Page 45 of Lure

“Icing okay?” I mean, they were edible without it. They were more than edible. Still, the cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar icing just added some pizzazz.

“Maybe half and half?” Another scrape of her teeth over her lower lip.

“Done. I can add some vanilla to it or even a little coffee if you want to add some coffee to the flavor?” Lots of ways to dress it up. “Then I’ll get your omelet going.”

“A little coffee? Maybe?” she asked after a minute.

Good girl. “You got it, Gracie. Coming right up.” We didn’t speak while I put it together. I set two of the fresh cinnamon rolls on a plate. I put icing on half of each. Then spread it over the rest of the ones in the dish. When I was done, I carried the first two over to the table.

She licked her lips. “That looks good.”

“Enjoy. Gonna get your omelet going.”

With a glance up at me, she pulled a chair out. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” I held her gaze for a heartbeat before retreating out of her space again.

I’d just finished whipping the egg whites together when she said, “Lunchbox?”

“Yeah?”

“I know pretending doesn’t work. I’ve been trying to pretend you guys aren’t keeping me captive.” That had me looking at her and she held a cinnamon roll in hand. The other one was goneand there was a smear of icing on her lower lip. “Yet, here I am, and apparently it comes with dessert.”

The droll comment lightened her gaze again and she toasted me with her cinnamon roll. I grinned and went back to work on food. Yeah, we needed to just keep including her. Earnhertrust…

This was step one—no, the debrief had been step one. But I wasn’t sure how much ground that got us. This was step two.

I snagged my phone and fired off another message to the guys.

Time to plan for step three.

Chapter

Seventeen

GRACE

Three days after eating the fresh-baked cinnamon rolls in the kitchen with Lunchbox and drinking coffee, I jerked awake, heart pounding, and breath coming in short, desperate pants. They were coming.

The man with his big hands was dragging me down the hall to escape, but more hands tangled with my legs and I sank into the floor. I could barely move. It was worse than trying to wade through heavy mud. The sucking sensation threatened to pull me even deeper.

Trapped, I couldn’t turn around. But they were coming. The pound of their feet, the pop of the weapons, and the screams—it was all happening behind me and I couldn’t see. I couldn’t do anything.

Then…

I snapped awake and I couldn’t suck in enough air to keep from being dizzy. Sweat had my tank top clinging to me and feeling gross. Even worse, the air was almost too damn cold against my skin so I could add chills to the shivering going up and down my spine.

Voodoo wasn’t in here again. I hadn’t seen much of Bones or Alphabet at all the past few days, but Voodoo and Lunchbox had been there. Most of the time, Voodoo woke me up before the dreams got too bad or he’d be right here to talk to me if I snapped awake.

Tonight was the second or maybe third time he’d been absent. Maybe Lunchbox was right, maybe I needed to talk about this shit so the dreams would stop. But I didn’t want to talk about the dreams any more than I wanted to talk about the events populating them.

I was a big girl. I didn’t need someone holding my hand. But rather than go back to sleep and risking more shadows, pain, and fear, I headed for the bathroom and a shower. Showers couldn’t fix everything, but they could help you feel better.

Even a smidgeon better wasbetter.

The bathroom was filled with steam by the time I finished. While I couldn’t wash away all the shadows, I could at least warm up from the chill they left behind. It also helped clear up the fog and left me far more awake than tired. I had no idea what time it was, but I didn’t want to stay up here by myself.

Maybe downstairs by myself wouldn’t be much better, but I needed to dosomething. Guilt raked against my belly cause in and around wishing that Voodoo was in here, I was also annoyed that he wasn’t. It made absolutely no sense to be alternately grateful and irritated.

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