Their orgasms broke together, two moans making harmony as one voice. They thrashed about on the bed, sending the comforter and pillows in all directions, caring for nothing except the lust that enriched their love for each other. Katie was barely able to remember her own name, but she thought – more accurately, she understood – how deeply her feelings for this man ran, and hoped with all of her spirit he felt the same way. She knew in her bones intimacy this strong and potent was greater than the sum of two people being together, and that meant… that meant... oh, wow.
No words were necessary after Carson collapsed onto his side on what had been a neatly-made bed a few minutes prior. They just looked at each other, goofy smiles creasing their exhausted faces, and touched each other at random points. They shared the warmth of their bodies by staying as closely connected as they could. Katie was just drifting off to sleep when Carson rose and broke the spell, saying they couldn’t both afford the luxury of slumber, and walked to the bathroom with his gun.
***
Carson let the hot water run over his body in the small shower, stretching his sore muscles as they relaxed. It was always now, after the stress and the excitement and the punishment of running and jumping and hiding and punching and everything else, that the bumps and bruises and minor injuries made themselves known. That was as much from the adrenalin pumping through his veins as it was his mindset telling him he was an invincible warrior and pain was the other guys’ problem. But afterwards – that’s when he was reminded he was a man, susceptible to injury like any other.
I just don’t remember my mortality hurting this much.
He’d insisted Katie use the shower before him but, for reasons unknown, she had nearly ordered him to go first. He tried to compromise by inviting her to join him, but she pointed out all the problems with that idea: no one to watch the door in case they were found, no room for two people inside the tiny space, and the likelihood that it wouldn’t be a restful, rejuvenating shower if it became a two-person event. Carson had regretfully acquiesced, but now, with the tension in his neck only just beginning to dissipate, he realized how smart she was.
With one final rinse, he killed the water and pulled back the generic shower curtain. Katie sat on the lid of the toilet facing the door, Carson’s gun sitting next to the sink within easy reach. She wore only a towel. Without the luxury of having any other outfits handy, she’d washed her dirty clothes in the sink and hung them to dry. She held out one of the other towels for Carson to use, a big smile on her face. “’Bout time,” she told him. “You better have left me some hot water.”
He took the towel. “Why? I did all the heavy lifting tonight. All you did was a little walking, and even then you had people helping you.” He had to leap back in the small bathroom when she tried to snatch the towel from him.
“You better jump,” she told him, standing and letting her towel fall away without ceremony. Carson couldn’t help but stare at her exposed flesh, arching his eyebrows deviously. “Don’t even think about it,” she warned. “I don’t have the energy for another round with you.”
“Compliment taken.” They did share a kiss before Katie jumped in the shower. Carson was drying himself when he heard Katie’s voice over the sound of the water. “What are we going to do now?” she asked, her tone calm and subdued.
Carson dropped his towel and grabbed his weapon. “I’m not sure, honey, but I’m working on it.” He left the bathroom to put on his clothes, making sure he brought his gun along.
He hadn’t lied to Katie. He was working on an answer – if “working on it” could be interpreted as him thinking “What now?” over and over again. He didn’t have any leads to go on. He’d never seen where Chops ran his organization, didn’t know where any of them lived, nor where or when any sort of hostage-for-money exchange was to take place. He wished to attack them with deadly and accurate force but, short of running up and down the beach at noon screaming, “here we are!” to get them out in the open, he just didn’t know where to be deadly and accurate at. Give it time. You’re tired. You’ll come up with a plan in the morning.
He removed a long-sleeve, dark-green shirt and black pants from his go bag and dressed quickly, wiping the dirt from his boots before donning them once again. He noticed dark, muddy footprints in the carpet, so he began scrubbing them with his towel. While it was unlikely Chops or his men could use such detail to locate him, he had just killed two people. They were justified murders, he stressed to himself, but he couldn’t be sure that any police investigating the situation would feel the same way.
His focus changed as he worked, from the problems of the moment to the import of his lovemaking with Katie. It had been so unexpected that, while their previous two sessions had been hurricanes of passion, this had been the perfect storm. He almost felt guilty when he automatically compared Katie to Pam, but realized it was natural to do so. Pam had been a little more passive and reserved, and it wasn’t wrong or disrespectful to think such things. Katie was just… different.
Both phones on the bed buzzed. Carson finished his cleaning tasks before sitting down on the bed to study them. To his surprise, both showed a text had been received at exactly the
