The image in front of me was nothing like that.
She was beautiful, but prim wasn’t the word I would use to describe her. In fact, she looked just like me on a good day.
Like, a day when I wasn’t on the run.
But the man…motorcycle boots, all black, leather jacket…
“He lives here?” I asked, sure we had the wrong place.
Derek turned and grinned at me. “Don’t let the house fool you. He’s a cold-blooded killer.”
“I will do my best not to judge.”
Shoving the door open, I stepped out and stretched my legs, thrusting my arms overhead to work out the kinks from the drive. I normally liked going on road trips, but since we had tokeep moving, it wasn’t exactly the fun kind where you stopped for popcorn and explored historic sites.
My ass ached, along with every other muscle in my body, and I had a feeling it wasn’t just from the trip. Whatever they injected us with was still wreaking havoc on my body.
Surprise shot through me when Rob placed his hand on my waist and guided me toward the steps. It was such an innocent gesture, but to me, it felt like a lifeline.
Storm raced past us, barking as he ran off in the distance. “Hey!”
“Just let him be. He was cooped up in that hotel for way too long.”
I nodded, but it felt odd to let him go when he’d been with us for so long.
The woman stepped forward, hand outstretched. “I’m Kate.”
“Krista,” I smiled, then moved to her husband. “Thanks for having us.”
He eyed my hand warily, then shifted away. Had I done something to offend him? Why didn’t he want to shake my hand? Oh, God, did I smell that bad? It had been a while since I’d gotten a shower.
“Don’t take it personally,” Kate grinned. “He doesn’t shake anyone’s hand.”
“Really?” I asked, looking back at him as she led me up the stairs to the house. “Like some sort of an affliction?”
“Something like that. So, how are you feeling?”
“Good.”
Stopping, she faced me. “I need real answers. If I’m going to help you, I need you to be honest about everything.”
“So, no niceties.”
“Afraid not.”
“Well, my head still hurts.”
“How bad is the pain?”
“Not as bad as when I woke up. I’d say it’s like a dull annoyance that keeps rearing its ugly head.”
“Well, that’s good. It’s not getting any worse?”
“Nope.”
“Aches and pains?”
“Pretty much my whole body.”