Page 8 of Purgatory (Devil Dogs of the Apocalypse #1)

Alessandra

Groaning, I shift on the bed, stretching my arms overhead and curving my body into the soft sheets.

I try to replay my trip back from the store but I can’t, for the life of me, remember coming home and climbing into bed.

I must’ve been more tired than I realized.

Come to think of it, I still am. My limbs are heavy and I’m having trouble opening my eyes.

After a few feeble tries, I finally manage to open them and look around at the plush, white comforter.

I thought the sheets in the master bedroom were blue...and where are the pictures on the vanity?

Thoroughly confused, I, clumsily, climb out of the bed. It's only then that I realize that something is very wrong with my current situation.

“Ok, what the hell is going on? Where are my clothes?” I say to the empty room, chastising it for its obvious connection to my wardrobe robbery.

I’m in just my bra and shorts, no longer wearing my shirt, socks or sneakers.

While the socks and sneakers are clearly not the issue, my missing shirt, however, is completely abnormal.

As far back as I can remember, a shirt was, literally, the one thing I wore to bed.

Every. Night. No bra... no shorts. The exact opposite of my current state of dress.

My eyebrows draw together as I try to force my brain to start working for the day.

Coming up empty, I shake my head and move on.

I must have really been out of it when I got back... they must be around here somewhere.. .

I take a turn about the room, lifting the comforter in the hopes that my clothes might have been tossed under but, when I find nothing resembling them, I rise to find myself staring at the items on the shelves and not recalling any memory of them from my earlier exploration.

There seems to be a beachy theme going on.

Dark, walnut bed with white linens, seashells on the shelves, and water paintings on the walls depicting sailboats floating off in the sunset.

I think I would have remembered something like this...

“What in the hell?” I whisper, gazing curiously, dashing my head back and forth, willing myself to find something, ANYTHING , resembling one of rooms I saw at the house this morning.

“Nothing... nothing is the same. What. The. Fuck? Where the hell am I? Ok, calm down, I can figure this out.” I grab ahold of the dresser, suddenly feeling light headed. The entire situation taking its toll on me.

Holy shit I'm dizzy. Sit down. I need to sit down.

I lower myself to the floor. The heels of my hands going to my eyes and forehead, trying to calm myself down. Just then, I hear someone talking from somewhere else in the house.

“We’ll talk about this more later, for now go outside and help Jax while I check her out.”

Ok now, what the ever-loving fuck? Did someone just say something or am I adding new voices to my previous hallucinations?

I turn my head to the side, ears intent on listening for anything. The window is open but it’s quiet. The sun is starting to set.

Creak...creak...creak...

“Ah, shit. I definitely heard that.” It sounds like someone climbing stairs.

“ But that’s impossible. I didn’t see anyone in this house this morning.

I was sure of it, I was alone.” I gasp and clamp a hand over my loudly running mouth to silence myself.

Quickly running out of options, I fly to the closet, fling the door open and throw myself inside, landing with a thud, turning and slowly pushing the door closed just as the door to the bedroom swings open.

Shit that was close...

The door to the closet is one that has those little horizontal ventilation slats, perfect for me to look out at what I’m dealing with. I gasp now but for an entirely different reason.

A man enters the room. He looks a little older than me. Tall, with auburn hair cut short, and muscles peeking out from the second skin he would call a t-shirt, pairing perfectly with khaki cargo shorts and sneakers.

Hello there...

I know I haven’t seen another soul in months but even if I did, this man would rank in the top ten hottest list of all time.

He is brutally handsome with his emerald green eyes, slight stubble and obvious six pack barely hiding behind the fabric.

Blowing out a breath, I will myself to stay coherent and still, all the while watching and waiting.

Holy shit, it’s getting warm in here...

He takes a quick look around, then walks back to the door and briefly leans out. Turning back in, he takes a look at the bed’s crumpled sheets and then his eyes glance up to the closet almost as if he’s staring right at me through the door.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Hey, I know you’re probably scared, but I just want to help. You passed out in the village and you need fluids.” He holds up a water bottle and shakes it. “I’m sure you’re feeling a bit dizzy and confused. I got some water for you. It’ll help.”

HAH! Yea, right, like I'm going to ingest anything from a stranger. Even if that stranger is Christian Grey hot. Could have poisoned it for all I know. Nice try, pretty boy.

