Page 9 of Laying it Bare on the Run

I did the same before walking her back to her room. Propping my arm against the jamb, I stayed in the doorway while she walked toward the mattress. “There is an extra toothbrush in the left drawer of the vanity along with some toothpaste. And if you feel more comfortable, you can lock this door behind me. You can trust me but if locking the door helps you sleep better tonight, I want you to get a good rest.”

“Thank you for that. And also thank you for giving me a place to stay tonight, and the shower and food. Although I think the shower was more for your benefit. I had gotten used to it.” She gave me a wry smile. “Good night, Cannon.”

“Good night, Harper.” I tapped on the doorframe before backing away. Then I headed to my room to take a shower. About ten minutes later, I crawled into my own bed. Shit, I should have offered her my bed and slept on the air mattress. Although that might have been coming on too strong for her and then I wouldn’t have her sleeping here at all. But it wouldn’t have been like I asked her to sleep in here with me. As much as that idea enticed me. Well hell, if I didn’t put a halt to those thoughts I’d be rubbing one out. And lying here thinking about the beautiful mysterious girl sleeping in the next room was doing nothing to take care of my growing problem. Hopefully, she was still here the next morning. A part of me worried she’d try to run sometime in the wee hours of the morning. Something had her rattled, bad. Although I didn’t have much to go on, I suspected she was escaping an abusive relationship. Those were sometimes really difficult to leave and I applauded her courage to do so. But then she had dealings with a dirty cop who broke her trust. She was definitely a puzzle. One I hoped to get the opportunity to solve. And if my luck held and she was still here in the morning, I planned to do just that. But for now, I had to push aside my worries of her disappearing and get some well needed sleep. I had to believe that fate had placed her in that particular abandoned building tonight which meant I was to find her and protect her. And fate would keep her here.

Chapter Three

~Harper~

It was really warm and soft and cozy where I lay. Man, did I miss sleeping in my own bed. I’d been on the run for I didn’t know how long . . .

So there was no way in hell I was sleeping in my own bed! The contentment from a second ago evaporated as reality crashed in on me bringing on a rush of fear. I had to come up with a game plan before I let anyone know I was awake. Was anyone even in here with me? If Waik and his goons had caught up to me, I seriously doubted I’d be sleeping in this luxury. But who knew what went on inside their twisted minds. I didn’t hear anything but thought I had felt another presence here. Maybe it was my brother looking over me. A few tears slid from my closed eyes. God, I missed him so much.

I blinked my eyes open and using the faint rays of sunshine peeking through the slight gap between the two curtains, I caught sight of a figure standing about a few feet away from where I lay. Nope, not a ghost. Before I could stop myself, I released a shrill scream and shuffled up the mattress.

The figure quickly raised his palms in surrender. “I’m sorry, Harper. It’s me, Cannon. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Memories from last night came rushing back. He and his cop buddies had found me sleeping in some old building and somehow Cannon had convinced me to come home with him. He was so sweet and hot I could only resist for so long. But I had gone down this road before and trusting a cop had almost landed me in Waik’s hands. Prying the old car window down as far as I could and the fact I had lost some weight dealing with the grief of losing my parents and sister helped me squeeze through a space a normal adult woman shouldn’t have fit and I was off like a rocket.So why in the hell had I come home with another cop?Because last night I could almost hear my brother telling me that I could trust Cannon. That he was definitely one of the good ones. And he was sexy as hell and shit I hoped I hadn’t made another huge mistake. But the way Cannon was studying me right now; I didn’t feel as if he meant me any harm. He had actually taken a couple of steps back and away from the doorway, giving me space to flee if I had wanted. But did I want to?

“If you didn’t mean to scare me, why did you sneak into the room?” I pressed my hand over my thudding heartbeat.

He tugged a hand through his shaggy hair that was completely bed mussed, making me want to run my own hands through it. Although I could only imagine the jumble my mop was in at the moment. “I was worried you might have run off so I came in to check on you. And when I found the door unlocked I really started to worry you had split. But when I found you sleeping so peacefully I couldn’t help staring at you. I’m sorry, it was just so different from how you were when I found you last night. I liked seeing you so at peace. Last night you were terrified and a nervous wreck. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have invaded your privacy like that.”

