“Not know them, know of them, which in our business is the same thing,” Ridge said absently.
“You need to clean up your cuts,” Torch said and she looked at him in surprise.
Ridge turned and frowned at her and then nodded. “The one on your hip is bleeding again.”
She looked down and saw that indeed, there was blood soaking through her pants, damn, how the hell did either of them see that? She walked to the bag and then reached down and dug through the one she knew had another change of clothes in it.
“I didn’t check, is this place stocked?” she muttered and both men grunted. She figured that meant they didn’t know. So after grabbing her clothes and setting them on the counter she looked through the fridge, it was stocked full of premade dishes stacked in nice and neat little trays ready to just pop into the oven. She wanted to drop to her knees and thank God, when she saw not one of the trays had the kinda mushy stuff she had been fed for the last three months. Her stomach growled and she realized the only thing she had to eat were the protein bars Ridge had kept shoving down her throat all day. Kasey admitted that they were good, but she was actually hungry now.
“You guys hungry?” she said and once again both men grunted and she resisted rolling her eyes and she grabbed out three trays and then turned on the oven and put them in to cook. “Okay, food is in the oven, I’m going to shower,” she said and neither man gave her a response. Well then, this was gonna be a fun night.
Finally, she had someone to actually talk to, a real person, and all they did was grunt and hum at her. Whatever. She moved again and grabbed her clothes and went to the master bedroom and shut the door. She glanced at the bed where Bo was still sleeping and she shook her head and smiled. Walking into the bathroom she once again almost dropped to the ground to thank God there was soap, shampoo, and even conditioner already laid out.
Kasey ran her hand over the thick plush towel and sighed, back to the creature comforts, who would have thought you could miss soap. She opened up the large shower door and turned on the water before disrobing. Then she turned back and opened several of the drawers on the vanity and was pleasantly surprised to find all of the small travel sized products you could possibly need while traveling, nice.
She slowly stripped out of her clothes, grimacing at every single twinge in her body, the heat of the shower filled the room, and she had to wipe the mirror to get the tape off her ribs. In no time she was standing beneath the showerhead, allowing the hot water to run over her head, her neck, her back. Fuck this felt good. She grabbed the soap and began to clean herself, she would have used the whole bar if she thought she could stay in the shower all day without the water getting cold.
Kasey moaned when she washed her hair, running her fingers through the long mess, but excited as it seemed that slowly the tangles began to recede. She could have been in there for an hour, or fifteen minutes, it really didn’t matter to her, she was finally clean. Getting out of the shower, she once again wiped the mirror free of the wetness and she looked at herself.
The bruises were bad, and she leaned a little closer to inspect her ribs, they were a nice shade of purple, which she knew would turn a nasty shade of green and yellow when they were healing. She touched them softly and found the most tender areas and then wrapped them back up with the ace bandage, this time not using tape, only the small clip to keep it into place.
Then she turned and looked at her hip where Ridge had dug the small tracker out of her body. Up until now she hadn’t thought much about the implications of someone tagging her like she was little more than an animal. The fuckers were totally going to pay for that as well.
Kasey grabbed a washcloth and then softly cleaned it up, she put on the antibiotic cream on it and then did the same for all of the other small cuts she had. By the time she was done, dressed, and wandering back out into the living room, she saw both men had showered, changed clothes, and also finished getting their dinner ready. She spied a tray sitting on the stove still covered and went to grab it.
“We have good news and bad news,” Ridge said when she sat down at the table with them.
“Oh yeah,” she said, taking off the cover of her tray and then smelling the wonderful flavors that wafted up to her nose. “Really, I don’t care right now, I mean, I’m clean, starving, and more than ready to sink into that bed in there, so lay it on me.”
Torch just stared at her, and she winked at him and shook her head and then looked at Ridge expectantly to continue. “There is a storm moving in, so unless we get a car up here fast, there is no way we are getting out of here until it passes.”
She picked up her fork and then stared at him for a second and then shrugged. “How long?”
Ridge replied, “Two maybe three days.”
“Well then,” she said and began eating her food. “What are the chances that someone will find that we haven’t left the country.”
They were silent for a few seconds and Torch said, “Fifty-fifty.”
Ridge leaned back and said, “Loki said there was a lot of activity on the borders, people being stopped and searched. So, we can safely say it is gonna be hard to get out of Nepal. He is looking at getting a helio so we need to sit tight. It may be the only way we are getting out of here.”
She nodded again and took another bite of food, ignoring the clenching in her stomach from actually having something solid in there for the first time in ever. Really, after everything, she was just too tired to give a shit right now.
Kasey finished eating and she said, “Really, I’m too tired to give a shit.”
Both of the guys nodded and she stood, placed her tray in the sink, and without saying a word she walked into the master bedroom and crawled into bed. Later, she would barely remember even eating dinner, and she would also kick herself for not feeding Bo, but everything just caught up with her. Her last thought as she closed her eyes was, please do not let this be a dream.
“Why didn’t you tell her what Tank said?” Torch asked and Ridge shrugged.
