AllFreeNovel
Share Us
With a grumble, I rise to my ass, taking in the room I’ve chosen. Every single aspect, apart from the bed beneath me and the complete vision to my right, disappears.
There’s not one bookcase, not two, not even fucking three, butfourbookcases crammed with paperbacks. I’m up and off my ass in seconds, running my fingers over the spines without thought as I groan with barely-restrained glee.
Jane Austin.
The classics.
Fuck.
What are the chances of me being forced into a safe house that comes with a mini-fucking-library in my room?
Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.
FOUR
Benji
My shoulders sagwith exhaustion as I complete one more lap of the house, ensuring all the windows and doors are secure. It always takes me a hot minute to get familiar with a new safe house, but I need to know every detail before I can relax my guard a little.
There’s a high brick wall surrounding the perimeter, an electric gate that only opens for the registration of my rental, and security cameras set up at every point possible, leaving no blind spots.
The weaponry available here includes blades, guns, and bats, strategically placed around the house. Plus the gun at my hip will remain within easy reach at all times. Ryan sent a message earlier, confirming they had found the details of the hitman and were chasing down every possible lead on him. So for now, we’re sitting ducks while we wait for Featherstone to decide how they want to handle Wade.
I still have no idea who this man is. I only know that he’s making Nate’s life scary enough for us to have to get involved, which is never good. I’m sure Ryan knows much more than that, but for now, my focus needs to be here.
Making my way upstairs, I’m mindful that Nate took off in the same direction almost two hours ago. Hopefully he’s sleeping, because that’s exactly what I hope to do.
I don’t know what I expected from my mark, but whatever it was, Nate certainly isn’t it. He wears his heart and emotions on his sleeve, which makes the pain and fear he seems to be facing at the moment all the more real.
There’s something about him, something that makes me want to solve every issue he’s ever had, to smooth away the frown lines on his forehead and see him smile. Odd. I’m usually too oblivious to people, trapped in my own mind, but it’s impossible with him.
Swiping a hand down my face, I pull my head out of the gutter, my mind desperate to remember the feel of him over my shoulder as I walked him to the SUV earlier. My stomach grumbles, but I shake it off. I’ve eaten five cupcakes. Five delicious, better-than-life-itself cupcakes, and I refuse to eat anything else until it’s something substantial. It’s a little past lunchtime, but I need to nap before I raid the cupboards.
As I reach the top of the stairs, my boots hit the carpet sluggishly as my steps slow and I acknowledge the four doors. I looked over the blueprints earlier and matched them to the three bedrooms and the bathroom up here. The only door shut is the room to the far right, a sign that’s exactly where Nate is. Wanting to double check for myself, I quietly twist the door handle, poking my head inside to find the man in question curled up under the sheets, fast asleep.
With his blond hair messier than it was earlier, his t-shirt crumpled, and his mouth slightly open, he looks calm, peaceful, fucking angelic. A complete contrast to the man that was downstairs earlier on the brink of crumbling at the knowledge of the hitman.
In the moment, my hand reached out, offering him silent comfort in the form of a touch, a move I’m far from familiar with, and the jolt it sent down my spine tingles again at the memory.
Wetting my dry lips, it takes everything I have to step back and shut the door behind me, the weirdest sensation washing over my body, one I’ve never felt before in my life. I squash it down, exhaustion getting the better of me as I stumble into the bedroom beside his.
I push the door a little wider, barely acknowledging anything but the double bed calling out to me. Instinctively moving to the left side of the bed, I take a seat, reaching down to untie the laces of my shoes before kicking them off.
Still in my suit, I don’t have the energy to undress and get under the covers. Instead, I flop back onto the bed, shuffling until my head blindly hits the pillow, before pulling my gun from my waist and placing it under the pillow beside me.
Inventory check confirms there’s also a gun in each nightstand, a blade under the mattress on my side, and a bat in the wardrobe. Not that I know exactly where those places are right now. My eyes are practically burning with tiredness as I look at the back of my eyelids.
Regulating my breathing, I calm my mind to match my body.
Inhale to the count of five.
Hold to the count of five.
Exhale to the count of five.
Hold to the count of five.
Repeat.
