Read Online Plagued by Nicola Barnett - Free Book Online Page B

knees up into the foetal
position as she tried to regain control of her breathing, desperately stopping
herself from passing out.
     
    Mark saw her turmoil and knelt down on the floor
beside her, his eyes filling with tears. Sarah’s body shook beneath him and she
whimpered gently. He reached out and stroked her hair, unsure of how to comfort
her, or even if she wanted it.
     
    Feeling his touch, Sarah turned to face him, her
eyes bright with fury and pain and she hated him in that moment. She punched
him in the chest, trying her hardest to hurt him but she couldn’t muster the
strength, her body was too weak.
     
    Mark didn’t flinch — he took her fury without
trying to stop her, wanting nothing more than to ease her pain. Her fists
thudded onto his chest in rapid succession. Tears tried to leave his eyes but
he willed them away.
     
    After a while, Sarah’s arms became too heavy to
lift and her anger quickly melted away. An overwhelming grief replaced her
hatred and, feeling defeated, she sank her head into Mark’s chest. He put his
arms around her and they laid side-by-side on the floor.
     
    “Shhhh,” he whispered. “It’s okay. It’s over.”
     
    After a while, her breathing relaxed and she fell
quiet but Mark still held her tight, his chest wet with her tears. Realising
she had cried herself to sleep he closed his eyes and let exhaustion take over.

Chapter 5
     
     
    Mark awoke from his sleep and looked around the
room, his neck aching as he moved it and the right side of his body was stiff
and cramped. The sun shining through the bedroom window was now high in the
sky, telling him it was at least noon — he’d slept for at least two hours! He
took his arm from around Sarah, trying not to wake her and wiggled his fingers
to get some circulation back.
     
    He quietly rose to his feet, leaving Sarah still
curled up on the floor. Heaviness weighed on his heart as he remembered what
had happened hours before. He looked at the bed and saw the lump of Adrianne’s
body under the sheets, if it wasn’t for the tell-tale blood stains across the
sheets, she would look sound asleep under there. Only she wasn’t asleep — he
had killed her with his bare hands. He fought the sickness in his stomach. We
can worry about that later.
     
    He knew the memory would haunt him for a life-time
but right now, he had a job to do and that was to keep Sarah safe until she
gets back home. If he let doubt and guilt cripple him, he wouldn’t be able to
do that job properly. Sarah was too gentle and innocent to do what needed to be
done and every time she got a glimpse of the new world, she broke down. He would
have to be the one to make the tough decisions, that much was clear — and he
was okay with that.
     
    He could tell from her reaction outside of the
house that she thought he was cold when it came to sympathising with others and
he’d have to be okay with that too. He wasn’t going to lose his head over a
woman who would risk her own life to chase after someone who probably was dead
anyway. He would have to keep his feelings hidden, not only to protect her, but
to protect himself.
     
    He watched her lying there, fast asleep and looking
deceivingly peaceful and his irritation with her melted away. Yeah, she was a
pain in the arse and pretty useless in a survival situation but she did have
the balls to fight for something that she loved — and she’d had a pretty rough
start. He decided then that he would protect her. He had the same urge the
first time he had ever seen her, lying there in the road. She had looked so
helpless that day, he saw her face and in that instant he knew he would have to
take care of her, whatever the cost.
     
    Sarah began to stir and a few moments later, she
awoke looking drained. Mark offered his hands to help her up, half expecting
her not to take them — but she did and gave him a tired smile. Her gaze fell on
to the figure on the bed and stayed there for a few seconds, a