“I saw something in my room.” My voice cracked, and my teeth started to chatter even though I wasn’t cold.
Vernon blinked his odd-colored eyes and exchanged a look with Huck I couldn’t decipher.
“You look like you’ve actually seen a ghost. Why don’t you go sit in the kitchen, and I’ll go upstairs with Huck and check things out? Make yourself a stiff drink while you’re down there.” Vernon reached out and patted me lightly on the side of my arm. “I’ll grab you something to put on while I’m up there.”
As much as I wanted reassurance that my safe haven hadn’t been breached, there was no way I was stepping foot back in that bedroom tonight. I wasn’t sleeping in the attic until I had the time to go over every baseboard and light fixture to see if hidden cameras were watching me. I was never turning a blind eye again.
Swallowing hard, I blinked pleadingly at Vernon and asked in a whisper, “Can I crash in your room tonight? I swear you won’t even know I’m there.” The thought of being alone until the sun came up turned my stomach.
Before Vernon could answer, Huck grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to him. “Wake Harlen up if he isn’t already and go see if you can find anything strange upstairs. Call me and let me know if anything seems out of place.” His amber eyes gleamed with an unholy kind of light as he glared at me. “You can stay in my room tonight.”
Oh man. That sounded like the worst idea in the history of ideas. Right now, I wasn’t in any place to argue, so I just nodded meekly as Vernon smirked and held up the phone charger. “Can’t call you. Your phone is dead, and your charger is still at the bar.”
Huck swore and glared at his mischievous friend. “Then come knock on my door.”
Vernon’s eyebrows shot up, and he chuckled. “If you don’t think I’ll be interrupting anything, then fine. What did you see, Ollie? What am I looking for?”
I cleared my throat and shifted nervously on my bare feet. “I saw a shadow. It looked like a person. No one outside could have made it appear on my wall. That room is so high up.”
Huck muttered something under his breath, and Vernon finally started to look slightly concerned. “Okay. I’ll make sure no one is upstairs.”
“Those stairs are so loud. You would’ve heard someone coming from a mile away.” Huck’s voice was gruff, and while he was trying to be reassuring, his logic didn’t help.
“There might be someone watching.” I whispered the words and put my hands to my face to hide from the reality of how fucked my life was no matter how hard I tried to turn it around. “There could be wireless cameras hidden in the room.” And throughout the rest of the house.
I knew I sounded like one of those conspiracy theory nuts. I sounded beyond paranoid, but there was nothing I wouldn’t do to prevent past mistakes from repeating. That included blindly following Huck into his room when we both knew it was the last place I should be.
Vernon’s eyebrows lifted even higher, and a slight frown pulled at his pretty features. “Oooookayyyy.” He drew the word out and again shared a long look with the dark-haired man who was holding me close. “Hidden cameras. Got it. You two go downstairs, and I’ll let you know if I find anything suspicious. Give me a couple minutes. Harlen is a bear to wake up and he’ll be grumpy that I’m asking him for a favor in the middle of the night.”
“I’m sorry.” The words felt like they were ripped out of me, and I could feel the scalding burn of tears at the back of my eyes. I barely held it together when Huck’s wide palm settled on the back of my head and pushed my face toward the center of his chest.
“If someone has been in the house, it affects all of us. We’ll all deal with it.” He didn’t sound nearly as angry at me as I thought he would for bringing exactly what he feared right to his front door.
I was a terrible, selfish person, and I had no right to find comfort in his arms. I couldn’t blame him for not accepting this apology either. I was starting to understand what he meant when he said it was more about the person giving the words than the words themselves.
Huck barked, “Follow me.” And it was just like old times; that was exactly what I did. Followed him anywhere and everywhere and trusted that he would take care of me no matter what when I was too scared to think straight.
I found myself holding my breath as he pushed open the door to his room, tugging me along behind him when I faltered at the doorway. The room was pretty sparse in terms of decoration, but very much suited a single twenty-something guy. There were lots of dark colors and electronics, as well as a big bed that looked like it hadn’t been made in a few days. It wasn’t anything fancy, but I knew the space had to be special to him because it was his and his alone. It wasn’t something he had to battle Sawyer for, or an area that he was sharing with a woman who hated him. It was a place he felt safe—until I showed up and threw all that serenity and security out the window.
I stood awkwardly next to the bed while Huck rummaged around in a dresser drawer. A moment later, a pair of faded black sweatpants came flying my way.
“Put those on.” He practically growled the words as I clumsily moved to follow his demand. “Why do you think there might be hidden cameras in my house? Did Sawyer record you?”
I shoved my hands into my hair and looked down at my naked feet. “I didn’t hear you come home tonight.” It was a statement meant to change the subject, but I should’ve known Huck was like a dog with a bone when he latched onto something. He’d always been tenacious and determined.
“I got home right around the time you came running down the stairs. I asked Vernon for a charger and was going to come see what had you spooked, but you moved too fast. Now tell me why you’re worried about cameras.”
It was time to admit the truth to myself… and to him. “I honestly don’t know that anything can stop Sawyer. Even if he isn’t a physical threat, there is nothing wrong with his mind. He’s perfectly capable of finding others to do his dirty work for him. And his mother will always be there ready to back him up. He has enough money to hire someone fearless to get what he wants, and that makes me very afraid. I didn’t think things all the way through when I decided to run to you. If he’s put a plan in place to force me to go back to him, he’ll hurt whoever stands in his way. He used to be afraid of you, but now, I don’t think he’s afraid of anything.” I didn’t answer his question about the cameras because the truth was humiliating, and I didn’t want to explain how I figured out I was being monitored.
I was covering my own ass by leaving that mansion the first opportunity I got, but now knowing his might be on the line swamped me with regret. He’d always put me first no matter how he suffered, and I did nothing but put him at risk.
“I have to get out of here.” I said the words without thinking, but in my gut, I knew it was time to go. If anything happened to Huck and his friends because of me, I would never be able to forgive myself. There was already so much to apologize for, I couldn’t keep stacking the deck. I couldn’t keep forcing my feelings and regrets on him. It wasn’t fair. I had to let him go. “You’ve wanted me gone, and I agree. It is probably past time for me to go.”