Midnight by Elisa Adams Page B

full, and she was able to admire the
serene beauty of the world around her. Why had she ever missed the city? She
could get used to this. Too bad she’d never have the chance.
    She’d been with Marco for a week. Pretty soon he’d get tired
of her and send her home. That’s what always happened—the men in her life got
sick of her and moved on. Or, in Derek’s case, slept with every man and woman
on the west coast and just neglected to tell her.
    It was a little past midnight, and she should be tired. But
she wasn’t. She was wide awake, even though she hadn’t slept in almost a day.
Marco had sent her to bed to get some sleep while he made a few phone calls,
but she’d tossed and turned for two hours. Finally she’d given up. It wasn’t
worth the effort.
    “What are you doing awake?”
    She winced when he switched on the lamp next to the window.
    “Hey, are you okay?” He sounded concerned.
    She shrugged it off. “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep.”
    She hadn’t eaten all day, either, yet she wasn’t hungry. She
started to wonder if she was getting sick. It wasn’t like her to not feel the
effects of an empty stomach. She’d lived with starvation diets long enough to
know the signs.
    “Maybe you should see a doctor.”
    That would involve going back to the city. She wasn’t ready.
She’d gotten too used to Marco’s quiet life, so far from the reality she knew,
to want to go back. She shook her head.
    “No?”
    “No, Marco,” she said. “I don’t want to leave. Not to see a
doctor, not for anything.”
    He looked worried, and a little upset. “People are probably
starting to notice you’re gone.”
    She shrugged. “Let them.”
    He placed a hand on each of her shoulders. “I have to take
you back tomorrow, Amara.”
    “Tomorrow?” That couldn’t be possible. She could not let
that happen. “Why?”
    “You don’t belong to me. It’s not right for me to keep you
here like some kind of caged animal.”
    “What if I want to stay?” She didn’t feel caged in any way.
It had been a while since she’d felt threatened by him. Something had changed.
She couldn’t identify what it was, but it felt like everything in her universe
had shifted when he’d knocked on her door. Being here, being anywhere, with
Marco felt right. She knew she was asking for trouble by protesting, but
she no longer cared. She wanted Marco, and she wasn’t ready to leave just yet.
    She was supposed to be here. She couldn’t explain it to him,
and he’d probably laugh it off if she tried, but she knew this was where she
needed to be.
    “You can’t. Don’t make this any harder than it is,
sweetheart.” He sighed. “I want you to see a doctor. This is really important
to me. How about we compromise. You can see a doctor I know. He’s going to come
out to the house.”
    “What’s the big push with the doctor? I’ve told you I’m
fine.”
    He didn’t speak for so long, she wondered if he was even
listening to her. When he finally opened his mouth to speak, he sounded
worried. “Look, there’s something going on with you, whether or not you think
you’re fine. You aren’t sleeping, you aren’t eating, you’re very pale and
listless. I’ve seen this before. It could be the symptoms of…”
    Her heart skipped a beat. “Symptoms of what?”
    “Nothing. Never mind.” He shook his head. “Just see the
doctor, okay?”
    She narrowed her eyes at him. “What part of this do you not
understand? I don’t want to see a doctor. I don’t care whether he’s a friend of
yours or not.”
    He looked ready to protest, but a knock on the door stopped
him. He opened the door and let in another big man. This one wasn’t as dark and
scary as Marco, though. With his long, dark blond hair pulled into a ponytail
and the goofy tropical print shirt he wore, he reminded her of a typical;
Southern California beach bum. He was imposing, but not in a way that scared
her.
    “What’s this problem you wanted to talk to me about?”