“No. Because if he wasn’t the one I was running from then how the hell many people are after me.”
“Good point. So you don’t think you’re safe?”
Sydney heaved out a sigh. “No,” she grudgingly admitted.
“You don’t think he was alone?”
“No. As much as I would like to, I don’t think he was working alone.”
“Why not?”
“Short Man—” at his confused look she explained, “—the dead guy in your truck—has been...stalking me, I guess. For a couple of days—.”
“What?! You should have told me!”
Sydney couldn’t figure out why he would think she should have told him. Why would I have involved him if I had a choice? “I didn’t plan on bringing anyone into this shit!”
Xander shook his head and raked his fingers through his hair. “You are one crazy woman.”
“Why? Well...I mean besides the obvious?”
He shook his head again and waved her on. “Why are you sure he isn’t alone?”
Sydney hesitated again. “It’s gets even crazier.”
“I can’t wait,” his gravelly voice sounded even hoarser than usual.
“The other day, I had a really weird dream…” Xander drew up in surprise, not having expected the twist in the story. “I dreamed that I was...I don’t know. Lost? Wandering and confused. I kept asking for help but no one could understand me. I mean, I was speaking English but everyone acted like they couldn’t understand me even though they were speaking English too. It was like they were hearing a different language. And I had a weird, glowing ball that I was carrying like it was super important and I couldn’t let it go. I told Shay about it and she decided to look up the meaning of it.”
Xander snorted. “Of course.”
“By accident, she found a blog with a guy who had also just had the same dream. He found other people who had dreamed almost the same thing. People had been talking about it on Facebook and stuff.”
“So, you and a bunch of other people all had the same weird dream at the same time.”
Sydney shrugged. “More or less. There is a time difference, but yeah, the night before we all dreamed very similar dreams.”
“Whoa.” Xander was at a loss of what to say.
“Right?”
“How does that happen?”
“I don’t know.”
“Fuck. This is weird.”
“Yeah. I know.”
Xander got up and brought two more beers out. Syd hadn’t even realized she had finished hers and was still holding the empty bottle. He took the empty and replaced it with the cold new one and chills rose across her arms.
Once he was seated again he spoke. “How did you make it to Chicago?”
Her throat tightened “I hitchhiked.”
“That’s pretty dangerous. And risky if you were on the run.”
“Well...the truck driver didn’t really know I was riding along,” Syd smiled sheepishly.
“How’s that?”
“I came across one of those semi-trucks towing a bunch of new pickup trucks. It was late and no one saw me climb in the bed of one. I hopped out the next morning and we were in the city.”
“Damn,” Xander chuckled looking impressed and Sydney tried to not feel too proud of herself. “Does Shay know any of this?”
“Hell no. I didn’t want anyone to know about any of this. I only told her about the dream. And that was just because I didn’t think it was a big deal at the time.”
“I guess that explains why you’re so paranoid and…”
“And what?”
“...shut off.”
“Whatever,” she shrugged.
“You’ve only lived with Shay for about three months. What did you do for the other month?”
Now her tight throat constricted so much that it took her a couple of tries to swallow. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
Xander raised a brow. “Why?”
“Just...just drop it,” she snapped more harshly than she meant to.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “For now.”
She let out a heavy breath and leaned back into the sofa. “I’m sorry.”
“For which part?”
“Dragging you into this mess.”
He shrugged and smiled slyly. “It’s OK. You owe me now.”
Sydney’s stomach jerked, not altogether unpleasantly. What the hell is wrong with me? How can we flirt at a time like this? What’s wrong with both of us? she corrected herself.
Chapter Sixteen
Sydney jerked awake, surprised that she had fallen asleep. The last thing that she remembered was Xander rolling a joint and on top of the beers she must have passed out right away. Her head throbbed again, a feeling that was becoming as annoying as it was familiar. She sniffed and her nose felt heavy causing her to wrinkle her brow. When a metallic taste flooded her mouth she sat up quickly pinching her nose. Either she didn’t act quickly enough or the nosebleed was a bad one because she felt the warm liquid drip over her lip. With her head tilted back to try to stop the blood from dripping onto her shirt she jumped from the couch and tried to find something to sop up the blood just by feel. At the same time the office door flew open and Xander drew up short at the sight of her fumbling around with blood running down her face.
“Shit! Here.” Xander held something out to her and she took it without looking. When she stopped pinching her nose the blood gushed out in thick bubbles.
“Fuck!” she sputtered.
“Here! Hold still.” He pressed the cloth against her nose and tilted her head back over his hand. Sydney tried to ignore the feel of his rough, calloused hand against her neck but it was a struggle. “Let’s sit down,” he leaned her towards the couch and Syd followed his lead. She wasn’t sure how it happened, but by the time they were both seated she was leaning back into his shoulder and he supported her weight with one arm and held the balled up something against her nose. She wanted to tell him she was fine and that she could take care of it, but the feel of his hard chest against her shoulder and his leg stretched out on the couch next to hers stopped her. And don’t even think about where your butt is right now girl, she warned herself.
