Operation Endurance

CHAPTER 4

Chris stepped out of his front door into the dark morning. As he stretched out his legs, he glanced over at Julie’s townhouse and noticed her kitchen light was on. Cassie had come by after their night out and mentioned to him that she didn’t think Julie was sleeping either, so he wasn’t surprised to see her light, even though it was barely 4:00 in the morning.

Maybe when he got back from his run, he’d see if she wanted to come over for coffee, although he wasn’t sure if the coffee pot was unpacked yet. Maybe he’d just head over there to bum some coffee off her instead. They were friends and friends could do that. Right?

He winced as he stretched out his left leg. His knee had taken a beating yesterday and he was paying for it this morning. He probably should take some ibuprofen with that coffee, too.

He was about to take off when he heard the crack of a breaking stick from behind Julie’s townhouse. The sound seemed too large to have come from an animal. He peered through the darkness, but couldn’t see anything. He jogged quickly and quietly around the side of the house. As he came around the corner, a large bush swayed, but there wasn’t a breeze this morning. He didn’t see anything or anyone, but something big had definitely been back here.

He stood next to the bush and glanced back toward Julie’s townhouse. He could see straight into her bedroom where she sat on her bed wearing nothing but a robe, the material gaping so her gorgeous, full breasts were in clear view. His mouth dried out as he took in the view. She had a pen tucked into the corner of her mouth while she looked through a binder. Her tongue flicked across the end of it and he groaned at the sight.

She was so incredibly sexy. He desperately wanted to pick up where they’d left off fourteen months ago. Thoughts of her had kept him alive while he was tortured and brutalized for months on end, but even as sexy as she looked right now, he remained limp. What kind of future was that? He couldn’t be what she needed in a man. He shut his eyes as the desolation of the situation pounded through his brain.

Suddenly he realized where he was standing and what he was doing. He was no better than whoever else had been out here. He glanced back around the tiny backyard, full of bushes. Had someone else been standing here enjoying this same view? The hair on the back of his neck prickled as he loped around to the front of her house.

Chris took a deep breath and knocked on Julie’s front door. He tried to look friendly while standing there at 4:00 in the morning, instead of like a crazed stalker.

She cracked the door open and peered out at him from under the chain. “Chris?”

“Yeah, sorry. I saw your light on. Can I come in?”

“Sure. Hang on.” The door shut while she disengaged the chain and then she pulled it open wide to allow him entrance. She glanced at him curiously while she clutched the top of the robe together. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I know it’s late or early…depending on your perspective.”

“No, that’s fine. I was up. Come on in. I have some coffee made in the kitchen. Would you be interested in some?”

“God, yes. I was just wondering if my coffee pot was unpacked yet.”

She poured him a cup and he tried not to stare at her toned legs peeking out from below the extremely short silky robe. As she handed the mug to him, he cleared his throat. “Thanks,” he managed to croak out. She remembered that he drank it black.

“Were you out running?” She gestured toward his workout gear. As she frowned at his swollen knee, he could see her physical therapist’s brain cataloguing the issues with it.

“I was about to, but then I heard a noise from behind your house. Have you heard anything suspicious back there tonight?”

She shook her head. “No, but I had my music on, so I’m not sure if I would have heard anything.”

He could hear soft country music floating in from her bedroom now that she mentioned it. “Okay, I didn’t see anyone, but something— either a big animal or a person— was behind your townhouse tonight. I went back there to check it out and realized that if it was a person, they were probably looking in your bedroom window. I could see you very clearly from out there.”

His face heated as blood rushed to his cheeks. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to spy on you. I was just checking things out.”

She waved him aside. “No big deal. Thanks for checking it. We have lots of big dogs around here that escape from their yards. I’m sure it was probably just one of them wandering through.”

“Maybe.” He wasn’t so sure, but he didn’t want to scare her needlessly. “Just make sure your doors and windows are locked and closed up at night.”

She gave him a mock salute. “Yes sir.” She cocked her head at him curiously. “Cassie mentioned you aren’t sleeping very well. Nightmares or pain?” She gestured down to his swollen knee.

“A little bit of both.” He didn’t want to get into what all that entailed, so he immediately pushed at her demons. “That’s why I’m up, but what are you doing up at this ungodly hour?”

She shrugged. “I don’t sleep a whole lot anymore. This probably doesn’t help.” She lifted her coffee cup. “I don’t sleep at night so I drink more caffeine during the day to keep me awake which makes it even harder to sleep. I think I’ve buried myself in a huge Catch-22 here.” She smiled at him softly. “Plus I probably have a few nightmares myself. It’s just easier not to sleep.”

“I understand all that.” He lifted his coffee cup in a mock salute. “But now we live next door to each other so we can keep each other company through the long nights.” His heartbeat picked up at that idea, but he couldn’t pursue it. Even if he was whole—which he wasn’t—she was buried under grief over another man.

“Feel free to come over anytime,” she said.

Heaven help him. He thought those six months being held captive were torture. Living next to and maintaining a platonic friendship with Julie may prove to be just as difficult.