Page 51 of Collide

I had, after all, agreed to the deal to live with Kai for six months, andwouldn’t it be a heck of a lot easier if Kai and I were on the same page?

Don’t get me wrong, I still thought Kai was a controlling bastard andyes, I was still pretty pissed off about his demand to have a night with me, but I couldn’t help but feel a little different towards him.

The man had lost his brother for Christ’s sake, maybe he just wasn’tthinking like a rational man. I hadn’t exactly been thinking rationally when I decided to run away with Angel after our mom’s death.

I ignored the part of my brain that reminded me of all the rumors I had heard about the Wolfe family over the years. Rumors would do me no good, surely I was better off listening to someone who knew Kai personally rather than gossip I’d hear out on the street, right?

Besides, hadn’t Danny said Kai would want to protect me, to keep mesafe? He’d already proven that when he broke the neck of my would-be attacker in the alleyway, something of which I should have been concerned about. But the truth was, it didn’t really bother me Kai had killed him, if he hadn’t been there to stop it from happening, without a shadow of a doubt, I would have been raped, and probably left for dead.

Despite Kai being a truly terrifying man, something in the pit of mystomach said he wouldn’t want to hurt me. The way he looked at me sometimes made me think that maybe,just maybe, he genuinely cared for me.

That was the lifeline I had decided to cling to and I hoped and prayedthat I was right.

Only time would tell.

The morning started the same as the day before. Jacqueline came tomy room with a tray of goodies, this time granola, honey and yogurt with a glass of orange juice. I had avoided dinner the night before, too consumed by my thoughts to eat, so this morning, I was famished.

Jacqueline put the tray on my side, and as per yesterday, as soon asI started eating, she went about making my bed. I still wasn’t happy about it, but wasn’t life about picking your battles? And this seemed like a pointless battle to pick.

Once she had made the bed, Jacqueline turned to face me but kepther eyes on the floor, but at least I understood why this morning.

“Mr. Wolfe has asked that you are dressed and ready to leave in onehour.” Her voice was soft, barely audible over the crunching of my granola. I nodded in acknowledgment and with that, she left.

Nervousness swept through me but I wasn’t sure if it was not knowingwhat Kai had planned or anticipation of seeing him again. Either way, with my decision made to give him a chance, I finished my breakfast and started to get myself ready.

Bang on the hour, I was dressed in the most casual clothes I couldfind in the closet. It had taken me a little while to rifle through the insane amount of clothes Kai had bought, eventually settling on a pair of black skinny jeans, a plain white vest top, and a black leather jacket, which I had to admit was pretty darn nice and fit me like a dream.

There wasn’t a flat pair of shoes in sight though and while I wore highheeled shoes when I was dancing, I never wore them outside of Club Sin, and I wasn’t about to start now, high heels hurt.

I laced my old sneakers up, not giving a shit if they were starting tofall apart and didn’t match the quality of my new outfit. I’m sure Kai would have something to say about it, but the fact was, I was wearingsomeof the clothes he had bought, so he may not have objected.

Also, pigs might fly.

Just as I’d finished tying my lace, the door lock disengaged letting meknow someone was coming in, not even bothering to knock. Good fucking job I was dressed and not standing butt naked.

The door opened and in strolled Hendrix who walked into the roomlike he owned the place. I did not like this man one little bit, there was somethingoffabout him. In fact, I think I might have hated him more than I hated Kai, which was saying a lot.

A smirk was planted firmly on his face but upon seeing me dressedand ready to go, he quickly wiped it.

“Good, you’re ready,” he said as he raked his piercing blue eyesup and down my body, lingering on my boobs forfartoo long, and giving me the same creepy feeling I had when I first met him.

I wanted to say,‘Good morning to you too, asshole,’but instead, Ismiled sweetly and kept my mouth shut.

Hendrix was a good looking man, but he was one of thosedouchebags who knew it. Today he had styled his dirty blonde hair to one side and was clean shaven, showing off his sharp jawline. He wore a suit, much like Kai always did, but Hendrix looked more casual in his, he didn’t wear a tie, and the sleeves to his jacket and shirt were pushed up to his elbows.

“Right. Come on then,” he grunted, narrowing his eyes at my fakesmile.

Turning to walk back out of my room, I followed behind him like a littledog, grateful Danny had taken the time to show me around, otherwise I could have quite easily gotten lost given how fast this asshole was walking.

My heart panged as we walked past Angel’s room, I was sodesperate to see her. But I didn’t have time to dwell on the matter, Hendrix carried on stomping down the hall, clearly not giving a fuck about my inner turmoil.

We eventually reached the foyer where the doors to the elevatorstood open and waiting, but to my surprise, Kai was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Kai?” I asked, stopping in the foyer.

Hendrix reached the elevator and had taken a step inside beforespinning back to face me.

“He’s busy. You’re with me today,” he replied with disdain in his voice,even though his eyes once again scanned over my body.

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