I slowly started to relax as he ran his fingers through my hair. "You don't have to be sorry, but will you tell me about it?"
"I can't."
"Can't or won't?"
I tilted my head so that I met his gaze. I wanted him to see the honesty in my words. "Can't. I never remember the dreams. They started when I was in the group home and the only reason I ever knew I had them was because someone would comment about it or I would wake up in a puddle of sweat."
Graham traced his finger along my scar. He was the first person I ever let touch it and I didn't want to think too hard on why that was. "Your mind is protecting you."
All I could manage to do was shrug my shoulders in response. That was the same thing the therapist told me when the group home forced me to see someone. I never felt like it helped since I still had them.
"We should probably get up. My team is going to be looking for me soon."
For a second there I had forgotten why we were in Alaska to begin with. I shuffled off Graham and laid my head on my arm. It was much better to watch him get out of bed than it was to move just yet.
"Did Logan get me clothes like you asked him to?" The plan was for Logan to go after dinner last night but I had fallen asleepwhile waiting for him. I guess my body was still trying to catch up on sleep from our time in captivity.
"Yup. Everything is in my room. I'll go grab it and be right back."
"Just leave it on the bed, please, and close the door. I'm going to grab a shower." I climbed out of bed and headed straight for the bathroom. I always felt the need to wash away the stink of the dream even though I couldn't remember it. It had to be bad if I was screaming.
The hotel we were staying in was light-years better than any motel I would've been able to afford. The king-size bed was more comfortable than my bed at home. The tiled walk-in shower had two showerheads and could easily fit a whole four-person family in it if needed.
I wasn't ashamed to spend some extra time in it as I exfoliated every inch of my body from head to toe, twice.
In the end, I had to force myself out of the shower to face the real world. As promised, a bag of clothes and toiletries were waiting for me on the bed. It felt good to once again use something that was solely mine and not borrowed from someone else. I didn't realize how much I took that for granted until now.
After I was completely ready for the day, I knocked on the adjoining door and waited for Graham to answer. He didn't make me wait long before he threw it open. "Well, it's about time."
I rolled my eyes at him and pushed my way through the threshold connecting our two rooms. "Sometimes a woman needs extra time in the shower to feel better especially after being denied a shower for days on end."
Graham chuckled at my almost whiny attitude. The entire time we were in captivity I didn't complain once about the conditions and how bad I smelled, so I think that gave me a pass to be a little whiny now.
"What's the plan for today?" I changed the subject.
"I told my team we would meet them as soon as you were done getting ready."
"Lead the way." I dramatically waved my arm toward the door.
Graham shook his head but I could see the slightest upturn of his lips. He found me amusing even if he didn't want to say so.
The room we were meeting his team in was only three doors down. "Matthew got the hospitality suite so we had someplace to meet," Graham told me before we entered.
The room was large and had a big living and dining area separate from the bedroom. Graham's team was comfortably spread throughout the space, so it didn't feel like there were six large men and me in the place.
"Vortex called." Matthew jumped right in as soon as we got comfortable. "They found the ship."
"That's good news," Graham was quick to add, but based on Matthew's expression, it was not good news.
"Not exactly. Everyone on the ship was found dead."
Graham cursed. "I know for a fact I didn't kill everyone."
"You didn't. We found the guys you killed. The rest were assassinated with a bullet to the back of the head."
I let out a low whistle. Someone really didn't want anyone on that ship to talk.
"So the ship is a dead end." Graham shook his head in disgust.
