CHAPTER 10 – A SINGLE THREAD
Rick was woken by a horrifying scream. He sat up quickly and looked around the room; his first thought was the alarm was going off and people were there to kill him. But the sound wasn't an alarm – it was coming from the woman in bed with him.
She had thrown off the comforter and her t-shirt was hardly on her – she had been clawing at it, writhing around on the bed as if in agony. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and her screams tugged at Rick's heart. What he had seen in the car had been bad – but this was something else. He called her.
"Sierra!"
But it wasn't her name. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, adjusting her shirt so she wouldn't be embarrassed when she woke up. Her eyes snapped open, a look of terror on her face.
She blinked and saw Rick's face above hers.
"Sierra? Are you okay?"
She shuddered. She'd dreamt of killing again – this time she had killed first Victor and then Rick... She nodded. She was still shaking, but she was used to forcing herself back to reality after a nightmare. He didn't seem to believe her.
"Are you sure? You were..."
She smiled ruefully and got up, heading to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face. He didn't take the hint and followed her.
"What was that?"
"It was just a dream, Castle."
"That was not just a dream."
Sierra turned off the tap. "Yes, it was."
"People don't have dreams like that unless..."
"Castle, I've seen a lot of things. Sometimes I have bad dreams. Thanks for waking me, but I'm fine now."
"Really?"
"Yes," she lied.
"Do you want anything?"
"I'm going to go back to bed."
"Can I stay?"
She smiled. "Sure. Look, I didn't mean to be rude to you-"
"I know. And I shouldn't have pushed you. It was just a dream."
She got into bed and watched him lie down beside her, turning away from her towards the edge of the bed.
"Goodnight Castle," she whispered when she thought he was asleep.
"Goodnight Sierra," he whispered back. She stayed facing him as she closed her eyes, willing her mind to rest as well.
She woke Rick an hour later, thrashing around in her sleep. He pulled her towards him and woke her, this time keeping her locked in his embrace. She settled in his grip and he gently stroked her hair to lull her back to sleep. She knew she should move; that their roles were wrong; that she was letting it go too far – but she felt safe.
Rick fell asleep with Sierra still in his arms. He felt almost like a father comforting a child – which was disturbing on more than one level, but mostly because he had a huge crush on her. He thought it was scary how a person could have two such different sides. Sierra was so strong when she was awake – she had an impenetrable shield; she was always in control. But asleep she couldn't defend herself; asleep her demons could find her and attack her until she lost all control.
He wondered what kept her sane. No one knew her, no one loved her, she was alone. And now – she was being chased because of her job – she had to put herself into the line of fire to protect him. He wondered why she did that. And he wondered what would happen to them. She had said their pursuers would find them eventually – it seemed to him their lives were hanging by a thread, a thread that could easily be broken. They didn't even know who was after them.
He fell asleep worrying, and when he woke up again Sierra was gone. He breathed in to smell pancakes and freshly brewed coffee, and smiled. His smile faded when he remembered the events of the night, but he tried not to worry about it.
Sierra was in the kitchen, still dressed in the t-shirt and underwear, but with a thigh holster on to hold her glock. It gave Rick a tomb raider vibe.
"Morning, Lara," he said to her. She laughed without turning around.
"Wouldn't I need two to be Lara?"
"I suppose... Do you have two?"
She took a plate of pancakes out of the warming oven and put them on the table, catching his eye as she looked at him.
"Is that a fantasy of yours, writer boy?"
He laughed. "Might be. Want to keep things fair by telling me one of yours?"
Sierra grinned. "Peace and quiet."
Rick picked up a pancake and bit into it.
"Nice."
"You can tell my superiors – maybe I'll get a promotion for taking such good care of you."
"Maybe you will." He took the cup of coffee she handed him.
"Look, I'm sorry about-"
"Forget it," he said gently. "Everyone has things to deal with."
Sierra took a bite of pancake. "Want to go outside today? I think we need to."
"Go outside where?"
"It's sunny. We could go to the river."
Rick laughed and put on a silly voice. "Don't go to the river Sierra!"
