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Today, she found nothing wrong with her face and body that called for scrutinization, and Charlie quickly turned away from the moist glass.
She dressed, brushed her hair, and rubbed her face.
Charlie plopped down on the mattress she and Hammer had christened with their lovemaking a few hours ago. Warmth and happiness flooded her as a blush filled her cheeks, remembering what they had done with each other.
Charlie was pleased she hadn’t slept with Randy, and some part of her must’ve known it wasn’t right. She never had the connection with Randy she had with Hammer.
Her logical brain could rationalize it away as lust and heightened sensitivity in a life-threatening situation, and that may be part of it. But Charlie felt a tug at her heart. A thread that connected her to Hammer. It was like she knew him before she had even met him.
Charlie sat up and looked around the room.
She checked the time. The shower had taken roughly fifteen minutes. And as she got ready, then sat here thinking, another ten had passed.
Anxiety pricked at her stomach.
“I wonder where he went.” He wouldn’t go far. She also trusted that he would not abandon her … he wasn’t the type. She gazed at the clock.
Another five minutes and she would go look for him.
Charlie stood and paced the room. The view out the window was a vast expanse of trees. She couldn’t see anything happening in the town.
She walked into the bathroom to hang the towel and mindlessly packed their sack. If there was trouble, Charlie would be prepared.
Repacking kept her hands busy and her mind occupied. Another peek at her watch showed that only two minutes had passed. Her feet itched for action. Her skin hummed with anticipation of what was happening.
Charlie slung the bag over her shoulder, pushed the dresser out of the way, and opened the door. She rationalized that he would walk up the stairs as she went down.
But her footsteps picked up their pace when she walked down without seeing him.
As she rounded the corner of the inn, Charlie heard the traffic pick up. As soon as she got closer to the street, she heard what sounded like a struggle.
Charlie ran toward the noise. She came to the road and saw Hammer had a gun pointed at his back. Her feet took off toward him.
On the move, she snatched a loose rock off the ground. Before the man holding the gun even turned to her, Charlie threw the rock, hitting his ribs. He hollered and jerked around to face her.
Charlie leapt at the goon as he fell to the ground with athud. He swung the gun into her face. Before her mind caught up with her actions, she plunged the knife Hammer had left into the enemy’s chest, directly into his heart. He died instantly.
Staring at what she’d done, she couldn’t move off the corpse. Her mind was blank. Hammer grabbed her hand, and they ran into the wooded area behind the store. They didn’t stop for a long time.
* * *
Her mind blurredfrom what had happened. Her movements and memories flooded her mind. She could feel the way the knife went into that man’s chest. What slashing through his flesh felt like. It moved through his skin like a dull steak knife through a rare steak.
Charlie bent over and vomited. She fell to her knees, and the sickness rolled out of her.
Hammer knelt beside her and rubbed her back as she threw up over and over and over again. When it seemed like Charlie was stopping, he reached into the bag of food he had bought, pulled out a bottle of water, and handed it over to her.
Charlie sat back, unscrewed the cap, and filled her mouth with lukewarm water. She swished her cheeks back and forth and spat it out to help get rid of the taste in her mouth. Then, she drank the water. It gurgled in her stomach but did not come up.
“Come on. I think I know where we’re at. We’re close to a safe spot.”
Charlie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “There are no places that are safe, Hammer.” She rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hands.
Hammer took her hands away from her face. “Yes, there are. When we’re together, we’re safe. We just have to remember that. Come on. We only have a few miles until we get there.”
Charlie stood. Her body was still numb from killing another person, and she walked in a bit of a daze, unsure of what the future would hold if she ever made it out alive.
They found the safe space a little while later. It was covered with trees and had a small crystal-clear body of water in the center. It even had a small rock formation that formed a cave they could hide in. As long as they kept their stuff with them, they might be able to make it out of this spot alive.
