leave me here! If one of them walks in, they’ll assume I tried to escape!”

“To a comfy room with a bed? I don’t think so. But, on the off chance that this becomes a problem, just tell them Fox brought you here. That should solve the problem.”

Without another word, he walked out of the room, leaving me all alone. I hugged my arms to my chest, wondering what to do now. I didn’t feel safe here, but strangely, this was preferable to my own apartment. Moving to the corner of the room, I slid down the wall, tucking my legs up against my chest.

Even though my heart was pounding and my mind was on the verge of breaking down, this was not the worst situation I’d been in, and that brought me some comfort. When five minutes later the door opened again, I found myself ducking down further, hoping to escape notice.

“If you were hoping to hide from me, you should have chosen a better spot. The first place I would look is the most obvious choice.”

Slowly rising from my spot, I tried not to let his build and dark, gleaming eyes frighten me off. “Where would you suggest I hide?” I asked.

“Behind the door, of course,” he said as if I was stupid.

“Then again, I would suspect that too.”

I huffed in frustration as he walked over to me, handing me a bucket of popcorn. “You know, I think you might be one of the most infuriating people I’ve ever met.”

He grinned widely at me. “Give it time. You might find someone worse than me.”

---