Page 13 of Saved by Him

I opened my eyes to see Clay sitting next to Jalen. I didn’t know which one had spoken, but it didn’t matter because they were both holding my hand now.

“You’re going to find me,” I said as I stretched out on the floor. My room stunk, and I knew I was almost as dirty as the floor, but Clay and Jalen didn’t seem to mind. “Will you keep me warm until the colors come?”

Clay laid down behind me and wrapped his arms around me. Jalen laid in front of me, his arms sliding between Clay’s waist and mine. He rested his forehead on mine, and the heat from their bodies seeped into me.

“Are you looking for me?” I whispered. I didn’t want Serge or his friends to overhear. If they knew Jalen and Clay were coming for me, they might move me, and then no one would ever find me.

“Of course,” Jalen said, brushing his lips against my cheek, my mouth. “I’ll never stop looking for you. I promise.”

“What about the baby?”

“Don’t worry about that,” he said, his hand sliding under my shirt. His fingers traced my scar. “Elise was lying. There’s no baby. The only person I want a baby with is you.”

“I don’t think I’ll be a good parent,” I admitted. “I don’t know what it’s like to have good parents.”

“Yes, you do,” Clay said quietly. “Before your dad’s accident, you had good parents. Your mom was always amazing. Anton wasn’t perfect, but he was good too. You know how to love.”

“Dad said he didn’t love me.”

“Shh.” Jalen smoothed down my matted hair. “You can remember what it was like before the accident. You know he loved you. Just remember.”

Another crack of lightning was close enough for me to hear it. Thunder rumbled almost immediately, rattling the pictures on my walls. My heart beat rapidly against my ribs, and I slid out of bed. It was too much to deal with alone. I was a big girl, but even big girls were scared sometimes. Daddy told me that, and Daddy didn’t lie.

I ran across the hall into their room, right up to Daddy’s side of the bed. I tugged on the blanket. “Daddy.”

He snored, but right now I didn’t think it was funny how he sounded like a sleeping bear. I didn’t want to laugh. I wanted him to wake up.

“Daddy.” I grabbed his hand this time and pulled on it. “Daddy wake up!”

He blinked at me. “Rona? Are you okay, little ladybug?”

I shook my head. “I’m scared.”

He didn’t ask me why I was scared or what had scared me. He just leaned over and picked me up, rolling us both over so that I was between him and Mommy. That was the safest place to be. No one could get me when I was here. Mommy and Daddy protected me. Kept me safe. They’d never let anyone hurt me.

I jerked awake, my befuddled brain unsure when I’d fallen asleep. Clay and Jalen were gone, and a part of me recognized the fact that they’d never been here to begin with. Someone had been though, because I had new food and water, and a familiar ache in my arm from another injection.

I should be worried about that. Were they using the same syringe? Had they used it on anyone else? What was in it? Was I going to come out of this addicted or damaged? I’d made it through nearly being cut in half without getting addicted to painkillers. I couldn’t let this ruin me.

Clarity of thought didn’t last long, not with another dose of drugs making its way through my system. Before I could get worked up enough to attempt anything remotely close to an escape plan, my limbs began to feel heavy, and the colors came back.

“If you can’t think, you’ll never be able to get out of here.” Jalen nudged my plate with his toe. “You’ve been here for too long already.”

I ate my toast and a pear. I didn’t tell him that I couldn’t have been here too long because I didn’t know how much time had passed. Maybe Serge was feeding me every few hours to make me think I’d been gone for days, but it was only Saturday.

“You were in the FBI,” Jalen said. “You know the chances of finding a kidnap victim goes down with every passing hour.”

“I wasn’t in the FBI,” I said. The drugs blunted my tongue, and the words came out slurred. “I got kicked out for lying.”

“Why did you lie?” Clay asked as he appeared next to Jalen. “You had to know the FBI would figure it out.”

“Because it’s easier to get kicked out than it is to fail,” Jalen answered the question when I could only stare. “Why do you think she dated you? Friends with benefits but with plenty of reasons to cut and run if things got too tough, too emotional. You were practically her supervisor.”

“No, he wasn’t,” I cut in, glaring at Jalen. “It wasn’t like that. Clay and I had fun, but that’s all it was.”

“That’s all it is with you too,” Clay said with a smarmy sort of grin. The kind I’d never seen on his face before. “I’ll bet she’s already given you a reason why she needs some ‘space’ or ‘time.’”

Jalen’s expression shifted, as if something about Clay’s words made him think. “She did say she needed some time to think about things.”

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