Page 59 of Shallow Remains

“Try to get some sleep.”

He didn’t approach her. Didn’t try to touch her, so she kept her distance too. “I will.”

Not that she had high hopes for it, considering what was going on and that she’d already slept the evening away.

In the guestroom, she changed into Lachlan’s shirt before crawling into the bed. It was more comfortable than she’d expected, the sheets soft and the comforter warm.

The dogs seemed relieved it was finally bedtime. Curly cuddled up between her shins on the comforter. Larry tucked into the side of her waist, and Moe decided to share her pillow, curling into a cute but damp little ball beside her face.

The weight of them, their little snores, and the sound of their breathing was soothing as she lay there staring up at the darkened ceiling.

But there was no way to still her mind or find peace.

She’d gone through every possible scenario she could think of and still couldn’t explain that unit patch. Or why anyone who knew about Syria would want to go to such lengths to scare her like this.

Don’t spiral. Breathe.

Easier said than done. It had been hard enough battling her way through everything to move past her nightmare. She’d never imagined it wasn’t over yet.

She shut her mind down with sheer force of will. Did some visualizations and meditation, the dogs’ presence helping to ground her.

Against all odds, she eventually fell asleep. Only to jerk awake in the darkness with her heart in her throat, Lachlan’s shirt sticking to her sweaty skin, and a familiar male voice from her darkest memories echoing in her head.

TWENTY-NINE

You’re mine now, Maddy. Slater’s not here to save you. And you’re going to give me exactly what I want.

“Shit,” she breathed into the silent room while her heart thudded her ribs with bruising force.

Skin crawling, she got out of bed and stumbled for the door in the darkness.

The dogs jumped down and followed her to the bathroom, their little nails tapping on the floor. She shut the door in their faces, went straight to the shower to turn the water on high, and stripped off her T-shirt.

The pressure of the hot water beating on her head and shoulders helped clear her mind. Water had always soothed her, ever since she was a toddler. Which made the method of torture she’d undergone twice as cruel.

She blocked that thought and let the hot stream flow over her, washing away the fear and sweat. When she was calm, she got out, toweled off and put Lachlan’s shirt back on.

After brushing her teeth to get the metallic taste out of her mouth and drinking a glass of water, she opened the door and jumped when she saw Lachlan’s silhouette standing in the hall.

“You scared me,” she gasped out, putting a hand to her chest.

“Sorry. You okay?”

She thought about making up some excuse for showering in the middle of the night, about how her long nap had thrown off her internal clock. But there was no point in pretending everything was fine. He would see right through her if she lied. She was tired of pretending anyway.

“Bit better now.”

“What happened?”

“Just a bad dream.” He was so close. Right there in front of her, big and strong and protective. She curled her toes against the hardwood, resisting the urge to walk over and burrow into his arms.

He made the decision for her, closing the distance to pull her into a hug. She bit back a groan at the feel of his solid arms wrapped around her, the hard length of his body touching her from chest to thigh.

He nuzzled the top of her head. So achingly sweet and patient with her and her quirks. “Want to talk about it?”

“No.” Sort of. But she was afraid of the consequences if she did.

His exhalation was warm against her scalp. “Maddy. I’m worried about you, and I hate not knowing what’s going on. Please talk to me.”