The McClane Apocalypse Book Five (53 page)

“Doesn’t matter. If he found out, he’d have
my head on a spit.”

“I didn’t say to jump in and let’s go at it.
It’s just an offer for sleep.”

He mumbles something incoherently, but she
can’t make out what he says. He doesn’t continue their conversation
but goes around blowing out candles.

She decides to test the water, “Unless you
were hoping for an invitation for more…”

“I think you must’ve bumped your head today
when you fell,” he remarks, confusing her.

Paige
blows
out
the one near her and climbs into the creaky,
antique bed. Even though the bedding isn’t very clean, it feels
luxurious compared to what she used to do for warmth and shelter on
the road.

“My head is fine,” she says, feeling
rejected.

“Then you should know better than to joke
around like that.”

She sighs loudly. If only he knew she wasn’t
trying to be funny. She changes topic, saving face and says, “This
is cozy. It’s nice having a roof over my head and food in my
stomach. This isn’t how we used to survive.”

“No? What’d you guys do?” he asks as he lies
down on top of the pile of blankets.

He still hasn’t put on a shirt or sweatshirt
or even socks. Paige isn’t sure how he’s warm, but she is finally
starting to thaw out.

“We slept about anywhere. And food?
Don’t go there. Maddie always had to come first. There were many
times I didn’t eat anything all day because we had to feed her.
Sometimes I’d lie to my friends and tell them that I ate, but I’d
already given my food to the baby. I couldn’t stand the thought of
her being hungry. Sometimes we’d sleep out in the woods, once in a
cave, which was scary as hell. When we couldn’t find an empty
house, we slept in a tent in the woods or a field. But I never
slept well and certainly not for very
long
periods at a time. I was always on
edge,
really afraid
, ya’
know?”

Cory takes a long time but finally
murmurs with a lot of emotion in his voice, “
Mm-hm
.”

“I feel like with you watching over me, Cory,
I can actually sleep,” she confesses softly and rolls to her side
to face him. The dancing flames of the fire are touching the naked
skin of his upper body, accentuating the curves and planes in a
ballet of shadow and light. She jumps slightly when he speaks again
because she’d been in a daze.

“I’m gonna go check things again,” he says
and hops to his feet. “Just go to sleep. I’ll be right back.”

Before Paige can even remind him that he just
did a check, he’s back out the door with his boots in his hand and
his rifle slung over his shoulder. That was weird. She waits for a
while for him to come back, but he doesn’t. Occasionally she hears
him moving about in different rooms downstairs because the
hardwoods are so old and creaky, but he doesn’t return. She doesn’t
know what she’s done to scare him off, but Paige is pretty sure
that he left because of her or something she said.

Sleep won’t come to her. She feels bad that
he’s missing his own meager amount of precious sleep because of
her. She tosses and turns, fluffs her pillow again, and pulls the
coverlet higher around her chest. She wishes he’d come back, and
not just because he makes her feel safe.

Chapter Twenty-two

Cory

He presses his back to the wall in the
formal dining room, the long table still set with fine china for
public
display
and takes a deep
breath. Cory would like to go back outside and stand in the cold
rain-snow mix for about an hour. It might cool his heels a little.
He had to get out of there. She was pulling at his heartstrings
with her sad stories and her pale eyes. She may not have meant her
stories to come off as sad, but he’d felt sorry for her just
listening to them. Paige very rarely opens up to him, or according
to her brother she rarely opens up to anyone, so he felt privileged
that she’d share anything about her struggles with him. He heard it
from Sue that she had a mega meltdown at the dinner table the first
night she’d come to the farm. He’s seen her look at food with
melancholy eyes at the farm and again at the long banquet table of
food at the wedding reception of her friend. He’s seen her tear up
when Reagan
has
lent her an
article of clothing to wear and again today when he’d taken her to
get shoes. He needs to hit another retailer of clothing for her. He
knows she only has a few things back at the farm that actually fit
her tall frame. For some reason, it bothers Cory that she has so
little and finds such joy in receiving a simple pair of shoes.
Perhaps some of the dorm rooms here at this school still have
clothing.

Her eyes are always troubled and
unhappy. But tonight it had tugged at a place in his heart that
he’s worked very hard at keeping closed off to people. He wanted to
make her feel better. Unfortunately, the only way Cory knows to
make a woman feel better involves a lot of touching and cries of
pleasure. He’s not so sure on the psychoanalysis, sharing of
feelings shit. He’s a little better at a more physical sort of
healing. And he sure as hell doesn’t need to have
those kinds
of feelings for his best
friend’s sister.

Lately, though, he’s been having more
than just sympathy feelings for her. Especially today for some
reason. Maybe it was the near-death experience they shared. Maybe
it was the fact that they aren’t very often alone together at the
farm. Or maybe it’s just because he’s been having sexual fantasies
about her for the last few weeks. Or
basically
since he first met her if
he’s being
totally
honest with himself. He has no business whatsoever having
sexual thoughts about Simon’s sister. Besides, most of the time she
acts like he’s a monster. Seeing him stab that fucker to death
today probably isn’t going to help her reconcile those thoughts.
She probably thinks even worse of him now.

However, a couple times in the last few days
and when they were practicing shooting last week, Cory has seen a
look in her eyes, one that is unmistakable. Out of respect for her
brother, he won’t act on it even if she is attracted to him. She’s
probably just lonely, especially since that asshole in town is now
screwing around with Jackie from the armory. For good measure, he
should kick that guy’s ass when he gets back home.

