Page 17 of Meet Me In The Dark

There was a hoodie folded on the bed. She zipped it on, feeling claustrophobic, trapped. Strange that it was clothes that made her feel trapped now, when before it was being naked in front of her men.

Where were they?

A warning sounded in her head, discordant, like a broken chord on a guitar. Something was different.

Something was wrong.

“Micah?”

Silence.

“Luke,” she called out sharply. “Conor.”

More silence.

Reluctantly, she went downstairs. The house was justwaking, the early dawn light filtering over the trees out the window. The tops of the Tetons were white from snow and orange from the rising sun. Maybe they’d go for a hike later.

But the men weren’t in the kitchen, the office, the workout room. Finally, she found them, in the vestibule by the front door. Micah held a backpack, Luke, sneakers. Luke saw her and glanced away. Were those tears in his eyes? Conor stood in the center, hands clenched, eyes wild.

“Are we going somewhere?” she asked.

Conor started toward her, only for the other two to drag him back, arms around his waist, his chest, holding him tight.

“We aren’t going anywhere, baby,” Micah said. “But you are.”

Her throat felt tight. It was hard to swallow.

“What do you mean?”

Conor spoke through clenched teeth. “A gilded cage is still a cage, right? Love without freedom is just possession. You wanted your freedom more than you wanted us, so now you have it.”

He jerked his head. Kara followed his gaze. She wasn’t sure who’d done it or when, but the front door was wide open.

“I—” Kara forgot how to use words. How to breathe. “What does, what are you even saying?”

Luke spoke, not looking for her. “Backpack’s for you. There’s money in there, your ID, a new cellphone with a ticket on it for a flight back to Chicago. A taxi’s on its way.”

Micah’s voice shook. She’d never heard him like this. “Chris is locked away, and so are his brothers. You’re safe now.”

Oh god.

“If you don’t leave now, you’ll miss your ride,” he continued.

“And you’re not coming with me?”

Conor jerked his head again, a clear no.

Oh god oh god oh god.

Her voice broke, “So you don’t love me, not anymore.”

“Kara, we’re doing this because we love you.”

She wanted them, she knew she loved them—but the open door beckoned to her. If she didn’t take this chance, she knew she’d never get it again.

Her feet carried her forward. Took the shoes from Lucas.

“Will you please look at me?” she asked Luke.

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