Finally, when she felt like she had regained her breath enough to sound normal, Sydney pushed at Xander’s arm. “I think it’s stopped now,” her voice was muffled and stuffy. He helped her sit up and slowly pulled the compress away.
“Shit!” he exclaimed. “That was one hell of a nosebleed.” He held up what turned out to be a wadded up tee shirt. A dark pool of blood was seeping into the cloth.
“Damn. That one was bad.”
“That one?”
“Yeah, that’s the other thing…I’ve been getting nosebleeds for a couple of days now.”
Xander examined her face and using a fresh corner of the shirt, wiped at the remains of the blood. Annoyance, colored by embarrassment and more than a little heat, flared through her. She tried to pull away but he held her chin firmly. “I used to get nosebleeds a lot when I was a kid. If the weather was too dry. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that dry lately. Do you have a lot of allergy problems?” She stared at him pointedly until he finally met her eyes. “Oh, I guess you wouldn’t know,” he chuckled, finally letting her chin go.
“You’re taking this awfully well,” she took the opportunity to scoot away from him while she had it.
Xander shrugged. “It all seems crazy enough to be real, I guess. Even if you’re crazy and none of its true, I did kill a guy yesterday, so…” he trailed off.
“Yesterday?”
“Yeah, you’ve been asleep for about ten hours.”
“Dammit. Shay?”
“She tried calling you.”
“And?”
“And...I answered your phone and told her we were getting shit faced and you wouldn’t be home.”
“Oh, I bet she loved that.”
“Yeah,” he snorted. “There was squealing.”
“Well, she could think worse.”
“You mean like we killed a guy and are hiding out at my garage?”
“Yeah, exactly like that.” After a pause she spoke again. “Sorry you had to kill him,” her voice was small but heavy with gratitude.
“He was trying to kill you. It’s not like I bashed in the head of an innocent father of three or something. I’m not going to feel guilty for killing a bad guy.”
“Still though…”
“I just can’t believe you managed to hide having amnesia for this long,” Xander shook his head.
“Well, you and Shay don’t exactly ask a lot of questions.”
“True.”
“And Zak and I have never really been close and he doesn’t really pay attention to anything except his own stuff.”
“Right.”
“What have you been doing while I was being Rip Van Winkle?”
“Working on a new piece…”
“Oh! Can I see it?”
“Not yet.”
Sydney had been avoiding looking at Xander. She had been staring at the floor working really hard at ignoring how close he was to her right now. Her body felt like a compass and he was north. I have got to get away from this man. She sighed, knowing the truth of that thought. Not only did she not want to drag him into this any more than he was, but she couldn’t let him distract her. She had to draw the trouble away from her friends. Get out of Chicago. Start over and this time do it right. She couldn’t let anyone else get hurt because of her.
“So, you really were going to do it, weren’t you?” Xander’s voice jerked her out of her morose thoughts.
“What?”
“You wanted me to buy that weed back. And you had a bag packed. You were running.” Sydney confirmed his statement with her silence. “I can’t believe you were just going to fucking run off.”
“Um, why not?” she looked at him in confusion.
Xander shook his head. “You were just going to run off with no money. No friends. Where were you going to go?”
“Anywhere but here!” When Xander’s brow furrowed in anger she shook her head. “Something or someone is after me. I can’t bring down the people I...my friends. I’m not that cold.”
“No, but apparently you are that stupid.”
“Excuse me?”
“Friends can help you. You are just throwing that away? Taking a chance you can make it on your own with nothing?” Xander stood suddenly and Sydney did too, not liking the feeling of him standing over her.
“You have no idea.”
“Then tell me.” His face twisted causing his eyes to blaze. Sydney should have been scared of the intensity of his anger but, while it did make her heart pound, it was for the wrong reasons.
“No.”
“Goddammit!” Xander shouted and slapped at one of the empty beer bottles on the table beside the couch. It flew through the air and shattered against the wall with a loud crack. Sydney didn’t even flinch. They both stared at each other breathing hard, neither willing to look away. The heat in his eyes caused her cheeks to burn. “You are driving me crazy.”
Sydney’s stomach fluttered and she wanted to ask him how, but she was afraid to hear the answer. “Sorry.”
That one word took the burn out of the room and Xander flopped onto the couch, the wooden frame creaking under his weight. Sydney dropped into the desk chair, safely putting distance between them. She tried to form a plan. She had to get away. That was not debatable. But before she left she had to take care of Short Man’s body. She couldn’t leave Xander to deal with that. Then, she was out of here. The first chance she got she could hit the bricks. She would just wait until he fell asleep or something.
“You have to have a theory.”
Sydney jumped when Xander spoke. “About which part?”
“All of it. But, specifically, the memory loss. What do you think happened?”
“My latest theory?” At Xander’s raised brows, she continued. “I think it might have been some kind of drug or disease.” His eyes grew round and she laughed. “I thought about that too. You still remember who you are, right?”
“Yeah,” he relented a small smile.
“So, I don’t think—if that’s it—I’m contagious.”
“But who would have done it?”
