Page 64 of Boss

“It’s getting worse. The weatherman said the roads are wiped out,” he said.

“We’re stuck? No phone?” she asked.

“For now,” he said.

“For now? What does that mean?” she looked up into his eyes.

“Cash. The one who has your boyfriend, he’s on his way. The storm may slow him down, but he’ll get here. When he does, we’ll call the police and end this.”

She looked relieved. “He’s not my boyfriend,” she mumbled. Her gaze returned to the darkness covering his land. She didn’t seem bothered by his closeness, or the might of the storm, so he pushed his luck. “The bruises, are you in a lot of pain? Anything, ah, internal hurting?” he asked.

Kassidy frowned at him. She turned and walked back to the bathroom.

“There’s some Epsom salt in the cabinet. You can run a good hot bath and I—”

The door closed. He heard it lock. Tarek smiled. He thought the bathroom door didn’t have one. He walked over to it and listened, but didn’t hear anything.

“Soak a bit, yeah, that might help. There’s a robe in there. When you’re done you can come downstairs. I’ll make us something to eat while we wait.”

From the inside of the bathroom Kassidy stared at the door. She half-expected him to force it open, or unlock it like he had before. Instead, she heard him leave. She sighed in relief. He was fucking insane. Did he just invite her downstairs to dinner? After the hellish day and nightmare he put her through? And now they were stuck in the stupid storm waiting on some man, possibly crazier than him, to arrive. She paced the floor. But soon felt dizzy. She walked over to the tub and sat on the edge of it. She’d washed off in the sink earlier, tried to soothe her bruises that way but it didn’t work. Resigned to her fate, she turned on the tap and let the hot water flow. She winced as she stood, and then went to the cabinets to find the epsom salt to soak in.

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