He grimaced, his sensually curved lips flattening into a tight line.
“What?” I asked warily, wondering what was coming next.
“Nothing,” he said flatly, though his eyes still held a burning intensity. I could see him mentally backing off, shutting down. “Make yourself at home. Closet is through there and bathroom is through there.” He motioned toward the two doors in the room. “We’ll be on the third floor, if there’s an emergency.”
And then he left.
Chapter Seventeen
It was all so abrupt.
I just stood there looking at the empty doorway for a moment, feeling somewhat abandoned and thinking, WTF? He was just going to dump me off here with a bad attitude and leave, like I was just some kind of bothersome bug or unwanted relative. Not that I needed him to take care of me, but I’d only been in his house five minutes, and he was already out the door.
I knew things were going to be weird. I was an animal, after all, right? Brausa were animals. My breathing hitched a moment as I considered that. Now that he wasn’t in the immediate vicinity, I could think more clearly. I could truly ask the question of whether this was the best solution. Who knew how long it would take to actually catch Frank, Ranik, whatever his name was, and I didn’t want to live my life in limbo. Maybe I needed to find a new apartment. Start over in a new town. A new state. A new country, even. No, not a new country. I’d be forced to learn a new language, and I just wasn’t good at that.
Dammit! He had invited me here. I hadn’t asked to come here. I might have had limited options, but I would rather have risked my apartment and just called the police for protection than been treated like an imposition. I’d been made to feel like one all my life. I hated it.
On top of that, he was assuming I was going to sleep in his room. It hadn’t even occured to him that I might want to discuss this, that I might not be comfortable playing house. Which probably meant that he likely thought I was just some easy ho-bag who would go along with his wishes in a docile manner. Why? Because he was a big man with a deep voice? Or maybe he was used to women who simpered and sighed and batted their eyelashes at him all day because he was a big strong man. Well, whatever the case, he had another think coming. That was for sure.
Riding the wave of my own indignation, I grabbed my bag and walked back down the hall. There was another bedroom, smaller, with a queen-size bed and cute little side tables. I dumped my bag on the bed and looked around. There were two other doors in the room, one of which was a small walk-in closet. Nothing was in there, so I figured this was likely a guest room. The other door, when I cracked it open, revealed a large bathroom. It connected the master bedroom and this room. I’d have to remember that and lock both doors when I went in to shower.
Feeling proud of my initiative, I unpacked my work clothes and hung them in the closet. I cursed as I realized I’d left some shoes and accessories behind in my apartment that I would need for the next few days. And I needed my car, so I could get myself places without having to beg a ride from Mr. Stony Face.
Shit, shit, shit! My car!
It happened to have been left overnight for two nights now, around the corner from the Ivy. It had likely been towed at this point, which meant another few hundred to get it from an impound lot. That was an extra few hundred I didn’t have! They would probably need all my insurance forms and registration. I wondered if those were still in the glove box or back at my apartment. Couldn’t anything go my way? Even a little thing? Something?
Feeling completely overwhelmed with defeat, I had tears burning my eyes, and I needed to sit on the bed as waves of mental fatigue ambushed me. How much longer? When could I come out of the rabbit hole and know that all was well again? I had never complained that my life was boring. I had never been one to seek adventures. I was feeling so done!