Page 58 of Nowhere to Hide

Right now, I couldn’t think about the whys.

I just needed to find my way through this nightmare and heal.

Maybe I could convince Locke to keep driving his boat away from here. Perhaps we could find the edge of the world.

I had a feeling both of us were running.

I sat up and realized the boat wasn’t moving forward anymore. I scanned the horizon and didn’t find another boat or hint of land. I waited for the nerves to kick in, but all I felt was peace.

He suddenly thundered down the stairs and landed on the floor of the boat. I wasn’t sure what the main living space was called, but it was surprisingly wide.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”I tucked a hank of crispy hair behind my ear. God, I needed a shower.

And more importantly, a trip into the bathroom.

Finally nerves fluttered to life there. God, he’d have to carry me until the staples healed up a little more.

I cleared my throat. “Um, is there a bathroom?”

His lips tipped up in the corner. “You think I just piss off the side?”

I could feel heat blazing up my neck. “Obviously not.”

“Lucky for you, I upgraded the bathroom this spring. I needed a real shower.” He scooped me up without ceremony and I yelped.

“I can’t begin to picture how a bathroom works in here.”

“I have a special filter system that uses ocean water. It’s even got some water pressure.” He used his foot to push the sliding door between the outdoor space into main part of the lower deck. “You probably want a shower.”

I cleared my throat. “Kinda obvious I need one.”

That little grin tipped his lips up again. “Tell you what. If you have a bathing suit in that luggage I’ll help you. Then let you finish up.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“Okay. I’ll get you into the bathroom and you can do your business, then we’ll do a shower.”

I nodded.

“Okay, this is a bit of a tight fit. Each of the hulls has a place for sleeping. I mostly use one side for storage of food and my bikes and the other for a bedroom. I’ll crash out on the couch tonight, then I’ll set up the secondary bedroom tomorrow.”

I nodded. “I know I’m putting you out, but I do appreciate this, Locke.”

He nodded curtly.

When he got to the edge of the stairs down to the bedrooms, he paused. “I definitely didn’t think this part over.”

I looked down and tight fit was an understatement. “Maybe I can hop down the steps.”

“We’ll get there. For now, I think you’ll just have to do this.” He lifted me higher and my face was inches from his. The green and gray swirl of his eyes backed the breath up in my chest. The flash of something there was quickly masked into a stony indifference. Then I was draped over his shoulder.

I yelped as his hand clamped over my good thigh to keep me in place. “Holy shit! Don’t drop me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve carried guys a lot bigger than you across a desert. This is nothing.”

Didn’t feel like ‘nothing’ to me.