This Lawless Love [wlw]

Chapter Eight: The Nymph

"I'll take optics off of her but know I'm still surveilling everything carefully. If it leads back to her..." The voices grew clearer, signaling that they were moving further down the hall and seeing as the bathroom door was the second one down, Almenira feared her thumping heart would be heard.

She clamped her hand over her mouth as she lowered herself to a crouch against the door as if they would see her through the thick wood.

"It won't."

"You should have sent the kid home. You're really gonna focus time and energy on coddling her every time you think her feelings are hurt when you've already got this going on?"

"I keep promises, Antonio. Tell that imbecile Rodriguez to keep a low profile and not to burst his stitches...and he owes me a new suit."

Next, Almenira heard the jangle of keys and descending footsteps that alerted her that Claudia had headed down the stairs.

The new and improved plan had been to flush the toilet and run the sink for a few seconds then emerge from the bathroom, pretending like she had only come upstairs to relieve herself.

It was too late for that now and Almenira could do nothing but wait to meet her fate.

She was literally up against a wall and there was no way to escape.

The clack of heels slowly came back up the steps, causing the panic attack that was manifesting to be unleashed in full force.

"Almenira?" Almenira could from the proximity of her voice that the woman only stood a couple of yards away from the door she hid behind.

God, she was going to throw up.

Claudia stepped slowly down the hall. The distant sound of a twisting of a doorknob could be heard. Almenira imagined Claudia was looking in the same dark guest room she had been just minutes before.

When she heard the soft click of the door and footsteps returning back to the corridor, she knew it was only a matter of time before she was discovered.

Her heart was in her throat and she felt weak in the knees as she moved to stand back up. Quickly, she shut the bathroom lights off and fled into the shower stall that was to the left of the room then closed the glass door softly behind her.

As she crouched down into the corner opposite of the door's immediate view, she cursed at the fact that the shower door was completely transparent but prayed the darkness concealed her enough that Claudia would move on.

"Oh, darling... Don't be afraid. Come out." Claudia's voice was soothingly soft and if not for the current situation, Almenira would have immediately run to her and happily dough refuge in the comfort she offered.

The door directly next to her shut softly, indicating that Claudia had finished searching that room too.

"I mean it, Alme. Let's talk about it, okay?"

She was in front of the bathroom.

Almenira felt like she was going to throw her heart up and despite the firm hold she kept over her mouth, her breathing was approaching an erratic state.

She huffed heavily and uncontrollably through her nose, determined not to allow herself to gasp the way her body begged her to. She was beginning to lose feeling in her limbs when she heard the twist of the door. Screwing her eyes shut, she did nothing but wait for it to swing open.

Despite having her eyes closed so tightly that it began to hurt, the light of the hallway filtered in through her lids.

The anticipation was admittedly scarier than the confrontation.