Ironic really, considering this is where it happened, but at the same time, I need this, need to be back in the thick of it all so I’m not scared by it. Get back to the one thing I can focus on. “Fucking hell.” The words do nothing to abate the pressure in my chest, and frankly, I’m sick of feeling it. The one I fixated on as fear and pain contorted her face because regardless of the false hope I clung to, that sound told me the truth I couldn’t run from. No matter how much time has passed, I can still hear that unsteady thread in her breath. “Just a dream,” I mutter into the silence, hoping the sound of my voice chases away the ghosts still lurking.īut it’s no use. The nightmare slowly fades into the darkness of my hotel room as I wake, leaving me with nothing but the thundering of my pulse in my ears, along with memories I wish I could erase and a chest damp with sweat. The shrieks of mass chaos and the sound of desperate and injured people suffering ring in my ears, the scent of gunpowder and blood haunts my psyche as my own shout dies on my lips. “Be careful whom you trust – the devil was once an angel, you know.”Īnd with that she walks off the elevator without another word, her comment already replaying in my mind. “Good,” she says matter-of-factly as the car alerts our arrival on the twelfth floor. “I don’t trust you,” I say evenly, but it cuts through the silence. Tension is so thick in the car, you can all but see it. I wait for the snide comment to come, but she just turns and faces the doors of the elevator without pushing the button for the eighth floor. You remember where that is, right?” I angle my head, stare at her, and enjoy watching her cheeks flush with anger. She looks over to me and raises her eyebrows in question. Just when the doors start to open up again without the car ascending, Beaux steps forward and presses the button for the twelfth floor. The doors close, but neither of us moves in a game of chicken. I step in right behind her, lean against the rear wall, and fold my arms across my chest to mimic her posture. The elevator doors open on cue as we approach. I just want to make sure she’s nice and tucked away in her room where I don’t have to worry about her for a bit while I try to drum up some leads. If she knows I’m beside her, she doesn’t acknowledge it, and that’s fine with me. The barely chilled air-conditioned lobby of the hotel meets us as we enter, but it feels like heaven in contrast to the stifling heat outside.
HOPE LONG TO BEAT WIPEOUT 2048 PROFESSIONAL
I lie to myself that I want to talk to her to establish some kind of ground rules about how we’ll work together, try to restore a professional level, but I know I’m just making sure she gets back into the confines of the hotel safely. My feet kick up the dirt on the street as I try to catch up to her. I swear I hear her mutter something about always looking for trouble, but I miss the rest of it when a car passes in between us, the sound drowning out her voice. She just shakes her head and starts walking away from me, but at least she’s moving in the direction of the hotel. “You can’t go that way unless you’re looking for trouble.” I decide to ignore her comment. Her small frame sways from the contact, and I’m beside her in two strides. “I said stay away… and it’s BJ to you.” She stops and turns around, but a passerby on the sidewalk bumps harshly against her shoulder. “Beaux!” She just keeps walking, causing my better judgment to win out over my obstinacy. “Beaux!” Even when I say her name, I’m cursing myself for it.
HOPE LONG TO BEAT WIPEOUT 2048 FULL
So why in the flying fuck am I walking back toward her? I guess babysitting mode is in full effect, and I hate that I’m playing the part of nanny and putting the baby gate around her. I squeeze my eyes shut momentarily with my hands fisted at my side, telling myself it’s none of my business where she goes or what she does. That there’s nothing but a maze of alleys and a few unsavory characters I’ve been warned about by my own sources. Out of habit, I turn to watch her and curse myself when I want to tell her she can’t go that way.
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