Page 24 of Exit Strategy
I had been trained for violence. My hands were accustomed to hand-to-hand combat, the familiar weight of knives, the stocks of guns.
Not the slender body of a beautiful woman.
She showed me how to wrap a towel around her hair as she held a hand against the edge of the bathroom vanity, wrapping it tightly, sweeping it up in that weird turban looking thing that women with long hair were fond of. Keeping my mind on the task, ignoring her reflection in the mirror, that had been as tense as cutting a trip wire hooked to a landmine, or pulling the fuse from the roadside artillery shell rigged to blow.
Her breasts were small, but flawless in shape – pale pink rosebuds for nipples – and she was completely bare between her legs. Part of me stumbled inside, seeing that. There was something almost scandalous, almost forbidden, about the way it looked, about the feelings it stirred up inside me.
There was also an almost disappointed college lecturer voice that echoed through the back corner of my mind, that it was a shame that a woman with such fiery gorgeous hair would be completely bare. Something-something, a woman’s glory is her mane, and it seemed a pity that there was no fire down there.
“It’s okay, Kurt,” Callie said. “You can relax.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled, and reached for a second towel, accidentally knocking the entire stack over onto the floor, but grabbing one before it completely escaped. I unrolled it and felt a stab of embarrassment. It was one of the medium-sized towels, the one you tossed down on the floor to walk on, and not one large enough to wrap around her body. “Fuck,” I grunted, and grabbed another off the floor, the one on top of the spill, with the least contact with the ground.
“Here, why don’t you take that towel and take yourself a shower?” she suggested. “You might need a cold one?” She laughed lightly, and I gave her an edge of a grin to take any nervousness she might have at what I did next.
“Bloody fucking hell,” I groaned.
8
Callie…
I was trying to put on a brave front. The combination of the hot bath, a little too much wine,andthe throbbing ache in my head from being knocked about by Arik… I was trembling as I stood for Kurt to dry me off and I had a death grip on the edge of the sink as my vision swam.
I tried to play it off as normal, which for me it certainly was, but I really did need his help. If I bent to dry my own legs, I would surely give myself another head injury from keeling right on over.
I didn’t like this; I didn’t like feeling this way. I mean, I never had before. I’d been beaten, sure, but he usually avoided my head and my face. I’d never been this concussed, though I am sure I’d been concussed at least once, maybe even twice before.
“Callie?”
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “Feeling a bit… weird. Maybe that second glass wasn’t such a good idea.”
“Come on, let’s have you lie down,” he said and guided me with a gentle hand out into the suite, which was a king-sized bed this time.
“Up you go,” Kurt urged gently, pulling back a triangle of blankets and sheets. I slipped between them and when he dropped the covers over me, I slid the towel out from under me and them. He took it without a word and casually tossed it into the bathroom.
“You going to be alright for a bit?” he asked, and I nodded, wincing slightly as it felt as though my brain were sloshing around in my skull and that wasnota good sensation.
“Eat something,” he said and brought a tray of food over. “As much as you can.”
“Thank you,” I said, and he smiled with a slight nod. He disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door. I sighed.
I liked his company. He felt… I don’t know…safe.I think safe was the word I was looking for. I believed him when he’d said he would die before he would let New Eden take me back and that honestly worried me.
Kurt seemed like a good man, and the world was in such short supply. It would be a shame for the planet to lose him.
I picked at my food as worry gnawed at my guts and I finally ended up setting it aside after only a few bites.
I was tired. Very tired.
Perhaps after a little more sleep…
9
Kurt…
Sleep was slow coming, but once it hit, I was out. The wine helped, being exhausted helped, but what helped the most was sitting and watchingTMI Newson low volume. It was Rex’s favorite celebrity news outlet, the one he dealt with the most. They came by and visited him on occasion, enough so that the dingbat anchor was on his approved list. Pretty sure she had been on her knees for him, definitely on her back.
There had been a single bit from the set, a blurb that due to personal reasons, Arik Rex was going to take a few days away from filming the already overbudget swords and sandals epic that the studio was sure would not only be a summer blockbuster but also major award bait. There were a few flash interviews with a few people on set, and they all spoke about Rex’s absolute dedication to character and that he needed to take a brief break.