“It’s okay. I allowed myself to get too comfortable. I can’t allow that to happen. The bed was so warm and cozy but it’s not – ” I slammed my hand over my mouth.What was it with my diarrhea of the mouth around him? It was too easy to confide in him. But I couldn’t let him know why I was running. He’d want to help and that would lead Waik right to me. No one could stop that monster. I wanted justice served but doubted it was even a slight possibility. My witnessing Vincent’s murder was probably the only evidence other than those pictures. But it seemed no one knew their whereabouts and I’d be damned if I was going to come forward as the only witness to his horrible crimes. I’d never escape with my life or what was worse, would most definitely end up a sex slave in some other country. But mark my words, if I ever had the opportunity to exact revenge, I’d take it in a heartbeat. I’d never so much as punched anyone before – unless you counted siblings or my self-defense with the officers last night – but I would kill that monster in cold blood and not think twice about it.

“I think it’s more than the comfort of a soft place to sleep. I think deep down you know you can trust me.” Cannon’s voice brought me out of my disturbing thoughts. “I think that’s why you slept so soundly. You slept until I accidentally woke you, didn’t you?”

I nodded. After an actual shower and a decent meal in a real home, my body was definitely more at ease. And I had to admit to myself being around him didn’t raise my hackles in the slightest and if I were really being honest a lot of my tension had melted away. Not all of it, but after your family was slaughtered and now the mad man was after you and you had no one else, you tended to suffer from a bit of stress.

A pleased grin crossed his lips, like he had just won some sort of contest.

“What’s the smirk for?”

“I’m hoping you’re convinced you are safe here and can trust me and that you’ll stay and let me help you.”

I opened my mouth to object but he just ran over me with his speech. I was pretty certain he had rehearsed it all night. “Let’s have some food first. I know you haven’t eaten well or slept well in a while so we don’t want to get into a huge discussion right this moment. But you were comfortable enough to come home with me and then stay and looking at you now I don’t see as much tension rolling off of you. So you don’t have to share details with me yet. Let’s just hang out like new friends getting to know one another and you only have to tell me the parts you want me to know right now. As you get to know me better, I know you’ll want to share more.” His grin transformed into one I would expect to see when an unsuspecting nominee won the Grammy.

Once again, I had to ask myself, ‘did I want to run?’ Did I want to continue with the plan I had thrown together not even an hour after my brother was murdered right before my eyes? On my own, praying I could keep going and not get caught. I had rationed my money as best I could but maybe I could have lasted a little longer without . . . I shook my head. I couldn’t go back in time. Because God knows if I could I would go back to when I was trying to convince my brother to run and I would have physically dragged him out of my parents’ home.

“Hey, climb out of your head there.”

I glanced over to Cannon, who still stood off to my side and away from the door. And now that my heart had slowed to an almost normal rhythm, it hit me that Cannon was dressed only in a pair of low hanging lounge pants and the rate kicked up again. But this time not out of fear. His flawless chest, abs, and biceps drew my attention like a desert survivor looking for water. God, he was built like a wet dream, a policeman’s body for sure – toned and muscular. Pair that up with his strong jaw and sexy as hell stubble and I could have just melted into a puddle of goo where I sat. And I really had no business drooling like I was but it had been so long since I’d even been held by a guy much less intimate with one. It wasn’t high on my priority list – not much topped trying to survive – and when you were dressed like and smelled like you were homeless you tended only to draw revolting leers from guys with bad intentions. I didn’t think Cannon had a bad intention in his sexy as fuck body. But naughty ones? That was highly likely. I had to swallow my groan.

“You don’t have to make a decision right this instant. Let’s go get some breakfast and just go with it. I won’t press you for information. We can talk about other things and get to know one another and when you’re more comfortable, I’ll be ready to listen. And if you decide you don’t want my help, I won’t stand in your way.” It looked like he had to force out those last words.

I could do this. I’d stay on guard even though I was fairly certain I could trust him so I’d stay and see how things went. But at the first hint of trouble I was out of there. I glanced at the simple wooden clock that hung above Kaylie’s dresser. “It’s almost lunch time.”

“The first meal of the day is breakfast no matter what time it is.”

“Does that thinking come from working shifts?”

“That and my love for pancakes. So you’ll stay for a least a couple of days, for now.” He shot me an engaging smile. “But no pressure.”

I couldn’t help but return his smile. And it didn’t feel as forced as mine had been.

“Let me brush my teeth and hair first. I know you’ve already seen me really rough but I’d like to not revisit that even in the slightest.” At least around him. I had been embarrassed to have such a sexy hot guy see me in that condition but with the state of my life at the moment, I hadn’t given it much thought last night and actually tried to joke away my state of uncleanliness. But then he took me home with him and I . . .

“I thought you were beautiful even before you got cleaned up.” For a brief moment, his features twisted slightly, like he couldn’t believe he revealed that tidbit. “Meet me in the kitchen when you are ready.” His words were a little gruff as he strolled out of the room.

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