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"And what?" he asked

"Come back, and talk," she finished lamely

He was tempted to tell her that he wanted to do a lot more than talk

Except she hadn’t told him the truth yet--not the whole truth There was more to her story, and he wanted to hear it--needed to hear it--before he got in any deeper with her

"I’ll be back down in ten minutes," she promised, and headed for the stairs

He ached to follow her, but he ed to wait until she reached the top of the stairs before he followed

People aiting for them, he reminded himself

Too bad They would have to wait

The bathroom door was ajar

Maybe she had hoped that he would come

He joined her in the shower just after she’d sluiced away the spiderwebs and the mud

She had just poured sha her scalp and working up a lather She leaned back against hi, he took her into his arms

"Sarah…"

"I don’t want to talk about it anymore," she said "Just hold me Please?"

He held her Water beat out a rhythm around them, steam rose, and he held her Then he ainst each other created a new kind of comfort She was slick and vibrant, electric in his arms He felt as if heat infused him Thunder echoed in his head and in his loins She pressed her lips against his neck, his chest He slid his hands down the length of her spine, then lifted her, and the water continued its cascade of liquid fire as they ainst the tile

Eventually, pent-up e physical, and they rose to a volatile crescendo together, cli in one another’s arms He could have stayed that way forever, but she shtly "People are waiting for us, and I still need to finish washing my hair"

"I can help you"

"Out! Or we’ll never retfully, he set her down on the floor of the old tub and left He toweled off, found his clothing and dressed, then headed back downstairs

He cursed hiotten to lock the front door He locked it then, as pointless as it seemed, and as he waited for her, he walked around the lower level, checking everyto make sure it was locked

He went to the top of the basement stairs and looked down into the darkness There was a switch near the door, and he flipped it Nothing happened He dug through the cabinets until he found a flashlight and, turning it on, he went down

The basement was empty other than the crates Sarah hadstairs He trained the light on the torn screen through which she had escaped

Anyone could have entered the house at any tiht--especially with thatdrop to the floor He needed toforward He would have to board it up or put bars across it--or get Sarah’s friend Gary to do it

He trained the light around until he found the fuse box He walked over and opened it, and saw faded cursive writing labeling the different fuses to indicate which sections of the house they were linked to He found the fuse for the basement It had been switched to "off"

He turned it back on, then rearranged the crates, wedging the

It wasn’t a perfect job, just a jerry-rigged solution until so more permanent could be done, but it made him feel better

Then he went back up to the kitchen and made certain the baseood ed it under the doorknob If anyone one, he would know

He had just finished when Sarah came back down the stairs "All set?" she asked

"Not really Hang on one h every roo everyHouses weren’t evil--but they could definitely be used for evil purposes He made absolutely sure that the upstairs was eround floor

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked hirinned "A little late, don’t you think?"

"Better late than never," he said lightly "Besides, at some point, we’ll actually need to sleep, and I don’t want to worry about anyone getting in"

They left the house, and he watched as she locked the front door They were halfway down the front hen she said, "You went out to see Floby about the dead woman on the beach, didn’t you?"

"Yes"

"And?"