“Mommy, are we staying with Chance?”
“I think so.”
“Good,” she said enthusiastically. I was starting to worry just a little bit about my daughter’s fascination with Chance. It wasn’t that I minded, but she was more interested in being with him than me.
“Wow, this is not a room. This is the size of an apartment.” I looked around the room in awe. There was a small living room with two bedrooms. They both seemed to be the same size, so I just picked one for Payton and I. Chance was sitting on the sofa telling Payton about some training program they had.
“Do I get to do it too?”
Her eyes pleaded with me and I couldn’t say no. If all the other kids were doing it, I didn’t want her to feel left out after being gone for so long.
“Sure,” I smiled. Chance grabbed her hand and started talking to her about all the things the instructors teach while we made our way down the hall. She was practically jumping up and down by the time we got to the training area for the kids.
“Holy crap.” He wasn’t joking. This place was impressive and the kids were even more so. “Is that a three year old throwing knives?”
“Impressive, huh?” Chance grinned and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched all the kids train.
“When do I get to do that?” Payton started jumping up and down excitedly as she pointed to a girl that was probably around eight years old, but it was hard to tell because she was muscular.
“That’s Caitlin, Cap’s daughter.”
“What is she doing?”
“That’s one of the more advanced courses. We had one at Reed Security also. Basically, the kids have to go through all these obstacles and learn to shoot under varying conditions.”
“But she’s upside down,” I said dumbly.
“Yeah, she definitely takes after her old man, or maybe her mom.”
“Is that safe? I mean, is she using a real gun?”
“Yeah, why?”
“She doesn’t look old enough to use one safely.”
Chance linked his fingers with mine and smiled. “You’re cute. Of course it’s safe. Besides, she’s behind bullet-resistant glass, so she can’t shoot anyone else.”
“What about herself?”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Well, that’s why we teach them from a young age. They grow up around this stuff and learn to respect weapons and the power that comes with them. Besides, if they’re dumb enough to shoot themselves, they have no right carrying a weapon. But after they stab themselves once or twice with a knife, they usually learn that they have to really pay attention.”
“You said usually.”
“What?”
“You said they usually learn. What about the ones that don’t learn?”
A wide smile split his lips and suddenly I wasn’t so comfortable with Payton being involved in this. “Trust me, they learn unless they want to go up against Bruiser.”
“And you think Payton can learn all that stuff?” I asked hesitantly.
“Sure, I bet by the end of the week she could kick your ass.”
“That’s comforting,” I mumbled. “She’s not going to be throwing knives anytime soon, is she?”
“Nah, it’ll take at least three…maybe four…” Please say years. Please say years. “Yeah, three or four weeks and then she’ll be ready. But hey, don’t worry. They don’t start teaching them to use guns until they show that they can properly load and unload a gun and how to secure it.”
“Are they using blanks?”
He looked at me funny. “What good would blanks do? But then they get into the fun stuff. Caitlin is already throwing grenades like a pro. And her marksmanship is amazing for her age. I wouldn’t be surprised if she goes straight into sniper training when she gets out of boot.”
“How do you train them to shoot a live target? I mean, it’s all fun and games until they actually have to shoot a person.”
I chuckled nervously, hoping like hell he would say they don’t shoot live targets until they go to boot camp.
“We go hunting. Yeah, getting them to shoot a moving target is excellent training.”
Yelling across the room caught our attention. Two little kids were arguing and an adult was trying to mediate.
“What’s going on?”
He watched for a minute and walked a little closer.
“Who threw the knife?” the instructor yelled.
“It was him,” the girl pointed.
“No, it was her.” The boy had his arms crossed over his chest, refusing to back down.
“Look, I have a knife in my leg and somebody is going to admit what happened.”
Neither of them backed down. The man shook his head and blew the whistle. “It’s waterboarding time!” The kids all ran gleefully over to the trainer who had both kids by the scruff of the neck.
“He isn’t really going to waterboard the kids, is he?”
Chance shrugged. “It’s effective. Especially with kids that haven’t really learned to hold their breath under water yet.”
I looked at him in shock and when I saw he wasn’t joking, I grabbed Payton’s hand and dragged her out of the room.
✯✯✯✯✯
I was so nervous. I didn’t know where I was supposed to sleep. Part of me wanted to sleep in Payton’s room just so she didn’t leave my sight. But the logical part of me knew that she was in the safest place possible and if I stayed with her, I would just watch her sleep all night.
Then there was the fact that Chance and I were really up in the air right now. Everything was awkward between us. If he was any other man, I would have left him in a heartbeat to focus on Payton. But he wasn’t just some other man. He was the man who dealt with almost a year of torture to bring my little girl home to me. For that alone, I loved him more than any other man before him. I just didn’t know if he was ready to see where things went with us or if he needed time. Maybe he didn’t even want that. But based on the way he kept grabbing my hand, I would guess that the attraction was still there for him.