“She needed rest. She doesn’t need to be worried about what’s next. Right now, her sleeping is the best thing for us, she will be more alert.”
Torch stared at him blankly and said, “She needs to be prepared, if we get home and she is taken until custody right when we land, she is going to be pissed off. Especially if we didn’t tell her.”
“Tank is going to take care of it. The storm moving in is kinda a blessing. It will give him enough time to get out ahead of this situation,” Ridge said and Torch grunted.
“Their dad is an asshole.”
Ridge nodded and said, “That he is, and still knowing that. Announcing your own daughter was being detained in another country charged with being a spy is low even for him. Now Nepal and North Korea are after her head.”
“Tank is going to need to deal with the devil to make sure she’s not taken into custody.”
Ridge shook his head. “Tank is the devil, his father just doesn’t realize it yet. Trust me, he will take care of this. That bastard has literally played his last fucking card when it comes to Kasey and him.”
Torch nodded and said, “I’ll take first shift, go get some sleep and I’ll wake you when it is your turn.”
He sighed and stood up, he was just as exhausted and when he walked to the stairs and then stared at the master bedroom door for a few moments. The only thing he could think of was making sure she was safe and out of this shit. He didn’t know what the fuck her father’s problem was but he wasn’t going to win whatever game he was playing. Ridge wouldn’t let her.
He silently walked up the stairs and fell into the bed that was waiting for him. Knowing she was under the same roof as him, and she was safe for now, went a long way in relaxing him. For the first time in days he didn’t worry about where Kasey was at, he knew where she was.
Chapter Nine
Kasey rolled over with a moan and opened her eyes. She stared at the ceiling for a minute before it registered in her head s
he was no longer in the cell she had been in for months. She was out, she was free, and Ridge was here. She sat up quickly and looked around.
She wasn’t dreaming, thank God. She laid back down and allowed herself to relax a little, she didn’t want to get up, she knew she had to but she didn’t want to. This was the first time in a long time where she wasn’t waking up in a nightmare. She wanted to relish in it.
Bo apparently woke up as well, the little monkey crawled up until he was on her chest and he stared down at her. She smiled and he reached out with his little hand and touched her cheek.
“Hey, buddy,” Kasey said softly. “You doing okay?”
He moved closer to her and laid his head against her cheek this time and she sighed. Kasey didn’t care what anyone said, the little monkey knew exactly what she was saying, and knew exactly what she needed. In the last few months he had been her salvation.
“You hungry?” she asked and his head perked up and she chuckled. Yep, he was hungry. “Alright, alright, let me get up and find you something to eat.”
She gently placed him on the bed next to her and then she rolled out of bed, looking down and grimacing, she hadn’t undressed last night when she went to bed, which meant she was sleeping in the only pair of clean clothes she had. Well, it isn’t like she hadn’t been worse these last four months.
She went into the bathroom and smiled when she saw the toothbrush and toothpaste that she had used last night. She grabbed it and almost danced in a circle. When she was done, she looked in the mirror and grabbed the brush she had and slowly brushed it until it was shining. Kasey closed her eyes and smiled. The creature comforts.
When she walked back into the bedroom she grabbed Bo and carried him out into the living area. It was quiet, so she really thought the guys were still asleep, but when she rounded the corner to the kitchen she stopped.
Ridge was there, only wearing pants, no shirt, no shoes, and he was standing in front of the stove cooking something that smelled a bit like eggs and cheese, maybe some bacon. She took the opportunity to look over his muscular sleek back, damn, he was still hot. She wanted to walk to him and wrap her arms around him but it wasn’t her place. She really wished it was, but Ridge had made it perfectly clear that the night they spent together the only time they would be together.
He must have felt her presence because he turned and smiled at her. “Good morning.”
She grinned, kept it lighthearted and said, “Morning, I think I may have slept like the dead. I don’t remember even getting up in the middle of the night which has become a regular occurrence since I was here.”
Ridge nodded and looked at her with a serious expression. “How are you feeling otherwise?”
She grimaced and said, “Well, the bumps and bruises have made it very noticeable in the last twenty-four hours that I’m still alive, which means I can feel all of them. My hip stings a little, but mostly it is fine. So, I’m glad to be alive, and out of that place, so no matter how I feel I’m in a great mood because I’m free and I’m not going to have mush again for breakfast.”
Ridge smiled and shook his head. “Well then, I better get it ready, coffee is over there, grab a cup and sit down.”
She followed instructions and walked to the counter where the coffee was already brewed and waiting. She poured herself a cup and when Ridge asked, “What does the little guy eat?”
She looked down and smiled. “Fruit and grains,” she said and then moved to the fridge. “They have some.”
Ridge grunted and then continued on making the breakfast while she moved around behind him and made Bo breakfast, and then grabbed her cup of coffee and walked into the dining area and sat down.
“Where is Torch?” she asked, looking around the living area, she assumed they had slept in the room upstairs but she noticed his shoes were missing as well, so it seemed a safe bet that he was outside somewhere.
