Bodie by Nyssa Kathryn

Chapter 12

Maya shot into a sitting position. The nightmare was still fresh in her mind, toying with her sense of reality.

He’d found her. Here in Keystone. He’d been standing in her doorway watching her. Waiting to take her. His face had been in the shadows, but when he spoke, she knew it was him.

Maya scrubbed her hands over her face. God, when was it going to end? The running, the fear…

Shaking her head, she darted her gaze around her dark bedroom. Her dark, cold bedroom.

Moving her hands to her arms, she rubbed them to ward off the chill. Holy crap, it was freezing. Felt-like-she-was-out-in-the-snow kind of freezing.

Argh, had her heating stopped working again? It would be just her luck.

Reluctantly, Maya threw back the sheets. There was no way she was getting back to sleep now. She was fully awake in the igloo-like room she was sleeping in.

Climbing out of bed, Maya gasped when her feet touched the cool floorboards. She didn’t need to see the wall heater in the living room to know it was off.

Flicking the light switch, she frowned when nothing happened. She tried twice more and each time, the room remained in a cloak of darkness.

Goose bumps rose over Maya’s skin that had nothing to do with the cold.

Grabbing her phone from the bedside table, she turned the flashlight on before moving into the living room. She tried the next light switch. Again, absolutely nothing.

A shiver coursed down her spine as a cool breeze brushed over her skin.

Where the heck was that coming from?

Maya moved through the kitchen to the back door, stopping after only a few feet.

The door was open. Not completely open, but enough to let the outside cold in.

Almost involuntarily, Maya took a small step back. Had she left it open? The door was old and often got stuck. She’d gone out the back just before bedtime to bring the potted plants in, so it was possible that it was her…

No. She was always extremely careful. Overly so.

Glancing around the house, she took a moment to listen for any small noises. There were none.

She’d taken a single step forward when shuffling sounded from outside.

Her heart lurched in her chest.

She had a gun. She’d bought it just before arriving in Keystone. She needed to go get it. But that required her legs to move.

Maya forced one foot toward the bedroom. Then another. Before she knew it, she was running to the bedside table and digging beneath socks in the middle drawer to grab the weapon. If the bastard had found her, her best shot at survival was to aim and shoot.

Her legs threatened to cave beneath her as she stepped into the backyard. She held the flashlight in one hand and the gun in the other. The gun felt heavy. She’d taken a few shooting lessons in the towns she’d lived in before Keystone, but she was far from confident.

And this was different from shooting in a range. So very different.

Maya shined the light around the yard, waiting for a figure to jump out at her. Her bare feet sank into the snow, freezing her skin.

When no one appeared, Maya took a moment to calm herself. Maybe they’d left. That didn’t make sense to her, and she had no idea why someone would open her back door to simply leave, but as far as she could tell, no one was here.

Her fingers were icy cold. She was standing in the snow wearing nothing but a sleep top and pants. Her teeth began to chatter.

Okay. She needed to get inside before she froze to death.

Lowering the gun to her side, Maya was just turning back to the house when something jumped in front of her.

Her scream pierced the quiet night as she fell backward into the snow. Because she held her phone and the gun, she wasn’t able to brace herself and fell hard on her backside.

Cold filtered through her clothes to her skin. She ignored it as best she could as she lifted the light to see a cat running through her yard.

She pressed a hand to her chest as she pushed to her feet and went back inside.

The moment the door was shut, she dialed Bodie’s number. Unlike last time she’d called him, tonight there was no hesitation. The power was out; she was thoroughly freezing, and someone had opened her back door.

“Maya? Are you okay?”

She’d expected him to sound sleepy. After all, she was waking him up in the middle of the night. But he sounded wide awake. In fact, she almost thought she heard the sound of the wind in the background.

“I’m really sorry to call so late…” She tensed her jaw to stop her teeth from chattering.

“What’s wrong?”

“The heating stopped working again. Actually, I think all the power is off.”

And I went outside and fell in the cold, wet snow and now may be getting hypothermia.

“I’ll be there in two minutes. Put on the snow jacket while you wait.”

Bodie had already hung up. Relief rushed through her system. Thank god for him.

The shake in her limbs intensified, causing the gun to almost slip from her fingers.

Crap. The gun. Bodie had said he’d be here in two minutes…she couldn’t let him see her holding this.

