Page 18 of Rescuing Josiah
But he’d been hiding out in the gym ever since they got home.
She had tried to hint that it might be nice if they celebrated their successful appointment with Dr. Wood by getting some takeout, or making lunch together, maybe enjoying the hot tub in their courtyard garden. Really, she would have settled for anything, even just chilling and watching a movie. Only he hadn't taken any of her hints, leaving for the basement the second they were through the door.
A couple of times she’d gone down to check on him, just to make sure he was okay, and she’d heard him pounding away on the punching bag that was in the gym. As much as she’d wanted to interrupt him, remind him she was okay, and ask him to come and spend a little time with her, she’d chickened out every single time.
Something about the fury burning in his dark eyes in Dr. Wood’s office held her back.
Not because she thought Josiah would ever lay his hands on her no matter how angry he was, he wasn't that kind of man. It was just … she had no idea how she was supposed to help him let go of that anger.
She wanted to, though.
Badly.
Some days it was all she could think about. And right now, here with Josiah, the two of them sharing a home, pretending to be married, it was hard to think about anything else. As much as she wanted to play her part in helping bring down the organ trafficking ring, she equally wanted to help Josiah however she could.
Problem was, she didn't have the first clue how to start.
With a sigh, she shook her head, passed the room with the shower running, and headed back downstairs.
It was boring being stuck here with nothing to do. She wanted to spend time with Josiah, maybe that would help her figure out how she could best help him, but he didn't seem inclined to spend any time with her.
Seemed that one evening of taking care of her when she was sick was all she was getting out of him.
Better than nothing she supposed as she flopped down onto the couch and picked up her book. And at least she was feeling better today. The medication still had her feeling slightly nauseous, and definitely lacking an appetite, but it wasn't anything she couldn’t handle.
That’s what Josiah didn't seem to get.
He thought she wasn't cut out for this kind of work. Granted, she had no official training, beyond Prey’s self-defense training, which she got was nothing but a drip in the ocean compared to what Josiah had, but she could handle a weapon, and she did know a lot of self-defense, so she felt she could hold her own if it came down to it.
But it wasn't going to come down to it.
This was about playing a role and that was something she was good at. As she’d proved today. The whole fainting thing had worked exactly like she’d wanted it to. Josiah worried because of what had happened to his team, she understood that, but this wasn't the same thing at all.
Even if the worst happened and they were caught, all they had to do was activate Teresa’s trackers and Prey would come for them.
Easy peasy.
Now how could she convince Josiah of that?
Especially if he wouldn't even talk to her.
Fixing her attention back on her book, she was just going to have to wait for Josiah to come to her. Badly as she wanted to, you couldn’t help someone who didn't want to be helped, and right now, Josiah didn't want to be helped.
No more than a couple of minutes later, a phone began to ring.
It wasn't hers, because she had different ringtones for every person in her contact list, and none of them were playing right now.
Must be Josiah’s phone. She hadn't even realized it was there, she assumed he’d had it with him in the basement, and that it was now upstairs in the bedroom or bathroom. Wanting to make sure it wasn't Prey, she set her book down and crossed to where the sound was coming from, finding Josiah’s cell phone on a small end table.
There was a name on the screen, and it said it was Josiah’s mom. Not Prey, but still a call he would want to take.
Worried that the call wouldn't last long enough for her to get the phone all the way upstairs, she scooped it up and answered. Josiah wouldn't mind, he’d want to speak with his mother, it could be something important.
“Hello,” she said, bringing the phone to her ear.
“Hello?” the voice on the other end said. “Who is this? Is everything okay? Where’s Josiah?”
“Mrs. Fleet?”