He sighs and his shoulders slump slightly, “Look, I’ll just leave this near the door for you and you can drink it when you’re ready.

We just want to make sure you’re ok. It was a hot one today and you might be experiencing symptoms of heat exhaustion.

You need to drink it in order to get better if what I suspect is true. ”

Heat exhaustion? Well, that explains things... I shift closer to the door.

In a softer voice he speaks again, moving closer to the closet.

When he’s within an arm's reach he crouches down and puts his hand on the wall just to the side of the door. He looks up as he speaks, almost looking directly into my eyes, seeming genuinely concerned and intrigued. “We haven’t seen anyone else in the village for a few weeks now. Is it just you?”

“ Me, myself and I..., ” I sigh as I fiddle with the carpet.

“Oh good. I'm not talking to myself.” He smiles, laughing a little to himself.

Oh, great holy monkey balls! I said that out loud, didn’t I? Fucking cock nuggets, I knew talking to myself would bite me in the ass. So much for hiding my presence. I’d make the worst spy/ assassin ever. Son of a -

“ I’m Cole. What’s your name?”

Well, no better time than the present...

“Alessandra...”

He smiles wide, revealing two dimples on his face and I instantly swoon and bite my lip to stifle the whimper creeping up my wanton throat .

Oh, he’s not making this a fair fight at all. Of course his smile would be amazing! Stupid neglected hormones can’t compete with this...

“Nice to meet you, Alessandra. That’s a beautiful name. Would you like to come out now so that I can help you or would you like to continue talking like this?”

I look down at myself and remember I'm barely wearing any clothes.

“Um, where is my shirt?”

“We had to take it off to help you cool down. It’s right here. I can hand it to you if you’d like to put it back on, but leaving it off, for now, will help lower your body temperature faster. It’s up to you though.”

That makes sense, I guess...

Taking a quick look around the closet, I see that there’s nothing in here resembling a t-shirt. I weigh my dwindling options and realize I only have one.

Looks like we’re gonna have to trust the pretty boy serial killer after all...

Resolved to my fate, I slowly rise to my feet and crack the door open.

He stands up and steps back, allowing me to open the door at my own speed.

Reluctantly, I reveal myself and take in a glance of him up close and personal.

I stare up at his gorgeous face while my body involuntarily shakes in apprehension.

“Hi”

“Hi”

My breathing grows shallow and I start to sway on my feet. My vision going blurry.

“Here, I've got you. It’s ok, lean on me,” he says gently, holding me with one hand around my waist, the other taking my arm and putting it over his shoulder.

He walks me over to the bed and motions for me to sit down while handing me the bottle of water.

I’m too tired and overwhelmed at this point to argue so I do as he wishes and end up gulping the water, not realizing how thirsty I was.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. You’ll cramp up if you drink it too fast.”

He takes the bottle from me and pulls out a digital thermometer from the bag I must not have noticed him come in with.

“Hold still.”

I do so easily because I'm staring at him. My sluggish eyes find his face and I'm mesmerized. Like a moth to the flame.

Come on Aly, it’s not like you’ve never seen a guy before... pull yourself together...

“But he’s so nice to look at...”

He licks his lips and smirks, averting his eyes to the opposite wall.

I did it again didn’t I? Smooth Aly... so smooth... ugh.

I take a deep breath in and try to hide my embarrassment when the thermometer beeps.

“100.2, not bad but still not where I want you.”

I know where I want you ...

He smiles coyly, laughing to himself once again. It’s then I realize I’m wearing a flirty smile on my face, complete with a cocked eyebrow. Yeah... he knows exactly where my mind just went.

“Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.” He leaves through the door and after a moment I hear water running from what I can only suspect is the bathroom. A few short seconds later he returns and puts a damp cloth over my forehead.

“This should help a bit more. Lie back down.”

I sigh at the cool feeling of it and the gentle brush of his fingers combing through my hair. I’m not even sure if he realizes he’s doing it or if he’s simply trying to make me feel more comfortable. Either way it’s magical and I can feel myself dozing off again.

“Go ahead and rest. We’ll watch over you. Nothing’s going to hurt you here.”

As I’m being pulled under, I manage to hoarse out a quiet “thank you” before the darkness claimed me once again.