Rushing to the bedroom, Maya shoved the weapon back into the middle drawer, covering it with her socks. The shake in her fingers made the task almost impossible. Maybe the hot water was working. At least she could run her fingers under it and bring some feeling back into them.

Maya moved to the bathroom sink and turned on the tap. She waited for the water to heat. Instead, it remained icy cold, furthering her own chill.

Fantastic.

Turning the water off, she hung her head for a moment, trying not to feel sorry for herself. She wasn’t sure if Bodie planned to look over her electricity or just take her to his place. It had taken him over an hour to fix things last time.

A knock sounded on the door, causing Maya to sag in relief. When she opened it, she was greeted with a very unhappy-looking Bodie. An unhappy and disheveled-looking Bodie. His hair was windswept, like he’d just been running, and his pants were visibly wet from the snow.

Had he run from his apartment?

“You look frozen. Where’s the snow jacket?” There was an edge of danger to his voice.

“I was going to run my hands under hot water first but it didn’t work.” She paused as another shiver ran down her spine. Her clothes were damp and the breeze from outside was almost unbearable. “You go-ot here quick.”

At her stutter, his jaw visibly tensed before he moved inside. Without responding, Bodie pulled Maya into his chest. When his big, warm arms wrapped around her, Maya sank into him, enjoying the way he surrounded her like a giant heater.

She wanted to absorb as much of him as possible.

His arms stiffened. “You’re wet.”

It was a statement, not a question.

“The back door was open. I checked outside and fell in the snow.”

She expected him to ask about how the back door came to be open. He didn’t.

Maya pulled back, immediately feeling the loss of the warmth. Looking up, she saw the intense look on Bodie’s face hadn’t diminished. In fact, it was relatively icy.

“It’s late, I’ll take you back to my place. I’ll wait here while you change and pack an overnight bag.”

Maya didn’t argue. In fact, she wanted to breathe a sigh of relief at the fact she wouldn’t be staying here the rest of the night.

Disappearing into the bedroom, she threw on some dry clothes, then packed a small bag. The new clothes didn’t seem to improve the chill in her body. It was like the cold had seeped into her bones. Iced her limbs to an unbearable degree.

When she stepped out, Bodie was waiting for her, holding the snow jacket open. She stepped straight into it. The jacket was warm, but it didn’t hold a candle to the warmth of Bodie’s body from moments ago.

Maya watched as he moved to the back door. Opening it, he scanned the yard. He remained there for a beat before firmly closing and locking the door.

When he turned back to her, for the first time that night, there was a small smile on his lips. The smile seemed…wrong, though, and appeared entirely forced. “Let’s get out of here. I left the car on so it’s nice and warm.”

Warm sounded divine.

Bodie took the bag from her fingers before leading her outside to his car.

She would love to know what the man was thinking. She was almost certain he was attempting to shield her from his thoughts.

Why?

Before she could ask, another shiver wracked her body. Holy cow, she was so cold that even the snow jacket wasn’t helping.

The trip to Bodie’s house was quick. The car heating was powerful, and some feeling began to filter into her fingers. She still couldn’t quite shake the chill though. And she’d begun to feel a dull ache in her chest.

Stepping into Bodie’s second-floor apartment, she was greeted with a small, but modern space. It was the complete opposite of the old house she was renting. Instead of peeling paint and a cold interior, his apartment was shiny, warm, and new. There wasn’t an old thing in sight.

Bodie took her hands in both of his, drawing her attention. “You’re still freezing.” He just about growled the words.

“I’m okay.”

If anything, that comment made his features harden further. It was probably the rattle of teeth that did it.

“Why don’t you have a shower and I’ll make you a hot drink?”

There wasn’t a single thing she could think of that sounded better. “Are you sure? It’s pretty late.”

Or early, depending which way you looked at it.

“Yes. Spare bedroom is through the door to your left and there’s an adjoining bathroom.”

Maya was about to turn when she hesitated. She wrapped her arms around Bodie and hugged him. She hugged him tightly, digging her head into his chest.

“Thank you.” The two words left her mouth barely louder than a whisper.

For a moment, she felt his lips press into her hair. She sunk deeper.

Eventually, she pulled away and moved across the room, stepping into the bedroom. The place was luxurious. Or maybe she’d just gotten so used to living in rundown accommodations that she was no longer used to clean and modern.

When she stepped under the stream of warm water, she let out of a long sigh. The heat was pure bliss.

