“I don’t need much more than that,” I said. “Except for you to leave that bottle of Ibuprofen near me, and pick up another one.”
“Of course,” he said. “Sure you’re not internally bleeding?”
“Mmmm,” I said. Maybe I wasn’t, but I felt like death warmed over.
“Are you?”
“No,” I said. Not internally bleeding,andnot sure.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I made you the hot chocolate. Probably not up to standards, but better than no hot chocolate.”
He disappeared from my view, and I heard the clunk of a mug and the merciful rattle of painkillers. I stared into the fire, too tired to get up.
“Are you okay, Mia?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Alright. Well, at any rate I’ve got to get this tree out of the road to get you out of here. I’ll be as quick as I can.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Do you need me to help you sit up, and take the pills?”
“No,” I said.
My mind had the hum of anxiety, but I was too slow to even conjure up what it was I had to be afraid of right now.
“Alright,” he said. “Be right back.”
He stood there for a good while before the door creaked shut behind him. I heard the truck engine start and recede into the distance.
When I opened my eyes, the fire was still raging, but the sun was low in the sky. I reached for my phone, and then groaned. My body still wasn’t up to its usual tasks.
Damn it. How was I going to go back to work like this?
Armin’s offer echoed in my mind: stay as long as you like.
Harvey wouldn’t like that.
After I worked so hard to win his trust. To get into his good graces.NowI was going to blow it?
I pushed myself up from the couch. A wave of nausea overtook me. Eat something. I pushed around the carefully arranged hors d’ouerves Armin had left: those cured meats and the cheese and jam. Some nuts and trail mix this time, too. And a couple of cookies. But I had no appetite.
I reached for my phone.
Not only was it not waterlogged, the battery wasn’t even dead.
I coded in.
Only one message.
Harvey
where r u
Fuck. Fuck.
He had to be pissed by now. Gone 24 hours, and with a former sheriff? We’d be lucky if Harvey didn’t send his goons to execute us tonight.
