He stood trying to calm his heart rate for a full five minutes before he decided he wasn’t going to sleep anyway. He moved to the small chair in the corner of the room that acted as his catch-all piece of furniture and shuffled through the pile to find a pair of black sweatpants. In a swift motion, he pulled them on over his boxer briefs. He grabbed a white tank top off the top of the pile.
He sighed deeply thinking back to the days when he had to keep his things military neat, and though he was still a very orderly guy, he’d been allowing himself to live a little more relaxed since they relocated to Cairo.
Oh, who am I trying to convince? He thought angrily. I just don’t seem to give a shit about anything without Meg.
He yanked his running shoes on over low-cut socks.
An image of her bloody tears smearing the black-and-white face paint from his dream flashed in his mind so clearly it was as though she were standing right in the room. He shook his head trying to clear it, bent to the floor to retrieve the two strips of material that used to be his top sheet and tossed them back on the bed. Scowling at the crumpled heap, he changed his mind and grabbed the bundle to walk to the trash outside.
He stopped in the hallway
“What are you doing up?” he asked the dark.
“I’m not really sure how you expect me to sleep when you’re in there screaming.” Farrow whispered so as not to disturb the rest of the house.
“Go back to bed,” he said, walking away.
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t go running off, okay?”
“What difference would it make?”
Creed made his way to the kitchen, Farrow following close at his heels. She was still wearing her pajamas and looking pretty and rumpled having just awoken minutes before.
Creed sized her up and thought how different she looked now that she was free from the torment of Bjorn and out from under Williams’ bloody thumb. As Alik’s girl, she truly did seem like a completely different person from the personal assistant and trained sniper assassin she used to be. But Creed didn’t underestimate the skills behind the peaceful beauty; he knew Farrow could hold her own against the best of the best.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Did I stutter?”
“You’re not thinking of leaving, are you?”
“Just because the family is worried about setting foot back into the States, doesn’t mean I am.”
“So you’d go after Meg yourself?”
Creed just shrugged as he reached for a bottle of cold water from the fridge.
He popped the cap and tossed the fluid back. Farrow stared at his throat as it worked to swallow. She was scowling.
“You know we’ll come up with a plan. Something’s gotta give.” Farrow offered as she desperately tried looking for the silver lining.
“Something’s wrong, Farrow. I can feel it. It stings my eyes in my dreams, like it’s just out of my line of sight.” Creed shook his head and looked down at the half-empty bottle in his hands. A shadow fell across his face.
“Um, yeah. There’s a lot wrong, but you going off half-cocked isn’t going to fix things.”
“It just doesn’t add up,” he muttered, too focused on the thoughts spinning in his head to worry about what Farrow thought.
“What doesn’t add up?”
“Evan, Meg…none of it.” He squinted off into space and lightly tapped the bottle to his lip.
“Is that what you were dreaming about?” She asked, reaching past him to get her drink. She retrieved a soda and slowly pulled the tab, letting the air hiss slow and angry before popping it open. She took a swig, keeping one eye on the struggling soldier.
“If it’s any consolation, Alik is beside himself with frustration at not having been able to follow his sister into the States.”
“If that asshole Arkdone didn’t have half the FBI and Homeland Security looking in every nook and cranny for us—” he started but stopped himself. “I just need some time to think,” Creed placed the bottle of water on the counter and headed outside.
“Where are you going?”
“For a run.”
“Will you be back?”
“Where else would I go?”
“Don’t say it like we’re living in captivity,” Farrow scolded.
“Nothing could contain me, except her. Whether she wants it or not, she holds my heart in her hands. Knowing she doesn’t feel the same way is devastating.”
“You don’t have to build her up like that, Creed. Don’t get me wrong, I know she means a lot to you, but she doesn’t have to be your everything.”
“You make it sound as if I have a choice.” Creed frowned at Farrow.
“You do! You could still be a part of this family and move on.”
“Move on?” Creed was shaking his head, an incredulous look clear on his face. “Let me put it this way, Farrow: Could you ‘move on’ if Alik told you he didn’t care about you anymore?”