"Alright," I said. "Well, I sure do hope that this new specialist will be able to help Jane."
"Yeah," he mumbled, looking as if he was very far away and totally lost in his thoughts. "Yeah, me too."
"Do you have to go see her?"
"Yeah, she's, uh, she's gonna be there at two o' clock this afternoon."
"Well, I can come and see what she has to say."
"No, no you don't need to," he stammered. "I'll just go on my own this time," he said a little too quickly.
"Are you sure? It really is no trouble at all for me to come along and give you a shoulder to lean on."
"No, no. Really, I'll be just fine on my own. I just, I just want to have a little alone time with Jane."
"I understand. Well, anyway, that's still a while away, and I do have some stuff I'd like to do myself. Do you think it's safe for me to go across to my house? I really have to get my laptop. I need to make some Skype calls."
He scratched his chin, thinking carefully about this.
"Well, while it would appear that Simon hasn't set up any obvious surveillance devices, we can't be too careful. How about you stay here and I go across there and pick up whatever you need?"
This was starting to get more and more frustrating. I was beginning to feel like a prisoner here, especially seeing as now I couldn't leave without Everett's permission, it seemed.
"But you don't know where all of my stuff is," I protested. "Look, can't you just go outside and have a look up and down the street to make sure it's safe, and then if it is, I'll go across to my place. I'll keep all my drapes closed and all the doors and windows closed and locked. I just... I don't like being forced to hide like this. It's no way to live! I feel like... I feel like a prisoner."
A look of sympathy came over Everett's face, and he pulled me close and hugged me.
"I'm really sorry that things are like this at the moment," he said. "And it hurts me to see you feeling like a rat in a cage. You're right; you shouldn't be cooped up here. You can't simply live in fear. I'll do a perimeter check at your place for anything that seems suspicious, like surveillance equipment. Then I'll sweep the street, make sure he's not lurking anywhere nearby. You watch out the front window, and if it's clear, I'll give you a signal, then you can go across to your house, alright?"
I smiled. "Thank you. I really appreciate your understanding."
"I'm happy to help, beautiful."
"Well, how about you help me eat these omelets before they get cold first," I suggested.
"Deal."
We ate the omelets and talked about the other things we both had wanted to get done today. When we were finished, he kissed me quickly and then headed out into the street. I watched him through the windows, and it was impressive how thorough and focused he was. Again, I couldn't help wondering about his background. He had to have been in some sort of military unit. Nobody learned to move and think like he was doing without extensive training. After a few moments, he returned the sidewalk outside my place and gave a wave. I hurried out the front door, ran across the road, and went to my door. I felt a tingle of unease as I put the key in the lock and turned it, half expecting Simon to be standing inside, waiting for me. I had to pause to calm my pounding heart before I could open the door – and when I saw that the hallway was empty, relief came rushing through me. Still, I didn't want to take any chances.
"Uh, Everett," I said, calling him over.
"Yeah?" he replied as he walked up onto my porch.
"Could you do me one more favor?"
"Sure thing. What do you need?"
"Could you just go through my house and, uh, and make sure there's nobody hiding in the shower or the closets or something... Sorry, I know it sounds paranoid, but—"
"No, not at all. In fact, I deserve a kick in the ass for not offering to do it right off the bat. I'm getting a little slack, and someone like me
can't afford to get slack. You wait here – I'll go through the house and make sure everything is safe."
I waited nervously just outside the door as Everett checked out the house. It seemed to take forever, and part of me actually started to get frightened, thinking that maybe Simon was hiding somewhere, and maybe he ambushed Everett, and slit his throat, and—
I almost jumped out of my shoes as Everett seemed to appear out of nowhere, right in front of me.
"Everett!" I yelped.