Landmine - Post Malone

37

Dillon wakes, stretching her arms out to Austin's side of the bed because, oddly, he is not wrapped around her like he always is. But his side is empty and the sheets are cold. So she sits up, confused, because she can't hear the shower either. It's still dark outside, and when she checks the time, she sees that it's only just past 4 am. That's strange. Austin usually gets up at 5 am and is out on the ranch by 6 am; he is strict about it and is grumpy when woken early. Maybe he couldn't sleep. But, after slipping out of bed and walking around the house she can't find him anywhere and grows nervous. Where is he? He would never leave her alone like this if not for a good reason. "He must be out in the yard," she whispers to herself and opens the front door.

When she peeps out, her heart drops immediately. Harriet's saddle is gone and she is not in the yard either. She can see Tom, Mitch and a few other men in the yard standing in the places they normally do when they are on guard. That can only mean one thing - Austin is not at home. She closes and locks the front door then heads for the kitchen. Where is he? Why did he sneak out like this? Nausea sets in and she has to sit down when her knees go weak. He must have found out where Luke is and gone after him. He slipped out quietly while she slept expecting to be back before she woke to keep her in the dark and not implicate her in any way.

Shit.

She runs back to the bedroom and grabs her phone to phone him but stops herself. He is trying to protect her, and if the police get involved, they will pull the phone records and see she was in contact with him during this time. She needs to keep her cool and think straight; she needs to do everything she possibly can to give the police nothing to go on. So she places her phone back down on her side table. If she is called in by the police and they ask where Austin was at this time she will look them in the eye and tell them he was asleep next to her. Her mind starts racing, she needs to hide anything that can connect Austin to whatever happens to Luke.

She rushes downstairs again and opens the cleaning cupboard. She has good washing power in there and strong stain remover. She also has a big bottle of hydrogen peroxide - that's the best for getting blood out of clothes; it practically eats it up. She will scrub the clothes he is wearing as soon as he gets home and then make him wash with the hydrogen peroxide. She will put it in his shampoo too. His boots. She will have to clean each tiny groove and make sure they are clean. She also checks the gun cleaning kit he keeps in the study. She will pull apart his shotgun and clean every tiny little crevice. She has a nail kit, so she will clean under his nails too. She also knows a few lawyers in Chicago who are absolute hounds; she will secure one, if not all, for him if it ever goes that far and if they have to run off to Mexico, then so be it.

She runs over the list in her head several times, as well as the alibi she will stick to when the police come knocking. She will risk it all for him even though she now can't stop crying because she is worried he has gotten hurt. She is also sad that he was forced to do this to put an end to the constant attacks and threats from Luke. This is all so unfair on him. But he has her, and she will lie, beg, borrow and steal for him.

Her heart skips a beat when she hears the distinctive pounding of Harriet's hooves on the ground and lets out a sigh of relief. He is OK, he is home. She rushes back up to bed and slips under the covers. He slipped out while she slept, not wanting her awake for this, and so she doesn't want him to worry more than he needs to right now. She will pretend that she is asleep.

She hears the front door open then the sound of Austin taking off his boots. Then she listens carefully as he climbs the stairs until he is in the bedroom. He moves around quietly, then stops, and she can't hear anything anymore, so she peeps one eye open and sees Austin standing near the bed looking at her. "Why are you pretending to be asleep?" he asks, trying to stop the smile that is threatening on his lips. "I just woke up. I have been asleep the whole time. You were asleep next to me," she says, climbing out of bed and inspecting his clothing. There is no blood, but she will scrub his clothes anyway. Austin frowns and looks down at his clothes then back at her as he dusts her hands from his shirt. "Stop that," he says when her hands go for his jeans.