Page 57 of Fear of Flames
Michelle laid her head on the soft cushioned arm of the sofa, pulled one of the recently folded blankets over her, and closed her eyes.
Her scream pierced the air. “Stop.” She pushed with all her might against her attacker. The gun. She needed to get to the gun. “Stop.” Her fists beat against his chest as he tried to carry her.
“Chell.”
She opened her eyes, finding herself in Fletch’s arms, him staring at her with a bewildered expression. “Oh my God.”
He’d placed her back on the couch.
Michelle sat up and buried her face in her hands. “I’m sorry. I think it was a nightmare.”
He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have snuck up on you. I wanted you to stay asleep.” Fletch sat beside her and reached for her hands. “Fuck, you didn’t show these to me.”
He was talking about her wrists. It appeared as if she were wearing two large purple bracelets designed in the distinctive pattern of fingerprints.
Michelle tugged the cuffs of her shirt down. “They’ll heal.”
“Makes me wish I would have killed the motherfucker.”
She knew she should be appalled by a death threat. She wasn’t. In the short time she’d known Fletch, she’d decided that protecting was his way of showing he cared. “Hopefully, the deputy had a whopper of a headache.”
“I didn’t mean to wake you. I was going to put you in bed.” He looked around the living room and kitchen area. “This place has never looked this good.” He grinned. “Hell, I didn’t know it could.”
“After days of driving, it felt good to do something.”
“How about that bed thing?” he asked.
She nodded. “I’m tired. Maybe a few hours’ sleep, and we can get back on a normal cycle.”
“I can carry you.”
That made her smile. “I’m capable of walking.” As they both stood, she turned to him. “What about you? Are you going to get some sleep?”
“A few hours. I have to meet with Peterson at 0900.”
“What day is tomorrow?” Michelle asked, uncertain. The last week had been a blur that seemed much longer than one week.
“Today is Friday. Tomorrow is Saturday. There are no days off in the agency.”
She nibbled her upper lip. “What if he says I can’t stay here?”
Fletch didn’t hesitate. “Then I go where you go. He’s not going to want to lose me.”
It was crazy how natural it felt when Michelle came out of the bathroom wearing her usual bedtime attire of soft shorts and an oversized t-shirt to find Fletch wearing only his boxer briefs.
He must have been waiting for her because he stood from the side of the bed and met her. Taking her hands, he squeezed them. “Thank you. I’m embarrassed you had to clean.”
“Don’t be.”
He tilted his head, the tips of his hair curling near his wide shoulder. “I guess I’m normally a slob, but damn, even the bathroom’s sparkling.”
Michelle smiled. “It felt good to do something for you. You’ve done everything for me. I’ve been thinking about it. I grabbed the cash I had at home, but it’s only a few hundred dollars. Will I be able to access the money from my accounts?”
“Not if you’re officially missing.”
“What about my father’s estate? I don’t know that he had a lot, but…”
Fletch shook his head.
