He stops, staring at me with a raised brow. Ok, so maybe he noticed. “Well, I’m not sure. Maybe every time it thunders we can run to a new room in the house to check it out?”
“How will that keep my mind from being scared?”
A rumble of thunder threatens to bring the house down and I shake a little, but Dean winks at me and then takes off running. I laugh and chase after him. He sprints into the living room and I smile when I’ve reached him. “That wasn’t fair. I didn’t know we had started.”
“We can race.” He’s laughing too, and the mood from earlier has disappeared. Thunder vibrates the house, and Dean shouts, “Kitchen.”
I take off, running as fast as I can as I try to make it to the kitchen before Dean. I succeed and laugh. “I won.”
He enters the kitchen a second behind me, panting a bit. “I think I might be getting a little out of shape.”
I laugh. Another bang of thunder and I shout, “My bedroom.” Together we both fly out of the kitchen toward the staircase.
Dean takes the stairs two at a time, but I’m still very much in the race. I fly down the hallway and enter my bedroom a second before Dean.
He wraps an arm around my waist, trying to pull me back out of the room so he can step through instead. He’s close and my heart pounds as he draws me in even closer. We’re sharing this intimate moment together, and for some reason, I can’t turn away from his eyes. They pierce straight through to my soul, like he can see what’s hidden there.
Another thunder pounds, making me tremble, and it’s almost like it awakened us from this trance we’re under.
He drops his arms and does a little cough to clear his throat. “Sorry.”
“It’s ok.” I smile. “Your game was working though.”
He grins, and then there’s another crash on the opposite side of the house. “Stay here.” He rushes off, but I follow him anyway.
I’m not staying behind again.
We reach the kitchen to find a tree has plowed into the window, shattering glass everywhere. Leaves float through the air as wind tunnels through the home.
“Fuck,” Dean breathes out.
“I thought someone broke in.”
Dean shakes his head. “Somebody would be an idiot to break in during this storm.” He peers out the window, watching the rain batter the island. “No, there’s no way Bishop knows we’re here. And even if he did, he wouldn’t come here. He wants the four daughters. His attention is set on them.”
I run my hands up and down my arms to warm them from the cool wind rushing in from the broken window. “You’re right. I guess it’s just my nature.”
Dean smiles. “You’re safe here with me.” He steps toward the window, and together we clean up the mess left behind.
The next morning I’m greeted by no power. Once the storm settled down last night, Dean and I headed off to bed. To our own beds, in our own rooms. He was pretty cool, trying his best to keep my mind off the storm. I appreciated it. A lot.
I roll over, wondering what time it is because electricity powers the clock on the nightstand. It’s time to get dressed, that’s what time it is. I get ready in the bathroom and then head downstairs to find Dean.
“Bad news,” he says when I enter the kitchen. The house and grounds are alive with workers fixing the window and a crew of men outside, trying to restore the power.
“What’s that?” I ask, snatching an apple from the counter and taking a bite as I sit on a bar stool.
“Phone lines are down. Power’s out. There’s no service. We’re pretty much stuck here for a little while.”
“How long is a little while?”
He shrugs. “Few days, maybe longer.”
This just won’t do. I can’t stay here, just vacationing. Every day Bishop walks free is another day of him being lost forever. “I have places to be.”
Dean laughs at this. “Oh, and where exactly do you need to be?”
I set the apple down, standing from my seat. “I need to find Bishop and kill him.”
Dean shakes his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “Not gonna happen anytime soon.”
Without a word, I leave the kitchen. I need my own way off this island. I can’t stay here.
“Where are you going?” Dean asks, following me down the hallway.
“I need to run to the store. Is that allowed?”
Dean nods. “I can take you into town, pending the roads are open.”
“Thank you.”
I move to my room, knowing I need a lay of the land before I attempt an escape.
My main plan for leaving this house is just to see the town, see if there’s something I can use to get off this island because I have no idea where I am. I pack a small bag just in case the opportunity arises that I can leave while we’re out.