Touch Slowly (Red Light: Silver Girls series) by Debra Kayn Read Free Book Online Page B

trailer park, away from her cousins.
    In front of the sliding door, she glanced behind her. An exhausted sigh escaped her. Emmett remained in his parking spot true to his word.
    "This better work," she mumbled stepping forward.
    The glass doors slid open. She hurried inside on a burst of energy. Not wanting to attract the attention of the woman behind the counter in the lobby, she continued walking to her left and down a hallway without the inn employee even raising her head from her computer screen. An exit sign lit up the door at the end of the hall, and her luck turned.
    Outside, she jogged around the building to the front, peeked around the corner, and blew out her breath on a relieved laugh. Emmett had left.
    Now all she had to do was make it back to the Sterling Building and get upstairs to her room in Red Light.
    She set off jogging, aware of every car that passed her and the dogs in the yards that lifted their heads and barked. She cut through a back street, down an alley, and arrived in front of the building within ten minutes of being dropped off at the Inn. She leaned against the building to catch her breath.
    Out of shape, she couldn't believe how slow she ran across town. At one time, she could put her feet on the ground and run forever. Fear and adrenaline usually played to her advantage in her teen years when she'd ran the streets with her backpack of art supplies, participating in the game of tagging.
    One street artist would start a picture, and she'd finish it in her style. Whoever declared the piece completed earned the right to sign the art. The name Nova probably remained on more buildings, trains, and billboards back in Long Beach, Washington than she could count. God, she missed the time in her life when the town was her playground and the adventure and danger associated with painting gave her the biggest high.
    She hustled over to the abandoned building that shared an alley with the Sterling Building and grabbed the broom from the recess of the doorway. The twine she'd used last time too fragile to risk again, she'd found an old push broom in the utility closet upstairs at Red Light, snuck it to her room after dinner, and escaped with it last night.
    Glancing all around, she took her chance and ran over to her balcony. The handle of the broom long and sturdy enough, she easily pulled down the emergency extension ladder for her to reach. Once in the room, making sure the door was completely shut, she slipped the cardboard piece she used to stabilize the security system off the trip wire.
    Standing beside the bed, she held her breath. The occasional creak and thump on the other side of her door signaled Marci in the kitchen. She hid the broom under the bed and then flung herself down on the mattress and closed her eyes. Two straight nights out were too much for her body. She only wanted to sleep until it was time to work.
    Her eyes burned behind her dry lids. She slipped her arm under the pillow and let herself slip off to sleep.
    A loud banging woke her. She scrambled for her phone on the bed and looked at the time.
    Shit.
    She'd only slept twenty minutes.
    Shit.
    "Nova, wake up," shouted Marci from the other side of the door. "You have a doctor's appointment in a half hour."
    Shit.
    She pushed herself off the bed, groaning at the tight pull of her muscles refusing each step. Wiping her finger underneath each eye to remove last night's mascara smudges, she opened the door.
    "Oh, good. You're up and dressed." Marci's smile fell. "Are you feeling unwell?"
    "No." Nova shoved her hand in her hair. "I had a rough night. I kept tossing and turning. It happens during the first week I'm working at a new place."
    "Can we help?" Marci pointed down the hallway. "We have extra pillows, blankets, and even one of those back massage mats you can lay on to relax."
    "Thanks, but I'll be fine." Nova stepped back. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be ready for my appointment."
    "Sure thing. Go ahead and meet us all