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He unlocked the door and moved quietly into the room, assuming Remy would be asleep. Instead, she was sitting in the armchair in the corner next to the window. Her hair was down and curling over her shoulders. She was wearing a big, white fuzzy robe and had curled her legs beneath her. It would be the picture of comfort if it hadn’t been for the tension in her face and the fear in her big, gray eyes.
“Don’t worry. No one can see me from outside. I have the blinds down.”
“I see that. Do you need anything from downstairs?”
She shook her head. “Connor brought me a kettle, a mug, and some tea bags a little while ago, and I’m still stuffed from before.”
He nodded. “I’ll get some water bottles then, and we should be good for the night.”
“He brought some of those as well.” She gestured to the dresser where four bottles stood.
“Then I guess we’re good.” He wanted a bourbon, preferably the whole bottle, but a shot would do. He shook the bags in her direction. “These are for you.” He didn’t bother to justify his purchases. She was just going to have to live with it.
“Thank you.”
He nodded as he set the clothing down beside the dresser. He then pulled the gun out from his waistband and put it on the bedside table closest to the door. He would take that side. If she wasn’t comfortable sharing a bed, then she could take the floor or the chair. He was wrung out, and things were only going to get worse from here, so he needed sleep.
He went over to the duffel bag and rummaged through it. A smile, the first in hours, lifted his lips. Connor had come through for sure. The bag still contained three guns and plenty of ammo. He took another nine-millimeter pistol out, walked over to the bed, and put it under the pillow on his side.
He glanced over at her. He was willing to bet she didn’t get any sleep. “Too wound up to sleep?”
She nodded. “No thanks to you.”
He bit his lips to keep from apologizing. “You needed to hear the truth. Life sucks at the moment. But the other truth that you have to carry with you is one my family taught me. ‘This too shall pass.’ And it will. There’s no telling what the outcome will be, but you won’t always be here in this moment.”
She cocked her head. “I don’t know if that’s profound or ridiculous. I could be dead by tomorrow.”
“True,” he agreed, “but you won’t be sitting here, worrying about everything then, will you?”
She burst out laughing. “That’s one way to look at it.” She shook her head. “I’m so fucking tired I can’t see straight, but I can’t seem to unwind enough to sleep. How did you do it?”
“What?”
“When you were in the military, how did you manage to sleep?”
“Ah, well, we were sort of trained to just shut down. There are some breathing exercises that we did. They helped.”
“Breathing exercises.” She snorted. “I’m not sure breathing exercises are going to help.”
“Don’t knock ’em ’til you try them. They really do help to you relax.”
She stood up and moved over to the bags. “Did you get me some pajamas?”
He grimaced. “Shit.”
She started laughing again. “Remind me to make sure you’re not in charge of shopping anymore. Did you at least get me a toothbrush and some toothpaste?”
“In the CVS bag.”
She reached down, pulled out a plastic bag, and disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. He sat down on the bed and flopped back on the mattress. Pajamas. Shit. Didn’t even occur to him. He didn’t use them, so it just wasn’t on his radar. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. He was tired, too. Breathing exercises. They wouldn’t help much tonight sleeping next to Remy.
He heard the bathroom door open, so he sat up. “There’s a bag with T-shirts in it. Grab one of those. You can sleep in it.”
She nodded and then rummaged around in the bags. She pulled out the T-shirt and the underwear bag and disappeared again back into the bathroom.
Great. Now he was going to picture her in the underwear he bought. He flopped back on the bed and folded his hands over his chest. There wasn’t much they could do tonight other than brainstorm about where her grandfather might have left his token, but that wasn’t going to help her sleep.
The bathroom door opened again, but he didn’t sit up this time. “There’s a brush and some hair ties and other stuff in the CVS bag. And some snacks in the other one if you’re hungry.”
