"We should probably do what he says," Savannah said, raising her voice over the alarm.
"I don't like this," I said, but I grabbed up a few forks and headed over, steppingjustinside the doorway.
Forrest gave me a frustrated glance, but lowered his hand and turned back to the screen, conferring with the other guys in urgent tones.
"What do you think is happening?" Savannah had the presence of mind to bring her tofu with her. She was still eating while staring out at the men. She could have been at the zoo watching performing seals while having her lunch. Well, except for a hint of fear in her eyes. Even with that, she looked more relaxed than I felt.
"Hopefully it's a false alarm," I said, unconvinced.
She gave me a 'really Sable' look. "Pretty loud for a false alarm."
"Yeah." I sighed and started hunting around in Forrest's wardrobe for a pair of track pants, maybe some underwear.
Everything was too big, but I rolled the waistband over a few times, tucked in my t-shirt and did a wriggle. Everything stayed up. For now.
Just as I was fixing the track pants in place, the alarm stopped.
The apartment fell into an eerie silence. So quiet my heartbeat sounded loud. My ears rang with the lack of sound.
"Thank fuck for that," Savannah said, spearing another piece of tofu on her fork and popping it into her mouth.
I hummed my agreement, but the guys were still looking at the security panel, as if watching for something or someone. Their expressions didn't fill me with a great deal of confidence. Dread? Absolutely. Fear? Yes, that too. But not confidence.
"Leif, come with me," Forrest said. "Woody, look after Sable. And Savannah," he added, as if he just remembered she existed.
Woody glanced over, irritated. Not at me. No, he was visibly annoyed because he wanted to add to the tally of people he'd killed for me to forgive him. He was ready to stab, slice and maim, not babysit us.
I shrugged. I didn't have a number in my head, but now was not the time for that conversation.
He stalked over to us, pulled out a gun and stood in the doorway, his legs apart. He nodded toward Forrest as he and Leif, their own guns ready, unlocked the apartment and stepped out, closing the door behind them.
"What's going on?" I insisted. If we were going to hide in here, I wanted to know why. That wasn't too much to ask, right?
"Dunno," Woody said without looking over his shoulder.
"Why are they going out there if we don't know what's going on?" That made no sense to me. They could be walking into…who knows what? If they were about to get themselves killed without knowing why, I was going to be frustrated. Not to mention devastated.
"You know what Forrest is like. He needs to be sure," Woody said.
"Sure of what?" I stepped over and placed my hands on his shoulders, my nose pressed against the back of his head.
"Sure you're safe," Woody said, as if that immediately explained everything.
"I'd be safer here, with all of you present, wouldn't I?" I squeezed his shoulders, my nails pressing into the fabric of his hoodie.
Three big, gun-toting men were better than one, wasn't it? Also, I had forks.
"You're safe with me," he insisted.
"But they aren't safe. They're out there. What if something happens to them? How are we going to know if they need our help?" There could be someone out there, ready to have tines shoved into his eyeball. I might be just the person to do it. I could fork them up good.
"We don't." Woody glanced back at me. "Forrest told me to keep you safe. That's what I'm doing."
I caught a glimpse of conflict in his eyes. He didn't like this either; them being out there, alone. They could be facing an army for all we knew. And we were doing…what? Hiding here in a bedroom and hoping for the best? Thinking up cutlery puns and waiting with…whatever bated breath was?
"We should be helping."
"Youarehelping," he said. "By staying out of the way." He looked back toward the door.