Snake didn't smoke, that was always Reno's guilty pleasure but as he stood on the balcony waiting for the pizza delivery he wished he had a cigarette. Behind him the door to their room was open and he could hear the shower running in the bathroom. He leaned against the wall behind him, letting his head lean back.
It was starting to rain, the roof above the balcony kept him dry but a storm raged. He could see the office across the parking lot along with the no vacancy sign flashing in the dark. He moved to the railing leaning forward he peered across the soaked parking lot and into the office window. He saw the man who checked them in sitting behind his desk, on his desk was a medium sized television and on the screen, Snake felt his blood run cold. On the screen was a girl in the shower and he knew with a sick feeling that it was Lana.
"You sick son of a-" He shoved away from the railing.
His only thought was on throttling the man, he was half way down the stairs when he realized Lana was still in the shower. He turned and stormed back up the stairs, his first priority was getting her out of there.
He stormed into their room and without knocking threw open the bathroom door. He tore the flimsy shower curtain off the hooks and when he did he scared her. Lana let out a scream that made his blood run cold.
He flinched when she started to scream and he looked away as quick as he could. She huddled in the tub struggling to cover herself. He hesitated a minute and took a deep breath trying to calm himself down. When he felt slightly more under control he turned back to her, she was cowering in the tub, the water still on trying to cover her body the best she could. She wouldn't look at him and he knew he'd scared her.
"Get up, come on."
She whimpered and curled tighter into herself but didn't move to stand.
"Listen to me, you're being watched."
She sent him an accusing glare from where she was huddled in the tub. She didn't speak to him or move but she had started to shiver. He took a deep breath and sank to his knees in front of her, trying not to look at her.
"Not by me, I'm not watching you but someone is. You need to stand up and come with me."
She looked up at him, still shivering. Her lower lip trembled and she slowly pulled her arms closer around herself. She shook her head slowly, she wasn't going to go with him.
Frustrated he stood and glanced wildly around the room until he saw a tiny round hole near the shower head. He punched the plaster and then reached in tearing out the tiny hidden camera, he tossed it down into the tub next to her and she winced.
"Look, that's from our friend at the front desk. Now get up."
He reached into the shower and grasped her upper arms. He hauled her roughly to her feet, not meaning to scare her anymore but too angry to realize he was. She let out a cry of protest as she stumbled out of the tub.
"Get dressed, we're leaving."
He turned and stormed out of the bathroom just as quickly as he'd stormed in. He grabbed his jacket from where it lay and shrugged it on, holstering his guns as well. He had to pause, just for a moment and shake the image of her from his head. The smooth, soft skin of her body covered in water, the way she felt under his hands, dangerous thoughts he didn't have time for.
When she came out of the bathroom in her clothes she didn't speak or look at him. She timidly picked at a loose string on her shirt. He turned towards her and wanted to apologize but didn't quite know how. Instead he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door, he slowed his pace as they went down the slippery, wet, metal stairs.
It was pouring as they crossed the parking lot and he opened her door. Once she was safely in the car he turned towards the office. He pulled open the door and the man behind the counter surged to his feet, fear written all over his face. He put up his hands in surrender as Snake stormed around the desk. He looked at the monitor which showed nothing now but earlier had revealed Lana in the shower. He grabbed it and threw it from the counter to the floor watching it smash.
"You sick freak!"
"I was just looking, no harm done."
"I ought to beat you senseless!"
He turned and was about to leave when the idiot opened his mouth.
"It was just for entertainment value, she wasn't all that nice to look at anyway. What the hell happened to her back?"
Snake turned and in a blink of an eye, or two long strides he had knocked the man down and followed him to the floor. He couldn't be sure how many times he punched the man but he managed to stop himself when his knuckles started to hurt. He paused and looked at the bloodied mess he'd made of the mans face and backed away from him.
He pushed a hand through his hair and turned to leave. Lana was standing in the doorway. She looked even more terrified than before and her clothes were soaked through from the rain. She was shivering, arms wrapped around herself for warmth and completely soaked. He took a step towards her and she took a step back.
"Lana, it's okay, it's okay."
He took a few more steps and this time she didn't move. When he was close enough he shrugged off his coat and reached to put it around her shoulders. She winced away at first but when his jacket settled in place she seemed to relax a little.
It was still raining as he helped her into the car then ran to his side. He pulled out of the parking lot and instantly knew he'd made a mistake. As soon as he could move the night-man would call the cops and by this time tomorrow they'd be looking for him. He glanced at Lana who was bundled in his coat and slid down on her seat, he recognized it as an attempt to hide.
The rain made it hard to see and the roads too dangerous for him to keep up his speed, he held out a slim hope they'd find another motel but after driving two hours and seeing nothing he gave up. Two hours of once again riding in silence, Lana hadn't spoken a word but had stared out the window the entire ride. He watched her as she sat in her seat shaking like a life, he turned on the heat but soon realized it was fear not cold.
