her life, she allowed her anger to surface. “Fine. Then go. I don’t need anything else from you.”
“Fine.” He threw open the door and stepped into the hallway. “Now be a good girl and stay in your room. Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be.”
“It doesn’t need to be hard at all,” Katie snapped. “All you have to do is be honest with me.”
Rather than answer, Rafe shut the door in her face. Stunned, she stared at the wood grain in disbelief. She was infinitely more upset about her situation now than she’d been only an hour ago. Apparently tomorrow would bring grave danger, and the man who swore he wanted to protect her was not only crazy, but also a liar. She wasn’t safe here. Not at all.
With that thought, Katie stalked over to the pile of clean clothes and tugged off Rafe’s T-shirt. She couldn’t stand to smell him on her anymore.
CHAPTER SIX
She had to leave.
When it came down to it, that was her only option. Katie wasn’t sure how she would sneak away or where she would go, but that wouldn’t dissuade her from the only course of action that made sense. Remaining here meant willingly putting her life in Rafe’s hands. Better to take her chances on her own. The bad weather and their isolated location meant escape could very well be a suicide mission, but according to Rafe’s friend, she was as good as dead if she stayed. She didn’t know what to believe anymore. In her heart she somehow couldn’t imagine Rafe hurting her, but there was no real reason to trust him. Not after what she’d heard. Maybe he was just a really good actor—sociopaths usually were, right? Given the choice between that and being raped, murdered, and/or tortured, she’d take the cold any day.
Shilah sat on the bed at her side, ears pricked. He seemed to sense her unease, whining low in his throat and nudging her with his nose. She stroked his head to shush him, not wanting Rafe to have any reason to come back. Outside, the sky had gone dark. Rafe had indicated that he was going to sleep soon…she hoped he was at least being honest about that. Once he was asleep, she would investigate the cabin to see if he’d been lying about not having a telephone. If she could call for help, maybe she wouldn’t need to venture into the night by herself. She could just blockade herself in the bedroom until help arrived.
Of course, she had no idea how she would direct the police to her location. Katie sighed deeply. “This just keeps getting better, doesn’t it?”
Shilah lay his head on her thigh and matched her exhalation. Laughing despite her fear, Katie flopped back onto the mattress and closed her eyes. She had some time to kill before Rafe went to bed, no doubt, and conserving her energy was probably the best way to do it. Careful not to get too comfortable, she allowed herself to doze lightly.
Jerking awake some time later, Katie blinked in confusion, then craned her neck to glance out the window. Inky blackness stared back at her. She sat up in a rush, heart pounding as she tried to decide how long she’d been out. Shilah picked up his head and blinked, looking at her expectantly.
“What do you think?” she whispered. “Is your daddy asleep?”
Shilah thumped his tail against the mattress, clearly pleased by the sound of her voice. She stroked his head—he really was a very nice dog—then stood slowly, not wanting him to follow. She held out her hand. “Stay here.”
Shilah immediately leapt off the bed and stretched with exaggerated languor. Katie rolled her eyes and stepped between him and the door, hands on her hips. “I said stay.” She gestured. “Sit.” She was relieved when he obeyed without hesitation. “Now stay.”
She walked to the door and, when Shilah didn’t move, pressed her ear to the cool wood. Silence. She couldn’t hear anyone walking around, which could mean he’d gone to bed, or else he was just sitting quietly somewhere in the cabin. Unfortunately, the only way to know was to look.
“Okay.” Katie took a deep breath, resting her forehead against the door. “If he’s awake, I’m going to tell him that I think you have to go outside to potty. Deal?”
Shilah’s tail smacked against the ground a couple times, then stilled. When she glanced over her shoulder at him, he stared back eagerly as though