Free Justified Means (Book One) (The Agency Files) by Chautona Havig Page B

so don’t think that me being sorry I had to do it means I am sorry that I did do it. There’s a difference.”
    “ You—” Another wave of nausea crashed over her. Dizzy, she stumbled in a semi-circle and then sank to the floor holding her head. “Oh, man…”
    “ Come on, Erika,” Keith encouraged, trying to get her to stand. “Let’s get you back to the couch.”
    “ I can’t move. Leave me alone. I want my dishpan.”
    At the sink, Keith pumped the lever on the hand pump at the sink, rinsing the dishpan. Erika started to complain, but seeing him working to give her a clean pan made her hesitate. When he returned, he lifted her in his arms and carried her back to the couch. Seeing her eye the dishpan, he handed it back to her, and apologized. “I didn’t use the soap. It’s in the bundle, so I can if you want me to, but I thought—”
    “ You thought I could clean up my own puke. First you make me sick, and now you want me to clean it up. What a guy.”
    “ I thought you might need it,” he restated as if she hadn’t just ungraciously attacked him for trying to be nice. “Want me to wash it out to kill the smell?”
    “ Yeah. Might want to clean the rest of this place while you’re at it.” She tried not to look at the door as she spoke, but it was as if her eyes refused to obey her brain. Even still, he didn’t seem to notice.
    As he stood at the sink scrubbing, she crept toward the door, trying not to make any sudden movements that he might notice. She had to get away. These people were crazy. Drugging her? What kind of “protector” drugs the person he’s responsible for? The same word that seemed to define the entire experience blasted her brain again.  Insanity.
    Just as she reached the door, he spoke from the sink, and she bolted before the words registered. “I wouldn’t run—” Still unsteady from the effects of the heroin, Erika fell flat on her face before he could finish his warning.
    “ Aaah! What the—” She stared at her feet as if they’d betrayed her. Handcuffs combined with a towing chain that was locked to a ring in the floor were hooked around one ankle. “When did you? I know I made it—”
    “ It just took a second when I put you back on the couch. I’m sorry, but you can’t be seen in the yard right now. The car is hidden, but if someone sees us out here, it could get back to A—all the people who are looking for you.”
    With every ounce of mental strength she possessed, Erika forced herself to think about his words repeatedly, until she fell asleep. He’d started to say something with a short “A” sound. Whatever that meant, she didn’t know, but it was a start. She couldn’t let the drugs take that away from her. A. How hard could it be to remember the first letter of the alphabet?
     

     
    As she sank to the floor, Keith realized that she ’d need help. It’d be impossible to curl up next to that dishpan unless it was empty. Stuffing down the impulse to gag, Keith dumped the contents down the toilet and pumped a bucketful of water to pour into the tank. This no electricity thing would get old quickly. As he handed her the rinsed dishpan, he slipped the handcuff around her ankle, hoping she was too upset to notice. As miraculous as it seemed, it worked. Now, if she’d just stop puking so he could give her detox capsules for her liver.
    Just as he warned her not to run, Erika tripped. As expected, a new string of insults followed a fresh wave of anger and culminated in a torrent of foul-mouthed expletives. After trying to explain why she couldn’t leave, Keith gave up and led her back to the couch. “Just rest. I—” he sighed. “Just rest.”
    When she didn ’t awaken to vomit again, Keith sighed, relieved. He had too much to do and little time to do it before she woke up again. With the first sweep of the broom, he realized that she’d wake up coughing in no time unless he did something to filter her breathing. Tearing a strip of cloth