"We'll have to sleep in the car tonight," He said.
"Okay," She said softly.
He found a dirt road and pulled off, he put the car in park and glanced at her. She was still balled up on her seat.
"I'm sorry for how I reacted." He said.
"Don't be."
"I am, I didn't want to scare you."
"You did, when you came in that bathroom...I thought..."She didn't finish, didn't have too.
"I know, I'm sorry. When I realized what was going on I just saw red."
"I'm not afraid of you, once I realized what was going on it wasn't you. It was him, he scared me."
"You don't have to be afraid of him, I would never let him hurt you."
"Will they be looking for you now? What if he called the cops."
"I don't think he will, he won't risk them finding his cameras."
She shivered and he felt bad, first she was kidnapped and violated then this happened. Even motels didn't seem safe for her.
"You can climb in the back seat, get some sleep."
"What if he comes looking for us?" She asked, looking at him with fear in her eyes.
"I'll stay up and keep watch."
"All night?"
"All night," He promised.
She looked at him with something in her eyes he couldn't read and he turned to look out the windshield at nothing. She leaned over and gently placed a soft kiss on his cheek, his eyes closed on their own accord. When she pulled away he gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white to keep from touching her.
"I was starting to forget that guys like you existed," She said softly.
"What do you mean?"
"Nice guys, ones that will keep you safe, give you their coats and take care of you."
"I'm not always a nice guy."
"No, but you are with me."
"You should get some sleep," He said.
She gave a small nod and then proceeded to climb into the back seat of the small car. The rain tapped on the roof hard enough it was almost deafening and relaxing. She moved around until she was adjusted as comfortable as could be in the back of the car. He thought she'd fallen asleep and then she spoke.
"Snake?"
"Yeah?"
"Tell me about your wife?" She asked softly.
"Why?" He asked a littler harsher than he intended.
"Because I want to know what she was like, I want to know about you."
"You shouldn't the less you know about me the better."
She fell silent and he wasn't sure if he scared her or hurt her feelings. He hadn't talked about his wife in so long, he tried not to bring it up, tried to keep it blocked out. He grieved for years after her death and finally had accepted it. It still hurt but he could live with it.
"I'm sorry, I just thought it'd be nice to learn about each other." She said.
He sighed heavily, maybe she needed to have a conversation that didn't relate to her being raped, maybe getting to know her better would help her remember who she was.
"Her name was Rebecca. We were high-school sweethearts, we weren't married long before she was killed. The red dragons wanted me to switch clubs, I said no. They broke into the house in the middle of the night."
"While you were sleeping? That's not fair."
"They aren't fair men, you know that."
She didn't reply to his comment and he waited a minute or two, listening to the rain. He cleared his throat and then continued.
"My wife was done up like you were. They beat me, I think they thought they killed me because they let me lay outside. They dragged Rebecca back into the house and poured gas through it, before they left they tossed down a lit match."
He stopped, he needed a minute or two to regain his composure. It'd been so long since he'd talked about it that he forgot how hard it was. He could still smell the smoke, feel the heat on his face as his house burned with his beautiful wife inside. His mind flashed back to that night, to her screaming and him trying to fight off at least a dozen men.
"Snake?"
Lana's voice snapped him back to reality. It was no longer the sounds of screams he heard but rain on the roof, the smell of smoke replaced with her shampoo.
"I tried to break in, tried to get her out but the porch collapsed. I was burned pretty bad and Rebecca didn't make it. I was in the hospital for over a month, I learned Rebecca had been shot. She was dead before the fire started, that made it a little easier. I loved her very much."
"What was she like before?"
"She was a redhead, green eyes like the color of grass. She liked black and white movies and they drove me crazy, was always bringing in stray animals and making them pets."
"I think I would have liked her, I bet we would have been good friends." Lana said.
"I think so too."
"I know it doesn't seem like it but you were blessed. To love someone, that's a gift even if it doesn't last long."
"You're very wise for your age," He said glancing back at her.
"I told you, I'm not that young." She replied, her tone irritated.
"I know," He said with a chuckle.
She was quiet for a minute or two and so was he.
"Goodnight Snake," She said finally.
"Goodnight Lana banana."
A few minutes later her even breathing let him know she was asleep. He leaned his head back against the head rest and closed his eyes. He listened to the rain pound on the roof and windshield, he could hear her breathing, smell her shampoo and still feel her lips against this cheek.
He lifted his head and glanced back at her. She was laying on her right side, her face illuminated by a streak of light coming in the window through the rain. Even the moon wanted to keep her in the light. Her gold curls were starting to dry and lay in wild curls over her shoulders, his leather jacket was still draped over her body. His coat was huge on her and she almost disappeared inside of it, he knew when he got it back it was going to smell like her and couldn't decide if he liked that or not.