I wake up an hour later, shivering.
Savvy is bent in front of the fireplace where a small fire is burning. She stands up and turns. “Hey, you’re awake. It got cold, so I started a fire.”
“I didn’t even know we had any wood,” I say as I stand up and move closer to the fire.
“I stole some from next door.”
Wait! What? “You went outside?”
She wraps a nearby blanket around herself. “It was cold, and I could see a tarp over a pile next door. I knew it had to be wood.”
She’s getting defensive. But how the hell did I not hear her leave? Why didn’t I wake up? Because I’m exhausted from the surveillance of the warehouse.
“Hey, thank you.” No need for her to know how worried I really am. “But please don’t go outside again. If we need more wood, I’ll get it.”
Her eyes blaze with anger. “Seriously? You have to take control of everything. I can get my own firewood.”
“It’s not that.”
“Are you sure?” Her voice is sharp.
I grind my teeth. “Yes. I don’t want you outside in case Bob comes up here. He knows where your cabin is. What if you are outside the moment he drives by?”
Her shoulders sag, and the anger emanating from hereyes was replaced with something else. Something I wanted to comfort.
“I hadn’t thought about that.”
“That’s why I’m here. It’s my job to think about those things. But thank you for starting the fire.”
“Your job. Right.” She tosses the blanket down and turns back to the fire, placing another log on it.
I check the clock on the wall. Fortunately, it’s an old-school, battery-operated analog. “We should try to get some sleep.” I move my blanket to the rug in front of the couch. “You can have the couch.”
She goes to the bedroom and returns with a pillow and another blanket. Instead of the couch, she also lies down on the rug. She doesn’t say anything else, thankfully, and we both settle in.
“Hunter?”
I’m really not used to people calling me by my first name, but from her, it’s nice. “Yeah?”
“Do you really think Bob will come after me?” There’s fear in her voice.
I turn to face her. “I don’t know. He hasn’t in the last week so that’s a good sign.”
“Maybe he’s planning another explosion.”
The explosion. She’s not used to putting herself in danger.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I offer.
“The explosion?”
“Yeah.”
“There isn’t really anything to say. We were lucky to get out alive. I’m sorry I dragged you into all of this, though.”
I reach out and touch her arm. Just like the prior times I’ve touched her, there is that spark. “Hey, don’t be sorry. I already told you I’m glad I was there. Otherwise, you might not be alive. Besides, you aren’t the reason I was placed on this assignment.”
The heat of her skin lingers on my fingers long after I let go. I shouldn’t have touched her. Not for that long. Not when she’s in danger and I’m supposed to be keeping her safe.
