Page 7 of Death is Familiar

I worked in bits and spurts. Once I exhausted my mind, I’d allow myself to sleep. And when I slept it was unusually deep. Like I was dead to the world.

†

Something told me to get up. That there was a presence in my room. Someone other than me. Other than my passenger. I fought the heavy blanket of sleep that wanted to keep me under. I wrestled with it, kicking and clawing my way to the surface.

Someone was standing in the doorway to my bedroom. I was sure of it. And they sounded out of breath. Possibly angry.

Fucking Mads. It hadn’t even been a week and he was already going back on his word.

And I wasn’t going to be nice about it.

Even with my eyes closed, I knew I didn’t have much by way of weapons within reach. I did however manage to fall asleep with a pen in my hand.

It would have to do.

Without warning, I spun around and whipped the pen into the doorway.

Thwack! It made contact. “Ugh.”

I knew that grumble. And it wasn’t Mads.

My eyes blinked into focus. The familiar figure looming in my doorway belonged to Todd.

“What the hell, Delilah?” He was rubbing his forehead where I hit him with the pen.

“I thought you—what are you doing here?” I got out of bed and made to cross the room, but felt a whisper of cooled air caress my breast. I’d forgotten how much I hadn’t been wearing, and promptly crossed my arms over my chest. My room was dark enough. Todd likely didn’t notice.

Unfazed, he tossed my phone onto the bed. The illuminated lock screen showed dozens of missed messages. “You didn’t answer your phone. Nothing for days. Days! We thought something happened.”

Admittedly, I had neglected to check my phone. I knew I should have had it with me, checked it regularly. It was one of the basic rules of my release. Keep my phone on me at all times, and answer when the FBI called. And I’d done neither, because I’d left my phone in the living room when I sequestered myself away.

Despite how much I hated cellphones, I should have been on top of checking it.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, careful not to accidentally flash Todd. “You could have knocked.”

“You didn’t hear me?” Shit. He had knocked? “I was out there for three full minutes before I let myself in.”

There was enough light coming in from behind Todd that I could see a familiar look darken his face. A look not many people beyond Jack and me had the privilege of seeing. Concern.

I needed to get ahead of it. I also needed to find a shirt before Todd realized how little I was wearing. “I told you and Jack that I was going to sleep for a week straight, I don’t know why you look surprised.”

Todd huffed. The familiarity of the sound made the corners of my mouth curve upwards.

“How much have you been sleeping?” Todd’s medic mode had been activated, but he kept from crossing the threshold into my room.

“Enough.” No shirt in sight, I grabbed a corner of the comforter and tucked it under my arms.

“Delilah—” He caught himself. His eyes must have adjusted to the dark. His eyebrows raised. “Are you in your underwear?”

“I was asleep and wasn’t expecting any visitors.”

Todd immediately averted his gaze and grabbed onto the door, ready to close it over. “We’ll talk out here. But come… dressed.”

I tossed on shorts and a t-shirt before joining Todd in the living room. I brought my phone with me, giving it a cursory scan… I really really should have been checking my messages. Jack and Todd had both sent me check-in texts the morning after my run-in with the Muffin Man. They waited twenty-four hours before following up, no doubt trying to give me my space. From there the messaging had escalated. Four missed calls. And at least three messages from Fawzy.

I must have been growing on her.

“How much trouble am I in?” The sunlight in the living room was overwhelmingly bright. I squinted shielding my face from the light as I approached Mr. Grumpy.