She laughed too.
"I'm bored with being in hiding."
"I'm not. I'm a little bored with this house – but being in hiding's fun."
An hour later they were both showered, dressed, and ready to go. Sierra put a couple of towels and her AK47 in a bag, as well as some food and water bottles. She amused Rick no end by strapping her back up piece into another thigh holster on her other leg – she had put on a black vest and tiny little shorts.
"I'm afraid I can't do the long braid," she teased as he drooled at her.
"I'll imagine it," he breathed. She handed him another gun.
"Do you have a James Bond holster thing?"
"Sorry, it wouldn't be big enough. Just tuck it in the back of your jeans."
"So boring. But kind of cool."
"What's the code for the door?"
"Ooh, mean time to ask. It's 41319."
"Good boy." She picked up her phone, then opened the door. "Let's go."
Sierra smiled as the sunshine warmed her bare skin. It wasn't at all far to the river, and they walked along it, watching the water sparkle. They reached a little beach where the water pooled and was calmer. Sierra took off her shoes and spread out a towel to lie on. Instead of taking the other towel, Rick lay on hers, meaning they were very close. Sierra let it go; she liked being close to him anyway.
After a while, she sat up and took off her shoes and went to paddle in the water. Rick sat up to watch her. There was a slight breeze that blew her short hair to one side, and the sun silhouetted her figure as she looked down into the river. He wished he could take a picture; she was so beautiful. She turned around to catch him looking, and flashed him a smile.
"You hungry, writer boy?"
He gaped at her until he realised she meant actual food.
"You're mean."
"I'm sorry. But you're so funny. Come on, I'm starving."
Once they had eaten, Sierra offered to teach him how to fight.
"You mean like that crazy yoga type thing?"
"Kind of. That but faster. Have you ever done combat training?"
"Not really. But I was in a lot of fights at school."
"You think you could take me?"
He looked her up and down. "Take your guns off."
"Can't. Not safe. But I promise not to use them."
"Fine. Well, I don't know. Maybe. I'm stronger than I look."
Sierra laughed. "Okay. Give it a shot."
"I don't want to hurt you."
"You won't."
"We should have a safe word."
"You need one, not me."
"Fine. Apples. The safe word is apples."
Sierra laughed. "Go for it."
Rick hopped from one foot to the other, balling his hands into fists. He darted forward, swinging out to hit her, but somehow she was in a different place and he ended up stumbling instead. She grinned. He tried again, but missed again.
"Third time lucky," she said with a wink. He gritted his teeth with frustration, then closed in on her. This time she caught his fist and somehow used his momentum to flip him onto the ground. He grunted.
"Sorry," she said, offering him a hand to help him up. He got up on his own and narrowed his eyes.
"Tell you what," she said. "I have so much training, it's an unfair advantage. We should do something to make it fair."
"Like what?"
Sierra thought about it.
"There are some handcuffs in the bag. Cuff my hands behind my back."
"What?"
"Go on."
"You're crazy. And why do you have handcuffs with you?"
Sierra laughed. "So many layers to the Sierra onion."
Rick got the cuffs and locked her wrists together. "You're going to regret this," he said with a smile.
"Enjoying yourself?" she asked.
"So, so much."
"Bring it," she laughed. He put his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground. She smiled, not resisting – then when he was about to throw her down she bent her knees and kicked him hard on the kneecaps, then swung herself so he fell over backwards. He cushioned her fall and she turned around, straddling his chest so his arms were pinned too. He blinked; it had been over in seconds.
"Teach me how to do that," he said groggily. She grinned and got off him, letting him stand up. Then she undid the cuffs with the key in her back pocket and took them off.
"It's all about using your opponent's strength against them..." she began. She went on to explain some basic techniques, and they continued training until it was almost dark. They walked back and Sierra let Rick type the code in to unlock the door – but she dragged him back out almost as soon as he'd crossed the threshold, closing the door again. She grabbed his hand and ran back towards the river, pulling him with her. He was smart enough not to make a sound or ask questions, but as they ran he felt fear flood his body.
