Safe Haven

Playing Games

His head ached. That was the first thought he had as he regained himself. His throat felt cracked and dry. He felt cold. But there was someone next to him. If only he could open his eyes and see who it was.

"Bo?" a small voice questioned, a gentle hand brushing a strand of hair off his forehead. He struggled to remember who that voice belonged to. Surely it was someone he knew. "Bo? Are you awake?"

He groaned, trying to sit up only for those gentle hands to turn hard and shove him back down. "Bo, don't move. Will, Shawna, and my parents are on their way as well as Cooper and Liz. What were you thinking going out here by yourself with just a bat?"

"Sage," Bo interjected, grabbing her wrist and holding it tightly in his hands. "That wasn't some punk. That was someone who meant business and wants to hurt you."

She nodded, a tear glistening on her cheek. "I know." She sniffled. "I should've told you or someone about the emails when they started coming in, but I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to think of me as some damsel in distress."

"I could never think of you as some damsel in distress, Sage," Bo croaked, willing to give anything for a drink. "At the moment, I think you're a downright stubborn idiot for not telling someone about the emails. What all did they say?"

She bit her lip, trying to think back to the words she'd seen displayed on her screen. Words that she just wished would go away. "Mainly just that I've met this guy before, I owe him, and he wants his payment. The only problem is I don't know who he is."

At that moment, other voices reached them. Voices that were concerned, fearing the worst, and searching for them. Sage answered their calls, staring down at Bo with desperation swimming in her eyes. Bo couldn't decide whether that was a plus or a minus. Pity or guilt over him getting hurt would get her to go out with him again, but that was taking the easy way. If they were going to fall back into love, he would make her fall for real and hard. He wasn't going to take the easy way.

Although it was highly tempting.

The men had taken turns lugging Bo back to Sage's house while the women fussed over him. Somehow he'd ended up on Sage's couch with her next to him, cuddling closer to use her body heat to help warm him while other blankets were found and tossed over him. He could feel the tension riding Sage's body. She knew everyone in the house was about to sit her down and question her about why she wouldn't say anything about the emails. With a start, Bo realized she was doing what she used to do. If she sensed a lecture of any sort coming, she tried hiding from the world by curling up next to him. He never stopped making her feel safe.

Nick handed his daughter his phone. "Check your email, right now. And you better tell us if there's any sort of threatening message in there."

Bo watched as that slim, trembling hand grabbed the phone. He stared over her shoulder as she tapped button after button, the silence seeming to stretch for eternity. Eventually, she was able to get into her email, but that brought on a new round of shaking as well as a cry strangled in her throat. She opened the message, read it, and handed the phone back to Nick.

"'You look so sexy spinning around your house, singing at the top of your lungs'," Nick read, his teeth clamping together in anger. "'I told you I was here, and so I am. I'm ready for my retribution, and I'm ready for you to give it. For now, I'll satisfy myself by watching your slim body dance in the moonlight. But you've been warned. I'll see more, feel more, take more, when I--"

His voice stopped and his eyes widened. "Oh no. Nobody talks about my baby girl like that."

Cooper, always curious and wanting in on everything, snatched the phone away and read the rest of the message. He let out a low whistle. "Wow, there are some things in here that I can't say just because there are females in the room. But, to sum it all up, he wants to tie you down and ram a few into you. And by ram a few I mean--"