Page 51 of Fight or Flight
It was now after two a.m., and he was tired and anxious after the night he’d been through. Anxious not for himself, but for Katherine. There was something about her that went straight to his heart, a feeling he had never experienced before. He’d been in a couple of long-term relationships, if you could call eighteen months long-term. Hannah Logan had had an issue with his profession and always thought he was psychoanalyzing her. She was a nice woman, but with her insecurities, in addition to the constant complaining, they had both agreed the relationship wasn’t going anywhere.
He hadn’t dated for several months when he met Trudy Rollins. She was gorgeous and knew it. She was a flirt and a spoiled brat. They’d had a good time for a few months, but Tyler knew she wasn’t what he wanted in a woman for a real relationship, so he’d broken it off with her. Trudy had been mad for a couple of weeks until she met another guy. Tyler hadn’t heard from her since.
Katherine had an effect on him. He’d felt it the first time he saw her, which had only been yesterday—though again, that seemed like a lifetime ago. It was more than physical attraction. She was beautiful, kind, and smart. She loved animals. He was pretty sure she was attracted to him. It would be hard for her to commit to a relationship with her agoraphobia, but he wouldn’t let that deter him. He’d spent twelve years training to be a medical doctor and another two in a fellowship for psychiatry. Tyler would help Katherine overcome her fears. He’d done it for dozens of people, and that made his choice of profession more gratifying than anything. He loved his work, but he knew when to turn it off.
The sofa in the living room called to him. He took off his shirt, tossing it on the back of a recliner. Katherine had soft pillows and plush throws on the back of her sofa, making it pretty darn comfortable. Tyler tucked himself in. Very comfortable, indeed. He gave in to his exhaustion and was asleep in minutes.
Chapter Sixteen
Katherine struggled to pull herself out of the deep fog that engulfed her. Turning her head from side to side, she opened her eyes but was unable to fully awaken. Was she having a nightmare? She didn’t know why she couldn’t wake up. Did she die? Was this her journey to the other side? How did she die? She didn’t feel any pain. Giving in to the deep desire to sleep, she relaxed, not caring if she were dead or alive.
She felt something warm and wet on her face. She was unsure how much time had passed since she’d first opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry as she tried to focus on her surroundings. “Dog,” she managed to say. Again she felt wetness and warmth on her face. An odd smell, too. Dog breath.
“I see you’re finally waking up,” Tyler said. “Down, Sophie; down, Sam.”
Katherine’s eyes opened wide. She tried to concentrate on her surroundings. Looking from left to right, she realized she was in her bedroom. “What happened?” she managed to ask the voice in the room. She didn’t remember inviting Tyler into her bedroom. “Why are you here?” Should she be frightened? Had she done something crazy?
“Katherine, it’s me, Tyler. Remember, we had dinner last night? You made a delicious roast chicken and the best apple pie I’ve ever had.”
Slowly her brain began to function with these prompts. “Tyler?”
“I’m right here.” He’d been sitting in the chair opposite her. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.
“What happened to me?” Tears glistened in Katherine’s eyes, then rolled down her face.
Tyler placed his thumb and index finger on her face, gently blotting her tears. “You had a bad panic attack last night. I gave you a shot of Ativan.”
She tried to recall the previous night’s events, but only bits and pieces came to her. “Tell me.”
“You’re having trouble remembering. It’s the drug. Sometimes benzodiazepine’s effects on the brain are the results of an increase in GABA, which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. It blocks messages between nerve cells. It basically slows down the nervous system. People hallucinate and forget. That’s probably what’s going on with you.”
Katherine smiled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I’ll have to take your word that you do. You’re the shrink.”
“You were about to faint. Like I said, I gave you the shot, and it knocked you out almost immediately. Doc and I brought you upstairs, tucked you in bed, and now you’re awake.”
“I’m afraid to ask what time it is,” Katherine said, as she tried to sit up.
“It’s almost lunchtime.”
“Wow, I have to get up, I need to . . . I have a lot to do. Sophie and Sam, have they been out?”
“They’ve been out, fed, watered, and had a couple of treats. Doc told me what they ate and where to find it,” Tyler said. “Sit up for a bit. I’ll bring you a coffee. Get your bearings, then you can get up if you feel like it.”
“Thanks.” Katherine had never met a guy who was this thoughtful. He still wore the same clothes he’d had on last night. He must’ve stayed. Bits and pieces of the evening came back to her. The break-in. The man with the backpack. Her flash drive. Who would do this to her? And more so—why? She didn’t have any family, no close friends. She’d been safe in her home, alone, all these years. What had changed?
Katherine went over her daily routine. It was the same every day. Get up and let the dogs out. Make coffee. Feed the dogs. Shower. Get dressed. Work. Maybe have something to eat. Go to work. Let the dogs out. Have dinner. Feed the dogs again. Look at her Friendlink page.
Karrie.
Hadn’t Karrie said her father had a notebook that contained the first GWUP book? Though that was impossible. All of her notebooks were here in the storage box she had stashed in the back of her closet. She’d checked them herself. But she realized that she hadn’t actuallyopenedeach spiral notebook. And were the notebooks still there? Did the thief take those, too? Katherine hadn’t even thought to check last night.
She eased her legs to the side of the bed, put both feet on the floor, and stood. Katherine took a deep breath and slowly walked across the bedroom to the closet. The storage box was exactly as she’d left it. She removed the plastic top and took out a few of the spiral notebooks. They were hers, in her handwriting. Surely her notes for the first book in the series was in here, too. She searched through every notebook she had but didn’t find it. Karrie could be right.
Katherine was puzzled—and ticked off. How had someone, maybe Karrie’s father, gotten into her home and found her notebooks? Not having left her house in years, she knew it was impossible for anyone to just walk inside, search her home, and take what they wanted. But isn’t that what had happened the night before? While she had a guest. She was no longer safe in her own home.
Katherine put the notebooks back in the storage container, her thoughts all over the place. A wave of dizziness overwhelmed her. She crawled into her bed, easing beneath the covers. She wished the effects of this drug Tyler had given her would wear off. She had so much to do.
A tap sounded on the doorframe. “Hey, I’ve brought coffee. You awake?” Tyler asked.
