When All is Lost

Chapter 4

Not a single part of me could move.

This. This is what I was afraid of.

"Ma'am! You need to back up," the guard shouted, his pistol staying fixed on me. "Leave right now!"

I couldn't. I wanted to, but my body wasn't agreeing with me. He was visibly getting more agitated and I knew I was in serious trouble.

The guard took a step closer to me, but then stopped. He was looking at something past me. I nearly dropped my box of food when a hand seemingly came out of nowhere and slapped down on my shoulder.

"I got it from here." Ian's deep voice echoed in the otherwise silent space.

For a couple of heartbeats, I forgot to breathe. I was stunned by his appearance, thinking he'd already gone upstairs.

Evidently, not.

He had his box of food balanced in one arm while his other hand was on my shoulder, squeezing it almost painfully hard. There was absolutely no reason for him to have lingered as long he had.

Unless he was waiting for me.

Ian broke the reverie.

"I'm a guard," he said confidently as though there wasn't a gun aimed in his general direction. "I'll escort her back to her floor. Do you need to see my ID?"

The guard with the gun hesitated, looking between me and Ian. After what seemed like forever, he slightly lowered his gun. "No. Just go. And do it fast."

Ian didn't wait for the guy to change his mind. He moved his hand to my elbow and guided me towards the stairs. I let him, grimacing the whole way as the room watched our hasty exit.

My knees were wobbly, but I was finally coming to my senses by the time we reached our floor. My emotions were all over the map despite how hard I was actively trying to get a grip on them.

I guess I'm not used to having a gun in my face.

"Thank you," I whispered as we reached our end of the hall. "I was just trying to-"

"Are you insane?" Ian cut me off. He glanced over his shoulder to check that we were alone, and held out his hand for my apartment key. I pulled it out of my pocket and passed it to him. With deft fingers, he hurriedly got my door open and pushed me inside. And in case I hadn't had enough shocks already that day, he followed me in.

The moment the door was shut, he spun on me. "Seriously," he said as he dropped his box on my couch, never breaking eye contact. "Are you certifiable?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you have any idea how close you just got to getting yourself killed? You've been acting like a complete psycho! Do you have any idea how risky some of the shit you pulled was? Chris..."

I was furious. "Chris? Chris what? Finish your sentence."

He just rolled his eyes at me, shaking his head. I curled my hands into fists, digging my nails into my palms.

"Where is Chris?"

He crossed his arms and sucked in his bottom lip. Rather than answering, he started walking around the small space, observing the odd layout of the furniture.

"Nice place you got here," he said looking mildly amused while keeping his arms tightly crossed.

"Cut the crap," I snapped. "Where is he?"

Ian stopped his pacing. He was facing my kitchenette, blocking my view of his face, but I knew from the way he straightened his spine what was coming.

"Gone."