Safe In Your Arms Read Online Free Page B

island. It had felt wonderful to close his eyes for a few hours. Rest would not find him here. Never again.
    He listened, but as always the house was quiet, the noise cut off by thick walls and even thicker rugs. He didn’t bother to remove his shoes as he once had in reverence to Mrs. Faucher, a woman who had once been kind enough to bake him chocolate chip cookies when he came with his father to fix the pump on their Jacuzzi. She was a nice woman with kind brown eyes and a gentle voice. He guessed her death hadn’t been half as easy as that good woman deserved. He never ventured into the basement. Never.
    Gabe left the living room, his steps slowing without his realizing it as he moved down the hallway to the middle of the home and the circular stairway that split into two sections. The railing was smooth polished wood the color of rich chocolate. His hand slid up it, his legs protesting the climb up almost as much as his mind. The swim over from the mainland was always taxing, but he also had to carry an unconscious woman with him this time. Add not sleeping to the equation and his body was exhausted.
    Whether the woman was there when he went back or not, he was going to lie down and catch some shut-eye when he was finished with his chores. He swore under his breath as he shook his head at his poor choice of words. When did this become a chore? His gut clenched as he reached the top of the stairs and turned to the left wing. There was a room at the very end. A room that he wished he would never have to go into again.
    The idea of soaking the carpets with gasoline and flicking a match to it as he left the house once more entered his mind as an option. No one would blame him. No one could blame him. Everyone who could condemn him was gone, either dead or one of them. His shoulders sagged as he forced himself to move down the hall. There was never a choice, not when it was a decision concerning family. He was bound by more than his word to keep control of the situation. Control was what he would need, lots of it, if he was to deal with the stubborn Miss Brady. Gabe just hoped she would be easy to get rid of. He didn’t need a spoiled child to look after on top of his other obligations. His eyes landed on the barricaded door with the slit cut above the wooden boards keeping it closed. He picked up the hammer lying on the plush carpet, testing its weight with his hand before he looked through the slit in the door. His heart ached as he closed his eyes and stepped back to drop the heavy bag on the floor.
    As he set about pulling the boards off the door, his one thought was that he hoped Mina acted out of character just this once and followed directions. He’d hate like hell to have to kill her.
    ***
    Mina wasn’t exactly full, but she wasn’t about to eat all his rations. Though it would serve him right. She slugged down a big gulp of water and wiped her mouth with her arm. Things sure had changed. She’d never drunk right from the jug, nor had she eaten straight from a tin can. Cold corn eaten with one’s fingers seemed pale in comparison to the elegant meals she was used to before Z-Day.
    Mina placed the can opener on the stand next to the canned food and set the empty can beside it. He didn’t possess a garbage bag and she was not so uncivilized that she would feel comfortable with just tossing it on the floor. The big shirt slid down her arm as she stood up to move toward the blanketed doorway. The smoke made her want to bend down and warm her hands, but the need to pee took priority. She carefully circled the fire and grasped the scratchy fabric of the blanket. She gasped in surprise as she realized the blanket wasn’t a blanket, but a camo-net. It was clearly army-grade material. She wondered where her benevolent hero obtained it. Stepping out from under the net, she grimaced at the brightness. The sun shone warmly right in her face, burning her eyes as she left the dark protection of the cave.
    Lifting her arm