“Took the bike and went into the town on the other side of the property. He was scoping out places for a helicopter to land safely and without drawing too much attention. Loki is on his way now to meet up with the person who is loaning it to us. May take a day or so to get things sorted, make sure we have everything we need to get the fuck outta here without incident,” Ridge said and then brought two plates, one for her and one for him. He sat down and Bo stared at him for a second before going back to eating his Kiwi fruit.
She sighed and picked up her fork and said, “Sorry this is such a mess.”
Ridge shook his head. “It isn’t; it seems like it because you were sitting on the other side of this for the first time. Trust me, this is nothing compared to what we normally do, it was easy.”
Kasey frowned and said, “Really? I guess I figured this was harder than the others you help. I mean, most times you aren’t dealing with an entire country, but more of a bad individual.”
Ridge ate his breakfast and began to talk, “Don’t know about a whole country, but yeah, most of the time we deal with maybe a group or an individual but they are still always difficult. Mostly because those people or individuals we are going up against have some serious money, and by that I mean they have first class security. The embassy? Not so much, and it is because they couldn’t or people would notice. Plus, we are in one of the most underdeveloped countries around the world for technology, so people notice if shit is too sophisticated, which would raise questions, which the North Korean government doesn’t want. That begin said, they probably stashed your guy here because of that very reason. Hell hiding him here was actually genius. This city is hardly the first place a tourist would pick if they wanted a vacation. Most of the people who come here are hikers, so being in Kathmandu is only a stopping point to where they are going. Not a lot of nightlife, or a lot of shopping. More for cultural shit.”
Kasey nodded and added, “Yeah, since some of the places in Nepal are hard to get to, and can be cut off for months at a time, it really is the perfect place to hide. Besides, none of the locals gossip, I tried asking questions when I first got here to try to get the pulse of what was going on and they all pretty much ignored me.”
Ridge finished his breakfast and then leaned back and stared at her intently. “Tank says you are leaving the Air Force?”
Kasey stared at him for a second and she said, “Love my job, every bit of it, except for one thing. I always told myself if that one thing got too big of a pain in the ass, I was out. Four and a half months ago, just before I came over here it got too big of a pain in the ass. Mostly because my father made it a point to share with my superior that when I came back to the states, he wanted me riding a desk in his office. He wanted me under his thumb. I do not care why, but I’m not that girl. Plus, when all this shit went down, it didn’t escape my notice he wasn’t the one who got me outta here. It was Tank. My father would have left me here to rot. So, it is too much of a freaking pain in my ass so I’m out.”
“What are you gonna do?” Ridge asked softly.
“Moving to the only family I know,” Kasey said immediately.
Ridge nodded slowly and said firmly, “You move to San Diego for good, you are on the back of my bike.”
Kasey frowned and laughed. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means, that hearing you were in danger, flying halfway around the world to get you out, gave me some time to think. You know about my past; you know sometimes my head gets fucked up because I think that the shit I’m doing is going to get someone hurt. The guilt I have for not being at home with my parents, and all of the other shit swirling around in my head, adds up to a man who doesn’t want a commitment. Been thinking on it, been wondering what my ma would say to that, and she would kick my ass. When we got together five months ago, I knew then if I had the chance I should make you mine. Didn’t think I was gonna get that chance, at least not for a while. But it seems I will. So before we leave here and get back to reality, we need to make sure we are on the same page. Because being mine means a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, it
means I protect you and have your back at every step. So, knowing your father is an asshole, and it is very likely when we get home Tank will be leaving to take care of that issue for himself. I need to know if I should tell him we are riding out with him. ‘Cause, baby, you being mine means in this instance I got your back, and you will not be going anywhere near that asshole by yourself.”
“You say that like it is a forgone conclusion we are gonna be together,” Kasey said and Ridge smiled.
“Uh yeah, seeing how since we spent the night together I have been thinking about nothing else but the next time we would be together.”
She raised an eyebrow and said, “You said one night.”
“I said one night before we spent the night together, but afterwards I knew it was going to be more than one night,” he said.
“Did you think maybe you should, I don’t know, talk to be about it considering we had all morning to talk before I left.”
“Your brother wanted to spend time with you. I figured you were wanting that as well.”
“Jacob Thomas, don’t you dare sit there and tell me you didn’t have a chance to say something five months ago,” Kasey snapped and shook her head. “I cannot believe you!”
Ridge smiled and said, “You sound like my mom.”
“Really? Would she want to knock you on your ass too?” Kasey said sweetly.
He chuckled and said, “Yep, in fact, she would threaten me and my dad often.”
“Well then, maybe I’m channeling her. You can’t just announce that suddenly I’m going to be your woman! This is the twenty-first century you know,” she said and Bo stopped and looked up at her and made a little squeaking noise, which Ridge had to admit, was slightly cute as it seemed like the little guy was sticking up for him. Maybe he was telling her to give him a break.
“Hush,” Kasey said softly and then looked back up at Ridge. “We’ll just have to deal with this…”
Shattered (Furies Book 2) Page 8