Dreamchaser

'Safe House'

I awoke in an unfamiliar bed, my head ached as I tried to put the pieces together. Sam was nowhere to be seen, what if he'd been too hurt to follow us. What if something worse had happened and I'd just left him alone. My breathing quickened and I held my chest, begging my heart to calm down before I passed out again. Now was not the time to panic.

The sky was dark outside of the only tiny window in the room, still night at least. The bag I'd left in the car sat in a small chair beside the bed and I fumbled with the clasp, pulling out the clothes I'd hidden, sweats and the black hoodie I'd... borrowed from the attic. The dreamy scent was calming enough to stop my hands from shaking as I desperately ripped off the god-awful dress. A pair of trainers had been left on the floor in place of the heels, I hadn't managed to fit spare shoes in the bag without it looking too obvious. Sliding them on, I threw the bag over my shoulder and cracked open the door a fraction.

Two burly men stood watch on either side, scarred all over and clearly there to make sure I didn't leave. I closed the door quietly, thankful it didn't make a sound, and reassessed the room. All of the windows were locked, including the bathroom and no other exit points. This was a prison. I'd left one only to walk right into another. There was murmuring outside the door, and I leant up against it trying to hear their conversation.

"Is she awake yet? What do you mean you don't know? Have you checked she's even alive?" The sounds grew louder and I rushed back to the bathroom, locking it behind me. Someone burst through the door and paused. I pressed my ear as close as possible but couldn't hear any movement.

A loud knock startled me from my hiding place, hoping the door would hold as the handle rattled. "Miss Adams? Are you in there? Hello?" I stayed silent, maybe they would just leave if I ignored it. "Miss, you'll have to let me know you're alive so I don't have to break down the door." A few seconds of quiet passed before I heard him step back.

"Wait! I'm okay." I panicked, hearing a sigh of relief from the other side.

"Good to know, are you coming out? It's hard to have a conversation through a door." Shit. If I go out there, they'll have won and probably drag me off somewhere unpleasant. But if I didn't, they'd probably break the door down and do it anyway.

"Just a second." I ran the tap and splashed water over my make up streaked face, wiping away as much as I could with a towel as I gave myself another pep talk. You've already been through the worst, there's nothing else they can do to you that you haven't already experienced. You can do this.

I pulled open the door carefully, squinting through the crack. I saw Aamon's panic stricken face which slowly calmed as he assessed I was indeed alive and not offing myself in the bathroom.

"I know you're scared but I promise we're not going to hurt you; Samael would have more than our heads if we did." A brief moment of relief followed by curiosity. They seemed afraid of him, yet they were here willingly. More questions I mentally jotted down.

"Where am I? And why are there guards outside? Do you really think I can take out two huge men alone?"

He arched a brow like I was capable of doing such a thing. "It's a safe house, no one else knows about it other than those Samael trusts and there aren't many of those. The guards are here for your protection." A lie, I was almost certain.

"Protection from what? If no one else knows about this place who would hurt me?" I hadn't seen him nervous before, always so composed and calm just getting on with his job. But now his face twitched awkwardly, looking anywhere but at me. It would be entertaining if it was anyone else, but I couldn't help but feel bad for him. I sighed heavily and pulled the door open all the way. He looked relieved but still wary.