Willing Captive(14)

Her brows rise and she nods. “Scrappy. I like it.”

We fall into an awkward silence. I stare at her while she stares at me. Not able to stand the silence any longer, I blurt out, “I’m not sorry I ran. I’ll do it again and again ‘til I speak to my father. It’s a simple request, and if you’re really protecting me, then it shouldn’t be an issue.”

Boo looks apologetic. “I’m sorry, Deedee. It’s not my choice. And I know it means nothing to you, but I promise you that there’s no one better to protect you than Nox. I’ve worked with my fair share of people and he has the best success rate, regardless of the mission.”

I stare her down. “What would you do if you were me?”

Her eyes sparkle as she smiles slyly. “I’d run.”

Wow. I’m completely stunned by her honesty. She opens her mouth to speak when she looks past me and quickly sits up. She moves to stand by the bed and I look up at her. “He’s behind me, isn’t he?”

She doesn’t say a thing but she looks sorry. Without a word, she leaves me lying on the bed with Nox at the door. He doesn’t say a word and neither do I. I refuse to turn around and look at him. The silence becomes thicker and thicker until I hear a loud thump followed by creaking. My curiosity gets the better of me and I turn.

I don’t believe it!

He’s brought up a rocking chair and maneuvers it in a way that completely blocks the doorway. He sits down, rocking himself gently and remains silent. His cool eyes dare me to protest.

Oh, you mothertrucker!

The message is clear.

I’ve lost what little freedom I had after my little stunt. My eyes narrow and I spit, “I hate your guts.”

Nox nods slowly. “Good. That’ll make my job easier.” My eyes turn to slits and he says cheerfully with a cruel smirk, “Goodnight, Delilah. Sweet dreams.”

Lifting his hand, he flicks the light switch and I throw up the covers and lay underneath them, making as much noise as I can to note my displeasure. Sitting up, I grit my teeth and give my pillows the beating of their lives. Throwing my head back down with a whoosh, I stare up at the ceiling and silently imagine what I’d like to do to Nox right now.

The rocking chair squeaks for a millisecond and I find my opening. “Sssshhhh!”

Nox sighs, “Go to sleep, Lily.”

I silently scoff. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Yes, I can.”

“No, you can’t. You think you can but you can’t. It’s an illusion.”

And that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The rocking chair creaks to a halt and he states, “You need to grow the f*ck up, lady. Stop acting like a goddamn child.”

Immediately, I hiss, “You leave me no choice! I don’t know if a thing you say is true and I really don’t feel like I’m being protected right now. I’m going crazy not knowing about my family. If you’d even let me call my sister-”

He cuts me off, “Not happening.”

“I’ll sneak out again.”

“Then you’ll sleep with me from now on. Good luck with the whole spy-versus-spy thing.”

Well shit. I don’t want Nox to be my bed buddy.

Silence envelops us both. The dark is comforting. Just as my mind wanders, Nox asks quietly, “Do you have a death wish?” I don’t answer and he goes on, “Someone wants you dead and your father paid a lot of money to make sure you’d stay safe. So I relax a little around you because, hey, you seem decent. And you try to sneak out, creepin’ around like a f*cking secret agent and doing a really shitty job of it, too.”

My mind is stuck on the part where he thinks I’m decent.

He sighs wearily, “Do you have any idea what could’ve happened? Do you know what happens if you die?” My eyes water. I don’t say a word but Nox implores, “Think of the consequences for f*ck sake. Think of your family. How would they feel?”

Tears streak past my temples. Nox asks quietly, “Do you know what it would do to me?”

My heart skips a beat.

I quietly cry. I just want to forget about this whole thing. Maybe if I go to sleep, I’ll wake up at home and this will have all just been a dream, like Dorothy returning from Oz.

He clears his throat. “Never lost someone on my watch before. If something happened to you, I’d spend the rest of my life wondering what I could’ve done differently, that would’ve kept you alive. Wounds like that…wounds to the heart…they leave ugly scars that never fade.” Then he almost whispers, “I’m sorry I pulled your hair. I panicked and I did what I had to keep you from making a huge mistake. Your safety is everything.” Clearing his throat once more, he states, “It won’t happen again. Get some sleep.”

It’s then that I make the decision to never run away from Nox.

Using the sleeve of my sweatshirt, I wipe away my tears and snot and settle deeper into the bed. I breathe deeply and exhale slowly.

I fall asleep thinking I’m going to do what I can to make the best of this situation.





***





I wake feeling awful. My face is puffy and my eyes are sore. I’m sure they’re a nice shade of red to match my mortification about last night’s stunt.