“I will be.”
He nods and holds his arm out in the direction of the apartment.
“Let me put these in the shed first,” I say, picking up the branches.
Fal
k helps me break the last one up as we walk to the shed.
“You understand now why I don’t want you talking to them?”
“It’s not that simple,” I reply. “I can’t just ignore it when someone asks me a question.”
“You can ignore him. Actually, if he comes near you again, just yell for me.”
I roll my eyes. I’ve had enough conflict for one day, but I can’t let Falk dictate my every action. The idea of pretending Beck doesn’t exist isn’t pragmatic even if it is attractive. My heart is still pounding, and though he’s gone, I can somehow feel his hands on my waist, making my skin crawl. I let Falk direct me back to the apartment, and once we’re there, I turn to him.
“That really wasn’t necessary.”
“Wasn’t it?”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“Are you going to tell me that look on your face wasn’t you remembering what happened to you? You think I don’t notice when you’re thinking about it? He had his fucking hands on you, and you were about to go into a panic attack.”
I halt and stare at him. I hadn’t realized how transparent I was.
I also don’t understand my own reaction. When I was actually being attacked, I had fought. Beck hadn’t attacked me—he had only touched me. Why am I freezing up now?
“How did you know?” I ask.
“It’s my job to know,” he says softly. “It’s my job to be observant, to know everything that’s going on around me. You are my focus. I rarely miss anything.”
I chew on my lip, thinking. I’m still not sure I buy into the whole idea of aliens from outer space, but I’m not sure if that matters. Something catastrophic happened, and at least for now, we are on our own.
What does that mean exactly?
There’s no government. No police or legal system. We are essentially in anarchy. Survival of the fittest has reverted to survival of the strong—those who can protect and provide. We have plenty of supplies for now, but what will happen when we start to run out?
I shudder. I think about Beck, Caesar, and Ryan. Sure, they seem okay—even Beck hadn’t really done anything wrong—but what happens as time goes by, and I’m still the only woman in the group? When Hudson attacked me, I’d been able to get away and find help. If men like Hudson prospered in a world of laws, what would they do now? There is no place for me to run—no help on the horizon.
Except Falk.
Falk wants to keep me safe. Falk not only wants to protect me, he’s capable.
I glance to the bedroom door. The distance between there and the couch in the living room isn’t more than a dozen feet, but it suddenly looks like a great chasm to me. Someone could come through the window of the bedroom. If I was silenced, Falk might not even know anyone was there.
I shudder.
“Falk?”
“Yeah?”
“It would be all right if…I mean…”
“What?”
I take a deep breath. I both feel and sound like a fool. Best to just spit it out.