No one would look at her and know that she packed a wallop when she kicked. He had bruises all over his body to prove it. When she finally retired to her room last night, it had taken all of Ike’s willpower not to offer her his bed. To his relief, she’d marched up the stairs without asking. He’d heard the springs on her mattress creak briefly, then all went still and silent. For a change, she had slept like the dead. Given how hard she’d worked that day, he regretted having to rouse her now, just hours into a full night’s sleep. But he couldn’t risk leaving her sleeping and alone. “Eryn.” He gave her shoulder a gentle shake. She lurched awake, grabbing him hard with both hands, her eyes wide open. “It’s just me,” he said, impressed with her reflexes. “Ike.” She fell limply against her pillow and blinked up at him. “Are you wearing a cap?” “Yes.” It was a ski mask, actually, but he’d rolled it up so that it looked like a cap.
