Read Fight or Flight for Free Online Page B

she was surprised to find how much warmer it was than lying dir ectly on the wood floor. For a while she just laid there, trying not to think. Trying not to worry. She’d been doing a pretty damn good job of it so far. But eventually, her mind got the better of her.
    Her thoughts wandered back home. Back to him . To his face. To the rage she could almost see brewing in his eyes. He’d know by now. Without a doubt, he’d know what she’d done. She’d never disobeyed before. Not ever.
    What was he doing? Was he looking for her? Was he close? Would he find her? What would he do to her if he did? The further her imagination ran, the worse the scenarios got.  He’d never beaten her. Hurt her. Not like that. But she knew what he was capable of.
    Determined not to torture herself any further, Em shifted her thoughts to Jay. Why was he doing all of this? What did he expect from her? He’d rescued her, given her a place to stay, food to eat . . . So far, he hadn’t asked for anything in return, but it was only a matter of time. She couldn’t stick around that long. But for now . . . For now, she had to take her chances because without him—he was right—she’d never make it on her own. How long, though? How long before he—
    “Comfy?”
    Em scooted back, taking half the bed with her in the process. From the way Jay was leaning up against the doorframe, Em guessed he’d been there for a while. She hadn’t even heard him come in. So much for not torturing herself.
    “Hey.” Jay looked startled by her reaction and took a step closer, before thinking better of it and stepping back again. “It’s just me.”
    She planted her back against the wall, but forced herself to stay seated. If she got to her feet, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t run for the door.
    “I brought something to eat.” He lifted a silver tin tray out in front of him like a peace offering, and took a cautious step closer. When she didn’t flee, he took another. And then another, until he was standing right beside her and the smell of whatever was in that tin squashed her flight instincts completely.
    “Where did you get that?”
    Jay slid down the wall until he was seated beside her, bringing with him the amazing aroma of warm meat. When he popped off the plastic lid, Em couldn’t believe her eyes. Turkey and stuffing. Cupping her hand beneath the fork Jay handed her already loaded with a large chunk of turkey to keep any of the gravy from being lost, she savored both the taste and the warmth the food provided.
    “From this little diner a few blocks from here.”
    “ How did you get it?”
    “I bought it.” He seemed insulted by the idea that he would have gotten it any other way.
    Jay sighed deeply, dragging Em’s attention away from the food long enough to take her first good look at him. He looked exhausted. Completely worn out. Whatever he’d been doing all day, this food had definitely cost him. She passed the fork back to him, which he reloaded with another bite and handed back to her again.
    “How did you buy it?”
    “With money.”
    Em glanced at the fork Jay was holding out to her again and realized she’d yet to see him eat a bite. “Aren’t you going to eat any?”
    “I’ll have some. Just eat.”
    Em kept her hands planted firmly by her sides, despite her stomach raging at her to take the fork Jay was still shoving in her direction. Scowling, Jay popped the bit in his own mouth and chewed slowly, passing her another.
    “Where did you get money?” If there was a way to make money out here then maybe things weren’t as hopeless as she thought. If she could just save a little up, maybe she could—
    “I worked for it.”
    Em’s shoulders slumped in defeat. Jay was clearly in his usual chatty mood. Getting information out of him was like pulling teeth. On a lion.
    Temporarily thwarted , she popped another bite in her mouth. Jay scraped the bottom of the tin clean with the plastic fork and passed it back to her