Free CaughtInTheTrap by Unknown Page A

fighting, it’s me.  Look at me, dammit!”
    Her chest heaved as she opened her eyes at the sound of the familiar voice. She burst into tears. “Thank God it’s you—thank God it’s you.”
    Zach released her arms and she immediately placed them around his neck drawing him close to her. “I’m here, Carla.  You don’t have to be afraid,” he said in a soft voice.
    “Why did you leave the door open?  You never leave the door open.”
    “I was outside checking on something. You just didn’t see me,” he said attempting to get up.
    She tightened her grip around his neck. “Don’t move, please.  I have to stop shaking before you move.”
    “I’m squashing you.”
    He was crushing her but felt she would fall apart if he moved.  “I don’t care; just give me a minute.”
    Zach pried her arms from around his neck and got off her. “You’re fine, Carla.”  He stood up and rubbed the side of his face. “I’m impressed how you handled yourself.  You can fight to be a girl.”
     Carla accepted his hand as he pulled her from the floor. “Thank you. When I was younger I hung around with my male relatives and we wrestled a lot.”  She rubbed her lower back. “You didn’t show me any slack. You tossed me around like a rag doll. I’ll have a nasty bruise on my backside in the morning.”
    “Sorry about that.  It’s my training.”  He fetched the bags from outside. “Here, I thought you could use these.”
    She caught the bag with both hands. “What is it?”
    He took two glasses from the cabinet and set them on the table.   Picking up an overturned chair he said, “Open it and find out.  Do you want a drink?” he asked twisting the cap off the bottle of rum and pouring a stiff drink.
    “You’re allowed to drink on the job?” she asked digging through the bag and finding a bottle of scented shower gel, a tube of lotion and women’s clothing that were almost her size.
    “Technically, I’m off the clock but can’t go home.  So, do you want one or not?”
    “Yeah, pour me a small one.” Carla held up the white shapeless nightgown and frowned. “You got me a lovely nightgown?  It’s sort of cute, in an Amish kind of way.” The basic sleeveless nightgown was made of cotton and knee-length and nowhere near sexy.  It probably was the same type of garment the farmer’s wife wore to bed on a warm summer night.  She expected to find a matching bonnet with white lace trim attached to it.
    Zach wiped his mouth with the back of his hand after taking a sip of the strong rum. “Out here, that’s as sexy as you’re gonna get.” He handed her a small shot of rum and held up his glass. “Cheers.”
    She tapped his glass with hers, and tossed down the hard liquor in one gulp and winced.  It burned a path down her throat straight to her stomach.  She tried not to gag from the reflex of the horrid taste and the fact it was burning a hole in the lining of her stomach.  Swallowing fire would not be as painful. She bucked her eyes. “Wow,” she said smacking her lips, “That rum sure is strong.  I better not have any more,” she giggled.
    He chuckled. “You really are a fluff.”
    “Excuse me? I am not a fluff.  I just prefer wine or beer rather than hard liquor.  Geez, you need to hang around women and learn a little about our likes and dislikes.”
    “I know enough about women. You all are a pain in the ass when you don’t get your way.”
    “Seriously, you think all women are that way? How do you feel about your mother?”
    He took another drink. “Mothers don’t count. Since you’re an expert on relationships, what happened between you and nature boy?”
    Carla sat at the table and poured a tiny bit more rum in her glass. After the burning in her throat subsided, she felt herself loosen and attributed it to the liquor.  “We were in different places.”
    “Like how? Did you badger him the way you do me and he bolted?”
    She sighed and stood up from the table. “We