I walked out of Payton’s bedroom after I was sure she was asleep and stood in front of Chance in just my nightshirt. I fidgeted with the hem of the shirt when he just stared at me. It wasn’t like I had any lingerie and I had no idea if he was even interested anymore. He walked over to me with fire in his eyes and pulled me into his body. I rested my hands on his arms and waited for him to give me some sign of what he wanted.
“So.”
“So.”
His lips twitched in amusement when I repeated his own words. “This is a little weird.”
“I know. I feel like we should be catching each other up on what we’ve been up to.”
“But it’s not a story either of us want to share.”
I nodded in agreement. “So, what do we do?”
“Well, we never really dated. I guess we could start there.”
“Yeah, maybe you could take me out to the bush just past the creek. I hear it’s a hotspot for young couples.”
“You do, huh?”
“Well, I’m a woman. I hear things.”
It was still awkward, but not quite as much now that I knew he was feeling the same way. I actually felt a little giddy, like I was meeting a really hot guy and we were in that beginning phase. Although, I already knew the chemistry was good and he was someone worth sticking around for.
“So, Morgan, can I take you out tonight? Maybe to see a movie?”
“Is there a dress code?”
“I think what you’re wearing is fine.”
I blushed bright red as his hands crept down my waist to the curve of my ass. This definitely wasn’t like before. He was wild and took what he wanted before, but now he seemed restrained. He wanted to touch me, but he was also careful not to push too far. He led me over to the bed and we sat together under the covers and watched a movie. Well, he watched a movie. I was too busy thinking about every last detail of what was going on.
I watched the way his fing
ers held mine and the way his thumb caressed the back of my hand. I took in his scent and the warmth of his body next to mine. Most of all, I tried not to think about what it was like to lay next to him in bed all night, because that was what I wanted more than anything. After at least half the movie was over, he moved his arm around me and pulled me into him. I smiled as I snuggled into his warmth and realized that it would be an adjustment for us, but if we could make it through that, everything would be fine.
✯✯✯✯✯
Blood swirled all around me. I tried to move out of the way, but I was paralyzed to do anything more than stare. The woman’s eye stared back at me lifelessly. Rats had already eaten her other eye and were currently working on her ear. Would they come for me next? After telling myself over and over that I had to move, I finally snapped out of it and moved away from the blood that was creeping closer by the hour. Why wouldn’t she stop bleeding? I had been down here with her for days and her body just kept bleeding.
At some point I fell asleep, but the smell of copper woke me up soon after. The rats had gotten to her other eye. They would come for me soon. The only question was when. Having been up for so long, I just couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. I was so tired and I just wanted to sleep. I nodded off and didn’t wake up until the morning light was filtering in through the windows.
The smell of copper was even stronger now. I grimaced as I wiped the sleep from my eyes and then screamed when I saw all the bodies around me. There had to be at least twenty bodies on the floor, massacred and being fed on by rats. I stood and moved as far away as possible, but there was nowhere else to go. Something shimmered in the light that filtered in and I crept closer to see what it was. There was an arm that was sticking out and on the hand was a silver ring. Oh, God. This man was married. Who would tell his children? Would he even be given a proper burial?
Further across the room was a man that looked familiar. Squinting, I could barely make out the face, but I would know it anywhere. It was Sebastian. He was staring off in the distance, but he wasn’t seeing anything anymore. He was dead. My heart beat so fast that I was sure it would beat out of my chest. Another face, this time, it was Gabe, and Jackson was laying next to him. All of them were members of Reed Security. They were all here in this cellar with me. But why? Had they tried to rescue me and failed?
“I see you’ve met your companions for the rest of your stay.” Wes smirked as he walked down the stairs, brushing decapitated heads and bowels off the stairs with his foot. “It’s a shame that they all had to die. If you had only thought of someone other than yourself, they would still be here today.”
“This isn’t my fault. All I did was try and get my daughter back!”
“Yes, and you brought everyone down with you. Those men are all dead because of you. Their children will all grow up with no father. But your worst betrayal was to the one man that swore to do anything for you.”
“No.” I shook my head, unwilling to believe what he was saying. He pulled out his phone and held it up for me to see. Chance was being beaten. His body was bloody and mutilated on the ground and he was hardly recognizable anymore.
“Yes, Morgan. This is your fault. I will make sure that he dies and you will watch, all because you couldn’t just leave him out of this.”
No. No. No. I shook my head back and forth until I was dizzy. It was all my fault. I should have never told Chance what was going on. All these people were dead because of me. Wes shoved his phone in my face one last time, just as an axe came down on Chance’s neck, severing his head from his body.
“No!”
I sat up, breathing hard when I realized that I was the one screaming and I had just been dreaming. None of it was real. It wasn’t until I finally calmed down that I felt Chance’s hand running up and down my back. I closed my eyes, mortified that I had actually screamed because of my nightmare. I couldn’t understand how Chance was even touching me. I could feel sweat dripping between my boobs and down my back.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded, not wanting to say anything right now.
