Page 28 of CHASE: Captive to the Dark

“Breakfast in town would be great. I’ve already talked to Rory this morning and we’re all going to sit down and have a talk. We can do that after we finish eating. How does that sound?”

Relief swept over her face and I forced a half-hearted smile to match hers. Was she so trusting to take every word I said as the truth? Hadn’t she be listening when I said I wasn’t going to let her leave with him? Had last night meant nothing to her? Too many questions, none of which I liked.

“Let me hold you while I take you to get your clothes.”

Before I could stand entirely, she had her arms stretched out toward me. Yes, my Kit was too trusting. I liked it, yet I didn’t. She had no idea who she was about to hold onto. From what I remembered of the person I used to be, she might have been safer on a flight back to Florida.

“I’m surprised,” she said, wrapping her arms around my neck as I lifted her sheet-covered body. “I thought you’d put up some sort of fight. I’m glad you see everything’s going to be okay. This is for the best.”

Dismissing her words was almost impossible as I headed up the stairs. When I reached the top and started up the flight leading to the second story, heat was pouring from my skin. Still, she continued.

“I know you probably regret last night. You were drunk, and I should have…told you about me.” She stuttered through the words. “Father, I’m sorry you felt the need to make things good when you really didn’t want to. If you felt I forced this on you—”

I jolted to a stop, glaring down. “Me, forced? I do believe you were the one in cuffs. Stop trying to justify my actions for who I am, Kit. I’m the one who should be apologizing to you. Since I don’t regret what happened, I won’t be apologizing. What I do regret,” I said, walking down the hall, “is the fact that I was drunk and unprepared. Next time, I’ll take my fucking time on you.”

Kit’s head shook, confused, but I didn’t look down to face her. “But there won’t be a next time. I’m leaving today. Are you saying you’ll come to Florida?”

Lie? Sure, why not. We needed food, and I needed coffee. “I’m thinking about it. Florida might be a nice place to live.”

“You’re moving there, then?”

“Maybe.”

I placed her down, turning to grab her clothes from where they were folded on the dresser. “Get dressed. We’ll talk more about this on the way.”

Kit’s smile turned genuine and she nodded, almost a little enthusiastically. It was enough to give me pause as I walked to the closet to grab my own clothes.

“Say,” I took down a pair of jeans and a black fitted sweater, turning back to face her, “when you worked at that BDSM club, did you pick that position because you were intrigued by the lifestyle, or did you just do it for the money?

Kit buttoned her jeans, pausing to place the bra on. “I knew about BDSM before I applied. It’s always been something I was pulled to.”

I nodded, putting on my own pants. Even as I continued to get dressed, I couldn’t stop watching her. She was gorgeous. So much so, I felt myself soften.

“What about you? Can you remember anything about why you have a dungeon in your basement?”

Did I remember? Oh yes, some. “It’s part of who I am. I guess I’ve always been into the life, too.”

“So you remember some, then?”

I walked over, pulling out some socks and sliding them on. “Yeah. Last night I had a visitor. A friend. Some stuff came back to me.”

“Did…?” Kit trailed off and I finished putting on my shoes while I watched her shift. She was waiting for my answer and she didn’t have to come out and say it for me to know what she meant.

“No. I don’t remember who tried to kill me. I might never know.”

She stayed quiet while I walked over and grabbed my leather jacket out of the closet. I didn’t hesitate to shove the gun at my back. When I swept her into my arms, she rested against me like it was the most natural thing ever, and to me, it was. We were so in sync, yet strangers. But we wouldn’t be for long. Soon, Kit would be fighting me again. She’d want to leave and I had no intention of letting her. How was I going to keep her here and somehow hide her from the outside world? Rory would come and he’d bring the law with him, which was on his side. How did I protect her from all of them? How did I protect her from myself?

Beeping sounded behind me as I reset the alarm. What I was met with when I opened the door stopped me in my tracks. A group of men stood on the large porch, their arms crossed over their chest while they stared at me. Palo was leaning against the railing, a shit-eating smirk on his face.

“I’m glad to see you’re taking my advice.” He pushed off, coming closer.

“We’re just headed out to breakfast.” I scanned the five men in front of me. “What are you all doing here? I don’t believe I made any calls.”

“You’re too damn stubborn for that,” Palo said, throwing a glance at a tall, bald man at the end. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember his name. He was in some of my memories, always quiet. Always watching everything.

“What do you want?”

A man a few years younger than me shifted as my gaze came to him. He didn’t mind answering my question. “You need help,” he said sternly. “Now that you’re finally away from the church, we can do that.”

---