*** NEW AND IMPROVED ***
With her father missing, Shay will do anything to get him back, even if that means teaming up with a cruel gang leader and his band of psychotic men.
CHARACTER VIEWS DO NOT REPRESENT MY OWN.
***WARNING*** OFFENSIVE CON...
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SO COLD
THE WEATHER FORECASTER PREDICTED a morning with rain, an afternoon with biting cold wind and an evening with heavy storms and grumbling thunder. I slipped back into room 308 at 8:53 a.m., and found Cole beginning to wake up. He propped up pillows behind him, sitting up and still half-asleep, asked. "Where did you go?"
"Coffee," I offered him a cup. I had nabbed a couple of Styrofoam cups from the breakfast table on my way to the elevator and used it as an excuse. I set my coffee down on the desk table and brushed my hair behind my ears. I was depleted, I spent the night fending off Oscar and playing an uncomfortable and torturous back and forth game with him.
Cole glanced at me weirdly and asked casually. "Sleep well?"
I gruntednoncommittally.
He rubbed a hand through his beard and said slowly. "I woke up around four, you weren't here." His accusation glowered at me from across the room.
"I went outside to take a walk, I couldn't rest properly at first. I had a lot on my mind."
"How long?"
"What?"
"How long was your walk?"
"What is this, an inquisition? Why are you giving me the third degree?"
"I was merely curious,"
"Your curiosity reeks of suspicion. What do you suspect me of?"
"Nothing," he lied, smiled falsely and then dropped the expression. His daring gaze met mine. "I want you to tell me where you go from now on."
"Why?"
"For safety."
"That feels like a half-truth. I like my freedom, Cole. I love my independence. If I run into any trouble, you'll be the first to know. I don't need to write down wherever I go. If it's any longer than an hour, I'll be strapped. Would that calm your raging nerves?"
"You're lying to me, Shay." He kept his tone light, eyes stormy. "I won't pester you for what's keeping you up at night any longer. That doesn't mean I don't eventually want to know. I'll be patient and give you the time and space you need. Whatever it is, deal with it. If you can't then ask for help. If you don't trust me, then ask James or Irvin or Oscar. Anyone."
I opened my mouth to confess but I became immobilised. I couldn't. Not after I snuck out to meet Oscar. I spent the rest of the night with him. Cole might understand me now but he'd lived with a small amount of doubt that would grow over time. He was a paranoid, insecure man. There was no way in hell he wouldn't regard me with a side-eyed glance if I blabbed. It would ruin what we barely have. Mistrust and jealousy would follow him wherever he went and his iron-fisted hand would tighten until it choked the life out of me.
