Page 76 of In Somnis

My heart starts to pound for an entirely different reason.

Another wave of pain rolls through my thigh, and my teeth chatter hard enough that I bite down on my tongue. The fight drains from my limbs all at once, leaving a bone-deep exhaustion that makes everything feel heavier. I lean back despite myself, eyes on the road blurring past, trying to remember the turns we’ve taken while internally cursing everything. My ability to say no to cute things, that stupid crosswalk, my umbrella still sitting useless in Boston, the sky itself, and literally every decision that led me here.

Is this how I die today after all?

The thought settles deep as the silence stretches, rain pattering steadily against the roof like a metronome, and I turn to take him in on instinct. As if sensing the weight of my stare, he shifts his gaze to me, letting it linger a beat too long. His dark eyes search my face as if he’s cataloging every detail before the corner of his mouth pulls down in the smallest smile. It’s barely there, the faintest downward curve, but something in my chest tingles at the sight.

I startle enough at the foreign feeling that my eyes probably go wide, because his smile vanishes instantly, replaced by that careful focus again.

“Is the shock wearing off?” His gaze drops to my hands, then lifts back to my face, already assessing. “Are you hurting more now?”

“No, I’m just…” I trail off, looking down at myself. My sweater is soaked through, clinging to me, and my nipples peak beneath the fabric. My skirt is damp, and my stockings are cold and sticky against my skin. “I… I guess I’m cold.”

“Sorry.” He reaches over, fingers brushing the console as he turns up the heat and clicks on the seat warmer for me. “I should have thought about that.”

The warmth seeps in immediately, straight into my bones. My shoulders loosen, and my breath stutters out as the stiffness starts to melt. “Thank you. That… feels nice.”

“Good.” He nods once, eyes back on the road.

I take a moment to assess myself again, the pain sharpening now that warmth is settling in, my thigh throbbing more insistently, my palm stinging more. When I glance up, his eyes flick to me for only a second, but the intensity in that look makes my breath catch before his focus is back on the road again.

My head hurts, but it’s not a concussion.

I’ll be fine.

As long as he didn’t save me to kill me in another way.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Lennon

Not long after, my kidnapper slows, turning onto a quiet street. Through the rain-streaked windshield, a big, blue house comes into view, and I suck in a breath.

It’s beautiful.

Framed by dark, dripping trees, the house stands three stories tall, and every window glows with warm light.

Every single window.

I count them without meaning to, ground floor, second floor, all of them lit, even the ones that face the trees. The light spills out into the wet dark, as if the house is trying to push back the darkness.

“Watch out for the light.”

Stop that shit, Lenny. He probably just doesn’t live alone. People tend to have the lights on when someone is home.

Right. Of course, a good-looking, obviously well-off guy like him wouldn’t be single. He probably wouldn’t have even looked twice at a girl like me if he hadn’t literally hit me with his car.

Wow, are you really upset that the man who almost killed you is not single, Lenny?

He pulls into the driveway, and a garage door rolls up ahead of us, swallowing the car out of the rain. The sudden quiet is almost startling, no more drumming on the roof or streaked glass between the world and me, just fluorescent light.

The garage door closes behind us with a low mechanical hum, sealing out the storm. Then he turns off the engine and lets out a long, shaky breath before his large frame droops.

“Are you all right?” I ask.

He shuts his eyes and lets out a soft, wounded sound, as if the question pains him.

“I mean,” I add quietly. “You almost killed someone. That would shake most people up. At least people who aren’t trying to kill someone.”