Page 33 of Drowning in Darkness

Who is she talking about? I tilt my head as she turns, checking to see if she’s got that glazed look that indicates she’s sleepwalking. But her cheeks are flushed, and she’s far too alert. I’ve done a little research this week about trauma-induced sleepwalking and how to deal with people during an episode. Not that I plan on being anywhere near where she is sleeping. It would be too much like temptation.

She drops her face into her hands and hunches her shoulders. I lean in closer, enraptured by her every move. Dangerous. I don’t obsess over women.

“Why won’t you leave me alone?” she utters before climbing into the rumpled bed and lying in the middle like a starfish. “James.”

I jerk back. Me? I scan my truck, looking for any sign that she can see me. Nope, all good, and there’s only room for one stalker.

She curls on her side and stares at the wall with a slight pout that makes me want to take a bite of her bottom lip.

I close my eyes and shake my head. She’s focused on me because she knows it’s never going to happen, making me someone safe to dream of. But I’m not the leading role in a fantasy. I’m the devil in the background.

I do one last check around the house and on the street. The back door of the van swings open, and two figures emerge dressed in dark clothing. Oh, hello. I zoom in on their faces. Where have I seen these guys before?

Fuck.

I grab my phone and call Camryn. She answers in ten seconds as I spin the truck in the opposite direction, heading the seven hours back to Stephanie.

“What’s up?” she asks. We don’t have the kind of relationship where I call her just because. I’m not sure I have anyone I call for that reason.

“Dark grey van, two doors down on the opposite side. Two guys in Christopher’s employ just piled out.”

I wait as she moves around her room. “I have one of them,” she whispers.

“The other went around the back.”

“Two versus four seems unlikely,” she utters as I flick to the camera in her room. She’s already dressed, weapon ready as she shifts the net curtain to spy on the street.

Which means there’s another vehicle or more men inside the van. Probably the former. A backup in case they need to split up on retrieval.

“I’m coming,” I tell her. I want to pry apart how they found them, but now isn’t the time.

She snorts. “How many hours away are you? Shall I just wait for the Dark Knight to come rescue us?”

Fair point. But I’m not rational when it comes to Stephanie. I dig for the stoic version of myself most know and pull the truck over, knowing I’m more help as an extra pair of eyes.

“Put an ear pod in,” I tell her. “I’ll keep you informed on the street.”

Her door opens, and an agent from downstairs appears. “Backyard alarm is triggered,” he informs her.

“Wake Stephanie,” Camryn decides.

The agent nods as Camryn moves to wake her partner before ushering Stephanie to get dressed. She throws on a pair of jeans and a sweater over her sleep set before sliding on her sneakers. She’s scarily calm for a woman under threat.

“An SUV just pulled onto the street,” I tell her as four people in black clothing and masks jump out of the still-moving vehicle and circle the house. “Two now coming from the front, two from the back, and one on each side. Expect all of them to be armed and wearing protection. Take a headshot if you have it.”

“You don’t give me orders,” she mutters as she throws a protective vest on Stephanie while they’re in the living room. Good woman.

“Who are you talking to?” Stephanie wonders.

“James.”

“Always watching,” she says with a sigh, like she can’t shake the thought of me. The feeling is mutual.

The camera jerks as someone slams into the side gate.

I grip the steering wheel hard enough that my knuckles ache while six camera angles flicker across my laptop screen. Front door. Rear yard. Street view. Kitchen. Hallway. Every inch of the property burns itself into my skull as I evaluate their escape routes, just as I did from the second I stepped inside the safe house.

“Movement rear left,” I tell Camryn. “Two coming toward the patio. They’re going to attack from the front and try to flush you out the back.”