He passes through the
first-floor
main
sitting area that connects the two large wings, checking
rooms and window locks. He’s checked them twice already. He doesn’t
want to go back up there. Cory rests against the window sill in the
smoking parlor, looking out at the freezing rain that has turned to
mostly all snow. He glances down at his watch. Damn. It’s only
twenty-three hundred hours. It’s going to be a long night. If the
bottom of the house
weren’t
so
far away from her, he’d just sack out on one of the fragile-looking
settees. Still restless, Cory walks down the hall toward the back
of the house to the informal dining area. He grabs a yellowed
dishtowel from the cupboard and wipes down his wet rifle. The front
sight on her rifle is bent from the
four-floor
drop,
so he and
Kelly will have to put it back to normal at the farm. He just needs
about a million other things to do tonight to keep from going back
up there to her.
Hopefully,
she’ll fall asleep soon. She’s usually asleep at the cabin by
the time he comes home in the middle of the night after hunting for
the creeps who’d attacked the farm. He’s getting closer every time
he hunts them. Leads and trails pop up. He’ll eventually find and
kill those bastards. He’s young and has the rest of his life
to
find
them. They are merely
living on borrowed time.

Cory sets up in the fancy main sitting
room again where two separate pianos are housed. He perches on the
ledge of one of the unbroken, curved windows facing the rear. He
almost wishes that there were creeps out there running around. At
least that would give him an excuse to go out for a while.
Unfortunately, the city is still, silent, and dark. He hasn’t
spotted light anywhere for quite some time, which is why he
chose
this
particularly desolate
spot. He didn’t figure any criminal types would be interested in
raiding an old mansion. Other than a few broken windows, this place
is
somewhat
untouched because it
had nothing to offer anyone.

He glances at his watch again. Shit.
Only twenty minutes have passed since he last looked. He has to do
something to keep her
off
his
mind. He hadn’t liked the turn of their earlier conversation when
she’d brought up Em. He knows she didn’t mean anything by it, but
he doesn’t like thinking about his little sister. It’s like opening
a fresh wound and rubbing acid in it. Paige understands loss,
though. She’s lost both parents, her boyfriend, her friends and who
knows how many others. Cory scowls with distaste. Thinking of her
with
a boyfriend
makes him sick
to his stomach. Too bad her asshole ex-boyfriend wasn’t still
around. That thought brings a smug grin to his mouth. He wishes the
dick was around tonight. Kicking his cheating ass would give him
something more productive to do with his time than thinking about
Paige and her
fine
figure and
lush red hair.

He’d been teasing with her earlier when he’d
pointed out the box of blonde hair coloring. He likes her hair just
fine. Its fiery color matches her bold spirit. He’s even come to
admire her freckles. They’re cute. Well, hell. This thought stream
isn’t helping to take his mind off of her. Cory sighs long and loud
with frustration.

What he wouldn’t do for a cigarette
about now. He crosses back to another room that looks to have been
a ladies’ sitting room because of the delicate, feminine furniture.
He re-checks the window locks. Then he passes a long row of family
portraits that look like they were from the 1800’s and heads back
to the front door. The maple chair he has placed under the handle
will help to deter entry from this angle. It
is difficult to look
out the stained glass windows
in the foyer. If they get attacked, it’ll be from one of the broken
windows in another area. He’d gone outside on his last check to
make sure that the light from their candles and the fire weren’t
visible on the street. Other than a very dim glow, they weren’t
detectable. He knows for certain they’re safe for the night. This
pacing of the first floor is just a mental deterrent to keep him
occupied.

He
usually
wouldn’t light a fire for this amount of cold in the air, but
Paige is thin and was
clearly
freezing her ass off. He felt
bad
for it, too, since they were delayed getting to the Parthenon
for the meet-up with her brother. It had taken him a while to get
her to the mansion with him, as well. He felt like he had to slow
down for her because she seemed miserable and tired. She certainly
doesn’t like inclement weather. He’s used to it, having been out in
every possible weather condition for nearly a year by himself. The
winter weather in Ohio and Pennsylvania was way worse than
Tennessee. He just hopes she doesn’t get sick. He should probably
go back up and check on her, check her for fever. The idea of
checking her for a fever, having to touch her anywhere, even just
her forehead, starts Cory’s blood racing. Then he’d probably just
get distracted by those full lips the color of
cherry
juice. This avoidance thing is completely
ineffective.

He still can’t believe that she fell
through that damn hole in the floor and was almost killed. What the
hell would he have said to Simon? He knows his friend also carries
a certain amount of guilt along with him over Em. Cory can’t
imagine what Simon would’ve done if he hadn’t returned with his
sister safe and sound. If Paige thinks that the fall took a decade
off her life expectancy, then Cory lost a good fifty years off of
his. She’s his responsibility while they are in the city. John had
made that point quite clear before they left.
He knows that his friend and mentor mandated that he should be
the one to train her and guard her on this mission because he wants
them to get along better, get closer and learn to rely on each
other.
If he let John down and got Paige injured or
worse on this trip, he’s not sure he could ever return to the farm.
He’s also not
sure
that fooling
around with Simon’s sister is what John meant by getting over their
differences. He definitely hadn’t made mention to John or anyone
else of the lustful feelings he’s had for her lately. Nobody at the
farm needs to know about them. It would complicate his relationship
with his friend and the other men. He’ll just keep it to himself
until these feelings pass, which he’s sure they will. Or
he’s
fairly
sure they will.
Damn.

Taking a chance and hedging his bet
that she is indeed attracted to him in a sexual way and then acting
on those feelings would destroy his relationship with Simon. It
would devastate his friend if he betrayed Simon and broke the code
by which all men live. Plus, he wouldn’t be pursuing Paige with any
honorable intentions. He has nothing, or less than nothing, to
offer a woman. It’s not like he has a job or his own
home,
unless he counts the
cabin,
or security. He lives on a farm
with many other people, works there with the family, and doesn’t
own anything other than what’s in his pack. She’s a former
senator’s daughter for shit’s sake.