“The government?”
“Like men in black suits?”
“Sure,” Syd shrugged. “Science experiments and stuff.”
“Seems...logical. I guess as logical as any of this could seem. What else?”
“I don’t know,” Syd hesitated.
“What?”
“Something paranormal?” She was grateful when he didn’t laugh.
“Ghosts?”
“Witches?”
“Aliens?”
“Curses.”
By then they had both dissolved into laughter. Sydney put a hand to her head. The aching was mostly gone now but when she shook with laughter it rattled her brain enough to hurt again.
“You OK?”
“As much as I can be?” she shook her head helplessly. “What are we going to do with Short Man?” Her stomach twisted when she thought having to see his creepy face, especially now that half of it was dented it.
“Don’t worry. I took care of that.”
“What? How?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Probably not. But I think I should.”
Xander nodded. “Right now he’s in an old oil barrel out back. I’ll get some lye later and we can dump it in there. It should dissolve him.”
“Will it?”
“According to the movies it will.”
“Jesus.”
“Got any better ideas?”
“No,” she admitted.
“Have you ever tried searching online? For missing persons or whatever?”
Sydney looked at him sharply. “No.”
“What?” he looked at her warily.
“Just—please—don’t.”
“I won’t if you tell me why.”
“It’s just...just don’t. OK. Please promise me. If someone is looking for me don’t you think they could be monitoring internet searches about missing people?” It was enough plausible truth that Sydney hoped it would placate him. “If we start searching for something that triggers some kind of alarm it might lead Them right to us,”
Xander studied her for a moment. “Sure.”
Sydney knew that he realized there was more to it, but she was relieved when he didn’t ask. “OK. So what now?” she didn’t meet his eyes, afraid he would see just how much she was still hiding.
“We get out of town.”
“We?” she sighed, finally looking at him, ready to stand her ground.
“Yes. We. And don’t even try arguing.”
She looked at the ground and realized she didn’t have the will to argue. “Where are we going then?”
“No clue. We’ll figure it out on the road.”
“When are we going?”
“Soon as I take a shower. You want to take one too?”
“There’s a shower here?”
“Yeah. Where do you think I live?” he nodded towards a door next to the desk. “You want to go first?”
“Nah. You can go first.” This is my chance!
“We could go at the same time. Conserve water and time,” he wiggled his eyebrows at her.
“Perv,” she tried her best to laugh but her breath caught in her throat and her cheeks turned red.
“You say that now…”
Chapter Seventeen
Sydney was surprised by the stairs on the other side of the door. She assumed it was just a bathroom until Xander told her he lived over the garage. The narrow stairs led to a small studio apartment. “I didn’t know you lived here.”
“Yeah,” he shrugged. “It’s not much, but its home.” He set her bag down next to a couch. “You sure you don’t want to go first?”
“I’m fine. You go
.” Syd was turning in circles looking at the artwork adorning the walls. After he showed her his work she had assumed that the paintings on the walls of her apartment had come from him, and his place confirmed it. She ignored the fact that he was watching her as she stepped closer to one picture in particular. It was a young women with long dark hair from the perspective of someone looking upwards into the woman’s face. Her hair hung down creating a dark curtain around them that blended into a tunneling effect. The tender look in the lady’s eyes made Sydney’s heart ache. “Who is this?”
“I don’t know.”
She jumped when he spoke. She hadn’t realized he had come closer and was just over her shoulder. She turned, looking over her shoulder and into his face.
“I think it’s my mom.”
“You don’t know?”
“No. I don’t really remember her. I was only four when they found me on the streets. But I’ve always had this image in my head. I think I should know her, but I don’t. She’s familiar, but she’s not at the same time.”
Sydney swallowed and took a shallow breath. “She’s beautiful. And she looks nice.”
“Yeah. I guess so...” He shook his head slightly, breaking out of the moment. “Well, make yourself at home. I’m going to jump in the shower.” He looked like he wanted to say something else, but then he must have decided not to because he turned without saying anything else.
Sydney watched him leave the room and pressed her hand into her stomach. She didn’t want to leave even though she knew she had to. She waited for the sound of water running and before she could change her mind she grabbed her bag and headed for the door. As she pulled the door shut behind her she flinched at the sound Xander’s voice.
“Hey!” he shouted.
Shit! Realizing it was pointless, she sped up anyway. She knew it was dumb to think she could outrun him, but her body reacted on its own. She made it down the stairs and burst through the door as she heard him pound down the steps behind her. She ran, her bag slapping awkwardly against her leg. She didn’t know why she was bothering to run, but she did it anyway. At this point, she wasn’t even sure what she was running from.
Sydney made it into the garage and Xander was hot on her heels. She had known she wouldn’t be able to outrun him but she didn’t look back. He caught up with her at the door and grabbed her by the arm to spin her around. The look on his face made her heart skip a beat. He was furious. He pushed her backwards and her head bounced off the cold metal door. But, stupidly, what made her catch her breath was the fact that he was naked except for a towel that he was holding up with one hand.
Don't Let Them Find You Page 10
