Page 63 of Meet Me In The Dark

He tried to smile, but it hurt too badly. “It doesn’t matter now.”

“Okay then, what’s Plan B?”

“Do you trust me, baby?”

Her worried eyes were clear. “You know I do.”

He thought about obfuscating to give her hope. Lying, to protect her. But she wanted more—deserved better.

Even if the truth hurt.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I can’t think of anything. Not yet, anyway. But we’ll think of something, together.”

Conor must have caught the end of what he’d said to Kara because he nodded. “Together.”

Luke was silent.

“Luke,” Micah coaxed.

“I don’t want any of you to die. But if you’re going to, I’m glad that I’m here with you, that I can be with you until the end,” he finally said.

The end. Micah closed his eyes. And prayed to the god he no longer believed in. That this wasn’t their end, but a part of their rocky beginning.

20

Time took on a surreal quality for Kara after that. For all of them.

Once a day—if she could even keep track of the days anymore—the door to their cell opened, a guard slid in a tray with water and a small ration of food, changed the bandage on Conor’s chest, guns pointed at Kara’s head so no one tried anything, and then dragged Kara out.

The first time, she’d been taken by surprise, one moment holding Conor’s hand, the next his head thudding to the cement floor as she was being lifted by her elbows and marched out the door.

Behind her, Conor, Luke, and Micah lost their minds. She turned her head, only to see Micah straining so hard against his zip ties, it looked like he was about to sprain or break his wrist. Luke and Conor were no better, fighting so hard against their restraints their wrists bled.

As she was marched down the hallway, she heard them yelling her name, as if their fury had turned them into one furious man.

“Where are you taking me? Are you taking me to Chris?” she asked the closest guard.

He didn’t answer, leaving her alone to dwell in her thoughts and her fear. She didn’t want to get raped. She was terrified of him putting his hands on her body, touching her. She’d promised herself no one would ever touch her again without her permission, and she was determined to keep that promise to herself.

But when she was pushed into the bathroom and told to use the bathroom and shower, she wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or even more afraid. The men watched her, and their eyes on her burned her bare skin, but none of them spoke. None of them touched her.

Once she was clean and dry, they gave her sweats and marched her back to the cell, where they threw her to the ground and left.

“Kara, oh thank fuck, sweetheart.”

“Baby, what did they do to you? What happened?” Micah asked urgently.

She shook her head. “Just stared at me while I showered. I didn’t even see Chris.”

Luke watched her, his eyes gentle on her face. “Kara, sweetheart, you don’t need to lie to protect us. You don’t?—”

She cut him off. “Luke, I’m not lying. They didn’t touch me. I think he’s trying to break us down with fear and not knowing what’s coming next. We can’t let him.”

Conor shut his eyes. “I don’t want you hurt. How do we keep you from being hurt?”

“Conor, I don’t wantyouhurt, either,” she said. “We don’t have a choice. We just need to survive, okay?”

She circled the cell, kneeling down and kissing each of her men, stroking their faces, aware that the fact that theycouldn’t hold her in their arms pushed them even closer to breaking.

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