Page 77 of The Night Shift

I steal a glance at her. She’s still streaked with a little blood—dried now, dark against her skin. Her posture is resolute, her side profile is sharp and rigid against the fluorescent lighting reflecting off the metal surface. Her lips are pursed in a thin line. Her knuckles white around the shovel. She seems adamant. Scared. Like a caged tiger pacing in its enclosure.

The elevator grounds to a halt. The doors slide open. We walk out. The shrill ring of Holly’s phone pierces the air and for the first time in the past fifty-eight minutes, Holly finally meets my eyes, a shared flicker of fear sparking between us.

Her phone.

Hesitation stretches; seconds bleed into eternity. Holly’s hand flies to her pocket and she pulls out the dastardly device, her eyes glued to the screen.Her shoulders slump. She slides to answer the call. “Hey, Cami.”

A pause.

“Yeah, no I just got home.” We make our way to the front door of her flat. “I took care of it, don’t worry. Yes, I’m alone.”

That makes me glance at her — she glances back.

“I’ll fill you in on everything tomorrow,” she tells Camille while keeping her eyes on me. “Uh-huh. Yup, got it. Bye. Goodnight.” She hangs up and I wait a full two seconds after she puts the phone back into her pocket before speaking up.

“Yes, I’m alone?” I parrot.

“Shut up.” She has gone back to not looking at me, but at least she’s done giving me the silent treatment.

“I’m just saying, if you’re going to keep secrets from your best friend, we might as well do something worth keeping a secret.”

She flips me off, but I see the way her neck flushes. She places the shovel down, resting the head against the wall, and punches in her access code. The keypad flashes green and I step inside first to ensure that the place is empty and safe from any knife-wielding maniacs — apart from Holly, of course.

Dim lights and the view of the city from a wall of windows illuminate the living room. I start walking towards her bedroom.

Holly grabs my arm and pulls me back. “Where do you think you’re going?”

My skin tingles where her fingers touch my skin, and if I was fourteen years old, I’d swear to not wash my arm forever. “To your bedroom.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Do you want me to check your bathroom first?” I ask, remembering that’s where I hid two nights back.

“Theo, I’m not letting you waltz into my bedroom this late at night. There’s obviously no one here. You can leave.”

“Please don’t start being difficult again.” I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. “You have an early shift tomorrow, do you not?”

She smacks my hand away. “Leave.”

“No.”

She doesn’t budge. “You are not entering my bedroom.”

“Why not, love? It’s not like I haven’t been in there before.”

I really need to learn the art of when to shut up. Because if looks could kill, I would be chopped and flayed into tiny pieces before being flung to wild dogs. “Have you always been this much of a raging asshole?”

“That depends. Have you always been this fun to annoy?”

Her gaze narrows. She looks me straight in the eyes when she says, “I want to cut you.”

“So you’ve said.” I glance at my torso. “And done.”

Her lips press together in a thin, tight line. “Trust me. I haven’t done nearly enough to you.”

Okay, I won’t lie. This is really starting to hurt. And not in the way my tender stab wound has been hurting for the past hour and a half. No, this hurts worse. I thought we were making progress, but I guess not. Her stubbornness makes me want to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. Howcan you still not see that I’m only trying to help you? How can you still not see that I’m on your team? I have been stalking you for two and a half years! If I wanted to torture you, I would have done it a long time ago! I don’t want to hurt you! I just want to be close to you!

I inhale and exhale through my nose.