My eyes turned to the guard, and I tried to gather whatever energy I had inside of me to give him a slight idea of what would happen to him if he spoke a word. As I raised my eyebrows ever so slightly, I conveyed a clear message with my gaze.
Don’t even fucking think about it.
He stared back at me with defiant eyes at first, but as I tilted my head slightly, he must have received the message. His eyes widened, and he took a slight step back—like I had pushed him with a look. He glanced from me to Mark and then let out a breath through his nose. He reached up and ran his hand over the top of his bald head.
“Why don’t any of the guards have any hair?”
“What?” Lia glanced down at me and palmed my cheek.
“I don’t know,” I replied. I didn’t, either. None of what was happening made sense to me—it was all too clouded and confusing.
“I can’t do that without written authority from-”
Mark cut off the guard by waving a piece of paper in his face.
“I already had it cleared.”
He looked to the floor and let out another long breath.
“Yes, sir,” the guard said as he walked over and slipped the key into the lock around my wrist. He did my right wrist first and then waited for Lia to step aside so he could do the left. He moved silently back to his post next to the door and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched me intently.
Lucky for him, I still wasn’t in much of a killing mood because otherwise I would have been seriously pissed off. I was focused enough on the guard, I didn’t realize Mark had walked out until he came back in again, holding a couple of blankets in his arms.
“Sorry, but this was the best I could do on short notice,” Mark said. “Hopefully, it will be enough to get you back on your feet again, so to speak.”
“Does he have to stay here?” Lia asked as she nodded her head toward the guard.
“I’m afraid so,” Mark replied. “It would probably be in everyone’s best interest anyway.”
“Well, let’s do this, then.” Lia reached out and took my hand. She led me to the side of the room furthest from the guard and laid out the small blanket on the cement floor. Then she removed her coat and laid that down on top of it before she sat down with her back against the wall. She beckoned me, and I sat down beside her.
“Lay down,” she said.
I stared at her against the wall. It felt wrong, but I wasn't sure why. I started to lie down beside her, but it still didn't feel right, so I sat back up and shook my head a bit. I didn’t know what was wrong, and I couldn’t even find any words that would have made any sense. I didn’t need to, though—Lia knew without me saying a word.
"Do you want to be against the wall?" Lia asked.
I let out a breath that had been burning in my chest. She moved forward, and I half crawled, half fell into the area between her and the wall. Lia stretched out beside me as soon as I was in position, and I wrapped my arm around her waist to bring her closer to me.
She was here against my body again after so long. The thought increased the dizziness in my head but also sent the most incredible sense of relief through my mind. The nausea of fatigue continued to assault me, but at least she was here.
It was too bright in the small room, and the setting wasn’t at all comfortable. Still, I was far too mentally and physically exhausted to care very much. Despite the tiredness, my entire body lay tensed between the cement wall and the woman in front of me.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I could only shake my head as my fingers gripped the fabric of her shirt. Her fingers moved up my cheek and over the side of my head, stroking slowly until my fingers against her back began to match the same rhythm. I sighed, and my hand moved down the fabric of her shirt until it found the hem.
With two fingers, I pushed the shirt up a bit and found her bare skin below. Another long breath and none of the discomfort of the rough blanket, the cold floor, or the situation itself mattered any longer. I placed my head against her shoulder as that fuzzy feeling crept over me. I closed my eyes and tried to let go.
Despite the blanket, the floor was cold, and the buttons on Lia’s coat were pressing uncomfortably against my arm as she covered me with it. I shifted up, tucked my face into the space between her neck and shoulder, and shivered.
“It’s all right,” she whispered. “You’re going to be okay.”
I took another long, shuddering breath and seemed to melt further against her.
“Now I am.”
My eyes closed.