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My breath hitches again, my throat is tight, and I can’t speak. “Sweetheart,” he says almost apologetically, “I have to scope out the rest of the house, and you’ve got thirty seconds to get dressed, grab my backpack from the closet, and be ready to move out.” His eyes plead with mine to not let him down.
I nod in acknowledgment, and then Travis slowly releases me, making sure I can stand on my own two feet first. When I slightly sway, he cocks his head to the side and eyes me warily. I can’t let him down. We need to get out of here, and I sure as hell don’t want to pull the trigger on a gun again.
I don’t recognize my own voice, because I sound all throaty when I assure him, “I got it. I can do this.”
“That’s my girl.” His eyes soften as his lips curve up in an approving expression, like he’s proud of me. He reaches behind me, grabs his cell phone from the nightstand, and begins to type into it.
“What are you doing?”
“Putting systems in place,” he answers, never looking up from the phone’s screen. When he’s done, he places the phone in his back pocket, and then looks at me. “All right, thirty seconds, Jules.” He arches one brow, sternly reminding me. He quietly walks to the doorway with his gun drawn, and I watch as his backside disappears out the bedroom door to begin scoping out the rest of the house for danger.
I find myself still frozen in place, breathing silently through my nose and becoming more alert now that I’m alone as I listen for signs of danger. A chill runs through me with the knowledge I’m all by myself now. What if something happens to Travis while he’s checking out our surroundings?
A few seconds of quiet go by. I suddenly realize I’m wasting valuable time. I close my eyes tightly and shake my head, taking in a deep breath, and using the technique Travis taught me to help me stay calm. Focus, Jules.
I force myself to move on shaky limbs to the dresser, thankful the dead body lying on the floor is on the other side of the room. I notice my hands are trembling as I open a drawer and pull out the first pair of jeans I see. Everything seems to take twice as long to complete a task as I rummage through a couple more drawers, methodically pulling out a pair of socks and a folded t-shirt.
I get dressed as quickly as possible, and then hunt for one of my elastics to put my hair in a ponytail. I steal a deep breath and continue to repeat the mantra in my head over and over before I have to turn around and get to the sliding closet doors.
Slowly and quietly, I walk toward the closet on the other side of the room while making a wide berth around the dead body. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the man lying on the floor, sprawled out with a red pool of blood beside his head. Blood thunders through my veins while a massive shiver rolls through my body. I squeeze my eyes shut against the horrifying sight.
Keep it together, Jules. Travis will get us out of this; he has to. Reflexively, the palm of my hand slams against my mouth to cover it as I let out a gag. Oh, shit, no. I don’t have time to vomit. I feel myself break out in a cold sweat and try desperately to use the breathing pattern I’m supposed to use to calm my nerves. To keep myself from tossing my cookies, I begin to quietly hum our buzzwords aloud, trying to stay on task as I slide open the closet doors.
I sink to my knees, feeling like I’ve crossed the finish line of a marathon and reaching the closet was the prize. I lean forward and reach out into the depths of the closet, pulling out the backpack in which Travis had prepared for us with incredible foresight.
Once I pull the pack out and place it beside me, I sift through the shoes at the bottom of the closet until I find my pair of tennis shoes. Keeping my back turned away from the scene behind me, I sit back on my bottom and put on my socks and shoes.
Travis knew they were coming, and I have no idea why he wanted to rescue me, all the while knowing he’d be wrapped up in a massive quagmire of shit as a result. All I know is I don’t want to go back to that prison cell and be trapped with Nick. God only knows what he would do to me now if I were in his dungeon.