Maya felt better for about a minute. Then she started to feel worse. Not worse as in cold, although she still wasn’t warm, worse as in lightheaded. Maybe it was the quick change in body temperature. Or maybe it was the exhaustion from the nightmare and being woken.

Placing her hands on the shower wall, Maya breathed through the dizziness. It didn’t go away.

Reluctantly, she switched off the shower. Sit. She needed to sit…before she fell.

Stepping out of the shower, she’d just wrapped a towel around her chest when the room began to spin. She made a grab for the towel rack but missed, hitting the tiled floor with a thud. She was vaguely aware of pain to her hip, which took the brunt of the impact.

A second later, she heard the bathroom door opening. She felt Bodie’s hand on her cheek.

She was pretty sure she’d locked the bathroom door. It hadn’t kept the man out. Maybe there was nothing that would.

* * *

Bodie likedto think he was pretty good at keeping a lid on his emotions. Right now, he was only just containing his fury.

Maya’s silent alarm had woken him twenty minutes ago. Luckily, he’d been in his car, watching the house. It was something he’d been doing regularly. He hadn’t slept in his own bed in days and only allowed himself a couple hours of sleep a night.

Her street was generally pretty packed with parked cars. That, in combination with his tinted windows, meant he never raised suspicion.

The moment the alarm beeped, Bodie had sprinted to the back door. The asshole heard him coming and took off before he could grab him.

Bodie had chased him down the street. That’s where he’d stopped. He hadn’t been prepared to leave Maya unprotected. For all he knew, the guy’s friends could be close behind.

If he hadn’t installed that alarm…He sucked in a deep breath, not even wanting to think about that.

Bodie filled his kettle with water. Maya being in his house brought him a small level of comfort. He needed her safe. Not just because it was his mission to do so, but because there was a connection between them. A connection that made Bodie want more than friendship.

Yet, he couldn’t help but feel that he’d failed her tonight.

Just as he placed a tea bag in the cup, he heard the shower turn off. He went still as her heart skipped a beat.

Looking up, he watched the closed bedroom door. That’s when he heard the thud of her body hitting the floor.

Bodie took off toward the bathroom. He didn’t think to slow his speed. She needed him, so he was going to be there.

At the sight of her lying helplessly on her side, fear gripped him. The only small reprieve was that she was breathing. He crouched by her side and placed a hand to her cheek. Still cold. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Her eyes snapped open, and she tried to push up into a sitting position, but her arms shook with the effort.

Taking hold of her arms, Bodie helped pull her up. He didn’t remove his hands once she was sitting.

“It may have been the quick change in temperature…or my heart.”

Bodie ground his teeth at the uncertainty in her voice.

Wrapping his arms around her back and legs, he lifted her and walked to the adjoining bedroom. Placing her on the bed, he quickly moved back to his room to grab one of his shirts.

“Lift your arms.” He tugged the shirt over her body and the towel. “I’ll be right back.”

Bodie grabbed her hot tea from the kitchen counter before returning to the bedroom. Maya was exactly where he’d left her.

“Drink this, then you need rest.” He was being bossy and wasn’t sure if he should expect an argument, but he didn’t get one. Instead, she gingerly took the cup and drank from it slowly. There was still a slight shake in her hands, which Bodie hated.

When she was done, he took the cup with the intention of leaving her to get some sleep.

“Bodie…” Her voice halted him before he took a step. “Will you lie with me? I can’t seem to shake the cold. And you’re warm.”

Having her in his arms was exactly what he wanted. “Give me a sec to turn everything off and I’ll be right back.”

The relief on her face made his heart swell. His woman needed him, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to be there for her.

Bodie went to his room and quickly changed into a T-shirt and shorts before turning everything off. He usually slept in a lot less, but he wanted Maya to be comfortable.

When he returned to the bedroom, Maya was already under the sheets, curled into a ball.

Sliding in beside her, Bodie snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her body against his. Her cold feet touched his legs, her cold hands on his arms.

“I know I say this a lot,” Maya whispered. “But thank you.”

Bodie didn’t want to be thanked. He wanted Maya to be safe. In his mind, she was already his. That made her his to protect.

“Thank you for trusting me enough to let me help.”

A few minutes later, Maya’s breaths evened out. He didn’t fall asleep so easily. He was too busy thinking about the man he’d chased tonight.

The man who was just like him.