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I did, then heard him doing something next door. His footsteps returned to the hall then up the stairs. After a few moments, they drummed back down.
A text came from him.
Jackson: Upstairs clear.
I sank into my cushions and nest of blankets, bringing up the camera footage once more. Now, his shape moved on my screen. Jackson descended the spiral stairs, slowly but confidently. In his hand, he carried some kind of bar, I guessed as a weapon.
At the bottom of the steps, he opened the door. Then he exited, locking it behind him.
I sat up, swiping from one camera to the next.
In the exterior view, in just his T-shirt and boxers plus his boots, Jackson looked left and right then set out, prowling beyond his car and out of sight.
Oh shit.
I didn’t like this. I hadn’t expected him to go out on his own. What if he got jumped?
Minutes passed, and my fear rose. I twisted the sheets in my grasp.
How long did I wait for him to come back into shot before I…what, went out after him? Called Callum or one of the other men who lived in the castle building?
Waking up others meant a delay in getting help. Jackson was out there alone.
I leapt from the bed and snatched my jeans from my chair.
If it was just him versus one other man, there was no way he would lose.
Unless he was taken by surprise.
There were a whole lot of shadowy places to hide out there. I had a good kick to me. If he needed backup, I’d be able to help.
Snow-covered gravel crunched on my phone, the camera feed still running.
I grabbed it up again to see Jackson return into the shot. He stopped in the tower’s doorway and waited, scanning the direction he’d come and around to the other direction.
Then he came back inside, locking up once more.
Jackson: All clear downstairs and outside.
I exhaled and sat down hard, discarding the jeans I hadn’t yet put on.
I’d sent him out in the cold on a wild goose chase. What a scared little mouse I’d become. All over nothing.
Ashamed, I moved to my door.
A tap came, followed by his voice. “It’s me. Open up.”
I did, embarrassed. “I’m really sorry about that.”
“I’d rather check than not.”
Cold emanated from his skin. I reached out and touched his arm.
“You’re half frozen. All because of my overactive imagination.”
Jackson shivered and set his hand over mine. “Don’t apologise for me doing the thing I’m here to do. If ye wake, I’m there. If you’re afraid, my job is to make ye feel safe again.”
Other emotions warred inside me. Thoughts I’d had after he’d practically run from my room earlier. I didn’t want to voice them.