“What was your dream about?” I shook my head, hoping he would understand my distress right now. He sighed and pulled me into his chest, resting his chin on my head. I swiped at the tears under my eyes and took deep breaths until I wasn’t still shaking from the fear I felt during the dream.
“I’m sorry I woke you up.”
“You didn’t. I couldn’t sleep.”
“Why?”
He shrugged, obviously he didn’t want to talk either.
“Do you want to watch another movie?” I asked. “I don’t think I can go back to sleep right now.”
“Sure.”
Chance pulled me back to the headboard and pulled me tight against him. I could feel his heart beating in his chest, sure and sound. His warm breath caressed my face and I ran my hand across his bare chest, just feeling and memorizing everything I could about him.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Chance
I hadn’t slept at all last night. It was the first night that I wasn’t taking pain killers and every time I closed my eyes, I was back there with the same depressing thoughts at my lowest point. The longer I laid there, the more I felt itchy and dirty. But I didn’t want to leave Morgan either. Now that I had her back, I felt this tug to be near her all the time, even if we were at a loss as to where to go from here.
I stared out the window for half the night, just looking out at the landscape and noticing the differences of where I was held and here. I couldn’t stop looking around, just to make sure that this was all real. I sat down in a chair and watched Morgan, thinking about what she had told me on the plane. She had told me that she had to betray me and she had to be Wes’s. I had chosen to ignore the second part at the time because I didn’t want to think about what had happened to her. My head was too fucked up already to add one more thing to the list.
But now that I watched her, I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. Had he raped her or had she slept with him willingly? When they arrived at the compound, she didn’t look scared at all to be with him. She actually looked perfectly content. But when I attacked, as soon as she locked eyes with me, I saw the flash of fire. I could tell she wanted to get away.
Images of her on her knees for him flashed through my mind and I had to squeeze my eyes closed and grip onto the chair to keep the anger at bay. Going over to her and shaking her, demanding that she tell me what happened wouldn’t help anything. I took deep breaths until my anger subsided, but then the prickling of heat washed over me and an overwhelming sense of dread settled in the pit of my stomach. I could feel the tight confines of the box, the splinters from the wood digging into me. My head felt muddled just like it had been when I passed out from the heat.
I stood suddenly, sweating profusely and needing to move just to know that I could. The more I paced, the more I felt itchy and dirty. I stormed into the bathroom and turned on the water. I didn’t even wait for it to warm up before I stripped and stepped under the water to clean myself. I must have gone through a quarter of the bottle of body wash before I felt like I was clean. I had scrubbed myself until my skin was raw and I had taken a nail brush vigorously to my finger and toe nails. I even washed my shaved head a few times, scrubbing at my scalp until I no longer felt like bugs were crawling through my hair. When I was done, I stayed in the shower for another five minutes, just leaning against the wall and letting the water wash over me. I had to talk myself into getting out of the shower.
As I was drying off, I glanced up and caught my reflection in the mirror. I hardly recognized the man staring back at me. I wouldn’t say that I looked harder than who I was before. I couldn’t say exactly what was different. Maybe my face was thinner or the lines around my eyes were more noticeable. I knew they weren’t laugh lines. More like lines from grimacing when the whip bit into my flesh. I hadn’t bothered to really look at my body since I got back. Obviously I had seen scars when I washed myself, but I
didn’t pay too much attention. Part of me was curious how bad my back looked. I needed to know what I would look like if I ever tried to work out without a shirt on. Would people stare at me? Would they ask what caused the marks? I wasn’t ready to know. I couldn’t look yet, so I would just have to keep a shirt on at all times.
I wrapped a towel around myself and shut off the light. I didn’t want to see myself anymore. Not knowing what else to do, I got dressed and sat back down in the chair. I was still weak from my wounds and that grated on me more than I cared to let on. I wasn’t sure how long I sat there when I heard Morgan rustling in bed. I thought maybe she had woken up, so I walked over to the bed, but the scream that tore from her mouth had me grabbing her in my arms and trying to console her. I didn’t want to scare her, so I just kept my hand on her back as she calmed down.
It broke my heart to hear her screams, but what really killed me was thinking about what caused them. All kinds of scenarios ran through my head until I felt I would go crazy. It wasn’t fair of me to ask her to share what had happened when I wasn’t willing to do the same, but I needed to know. How could we ever have a relationship if I didn’t know what might set her off? But instead of pushing, I just held her to me until the sun came up. Both of us were fucked up right now. I just didn’t know how we were going to push past this.
✯✯✯✯✯
“Chance!” I jerked awake from where I had passed out sometime in the early hours of the morning. Morgan was still in my arms, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“Hey, Payton. Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah! When can I get started with my training?”
She was a little ball of energy this morning, jumping up and down like she’d already downed five cups of coffee. I smiled at her cheerful attitude, happy that one of us seemed to come out of this ordeal relatively unscathed.
Chance Page 17