He was barely conscious now. Kane knew that the heat coming out of the vents wasn’t going to be enough. Miller needed more; freezing water had touched his lungs. The warm cab of a truck wasn’t going to cut it. He shifted into gear, steered the truck to the end of the lot, then turned onto Dune Road and sped toward town. He parked the truck behind his apartment, helped Miller up the stairs, then down the hallway to his bathroom. He turned on the shower, made sure the water was cool, not hot or even warm, then got Miller under the stream and held him there. None of this was easy. Miller was only barely conscious, and he outweighed Kane by fifty pounds. Kane reached down, strained to put the plug into the drain. Once he got it, he helped Miller sit, cut off the shower, and let the water pour from the faucet to fill up the tub.
Kane hurried to his kitchen, found the slip of paper that Mercer had left him, with Gregor’s number on it. He grabbed his phone and dialed. When he came back to the bathroom, Kane saw that Miller was passed out. He waited till the tub was filled, then shut the water off and opened the faucet in the sink, let it run hot, to fill the room with warm steam. He made sure Miller was okay, that he wouldn’t slip under the water, then went into his bedroom, stripped out of his wet clothes, found a towel, and was about to dry off when he stopped.
He saw his reflection in the dark glass of the long window. Ghostly, unreal, shadowed, he was nearly unrecognizable to himself. He stared at what he saw, searching for something he could recognize. Who was this man now? Whose life was this? Finally, when he’d seen enough, Kane dressed, leaving his soaked clothes on the floor as he walked out of his dark bedroom. His hands still hurt, so he stood at the kitchen sink and let tepid water run over them. He remembered his last morning at Meg’s house, sitting on the edge of her bed and staring at his useless hands. How many days ago was that? he wondered. He couldn’t remember. But it didn’t really matter. What could matter now?
It would take at least another forty-five minutes for Gregor to make the drive from Montauk to Southampton, so all that was left for Kane to do was watch over Miller. He turned off the faucet in the kitchen sink and crossed the narrow hallway to his bathroom. The small room had quickly filled with thick steam, but Kane could see though it well enough to observe that Miller was still unconscious. Kane entered the room, then closed the door to keep the warmth in and sat on the floor. He listened to the water running and sat with his back against the door, watching Miller, waiting silently for him to awaken, determined to be there at his side when he finally did.
The Darkest Place Page 36