Sounds Like Deception (Sounds Like 2)

“I, umm…need to use…”

AJ nodded toward the hallway. “There’s a new candle. You have light in the bathroom.”

“Thanks.” I reached for a T-shirt and my underwear before walking out of the bedroom.

The rain had stopped. I could hear the wind rattling the loose shutters, but the worst of the storm had definitely passed. The trees hadn’t fallen on the roof. We had survived the night.

After a few minutes, I returned to the bedroom. “How did you stay awake all night?” I prodded. I had expected him to wrap his body around mine.

He shrugged. “Trained to stay awake I guess.”

“Really?”

“You’re not going to like the real answer.”

I folded my arms. “We’re truth talkers now. Right?”

His jaw clenched when he ran his palm against it. “My ribs hurt like hell on that floor. I couldn’t sleep,” he admitted.

“AJ!”

“Stop,” he warned. “It’s normal. Doc said it’s going to be a few months before my ribs are healed. It’s nothing to freak out about.”

I was angry he hadn’t been more honest about his pain level. “Do you have anything you can take?”

“I’m not taking anything.”

“Why are you so stubborn?” I stormed around the bedroom we had claimed, picking up our wet clothes from last night and throwing mine in my suitcase.

“We have to get out of here today, Syd. I can’t be laid up on pain killers.”

It was the way he said it that made me stop. The hair stood up on my arm. “You don’t think it’s safe anymore? What happened? Did you find something else when I was asleep? Did I miss something?” I hadn’t meant to doze off, it sort of happened when we were talking. My eyes grew too heavy to keep open any longer.

He shook his head. “Nothing happened. But we can’t hang out here. There’s no telling what this sick fucker has planned. He went through great lengths to get you here. I’m not going to let him keep you.”

My tone softened. “I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

“It’s all right. I know you’re scared.” He started tossing things out of his bag. “I want you to put everything you can in my bag and we’re going to hike out.”

My eyes widened. “But the snakes? You said there were snakes. Gators? What the hell else is in that lake?”

“I’ll shoot anything that comes near you. I just hope the water didn’t wash out the road.”

It didn’t make me feel any better.

Then I remembered the tractor sitting in the

barn. It wasn’t a fancy sports car, but I’d ride it out of here if it meant I didn’t have to worry about a water moccasin.

“AJ, there’s a tractor in the barn,” I reported.

“What?”

I pulled my hair on top of my head in a messy bun. My bangs fell to the side. “I saw it yesterday when I was poking around. I know it’s a long shot. But we could at least take it to the main road. I don’t want to step on a snake. Can we at least see if it works?”

He blew out a long breath. “All right. But I want to get out of here. The storm has passed. It’s not raining. I don’t know if there are any more surprises planned and I’d rather not find out. I don’t like sitting here when someone else has a plan.”

“And you’re sure we can’t go back to our cars? Shouldn’t we try them? What if it was the rain that made them not start?”