Page 34 of Kyle

* * *

“Hey. Wake up.”

Someone was shaking me. My eyes popped open.

“Time to leave?” I muttered, and felt the bed compress behind me.

“No. You had another nightmare.”

Damn. It was no wonder the man wanted to get away from me as soon as possible. I was crazy.

“Sorry,” I grumbled.

“Want me to stay?”

I should’ve said no. My heart was already breaking, but in a few hours I’d never see him again. I’d have plenty of time to nurse my hurt but this would be my last chance to spend time with him. And damn if that didn’t hurt, it killed.

“Please.”

I felt more shuffling behind me, then his warm body molded against my back and his arm draped over my middle.

“Is this okay?”

His strong arm was trapping me to the bed, his hard body pressed against mine all the way down to his long legs tangling with mine. Yet I didn’t feel confined.

“Yes.”

“We have a few more hours. Go back to sleep.”

I didn’t want to sleep and waste what time I had left with Kyle, but exhaustion pulled me under.

* * *

Everyone’s mood had sucked when we’d left the house. Something had changed with Kyle. He’d been up and ready to go before he came back into the bedroom and had woken me up. He’d been polite but completely detached. It was like a light switch had flipped and all traces of the man who’d held my hand or cuddled behind me were gone.

Now I was sitting in the passenger seat of a box truck that looked like it’d seen better days. I had no idea where Donny and Camilla had procured it and I hadn’t asked.

Neither Declan or Kyle had made time for pleasantries when I introduced them to the Riveras. They’d gone over the plan, asked if they had any questions, told all three of us to stay in the truck, and told Donny to keep the engine running.

Kyle and Declan had disappeared around the back of the house, and that was five minutes ago. Now I had sweat dripping down my back and I was getting antsier by the second. Donny was as cool as a cucumber, but Camilla was squished between us and she was bouncing her knee.

“Calm down, love, it will all be over soon,” he said to his wife and my heart squeezed.

I didn’t need to look over to know he’d placed his hand on her leg to make it stop moving. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the house Kyle had entered.

Everything was eerily quiet, too silent for this part of the city. I felt like everyone in the area knew we were coming so they’d stayed home and battened down the hatches.

Movement caught my eye as someone got out of the car, but didn’t slam the door closed. He gently eased the metal to the frame and didn’t latch it. Donny and Camilla had gratuitously sunk down in their seats. With the truck running, it was obvious someone was in it.

I watched as the man walked down the cracked sidewalk toward Amisha’s house. I held my breath as he continued up her small driveway, his head swiveling back and forth like he was looking for something.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

My hand went for the door handle and Camilla grabbed me. “No way, Anaya,” she whispered. “They said to stay in the truck.”

“I have to stop him. If he bangs on the door or rings the doorbell the guys will be screwed.”

As silently as I could I creaked the truck door open, which meant the old hinges in desperate need of some WD-40 had probably woken up the neighborhood. I crouched and waited but the man never looked my way. Once he stepped foot onto the porch I took off across a yard and stayed behind the overgrown shrubs.