Savaged

by Nacole Stayton

  Compassionately, I try to ease her fears. “How about this.” I slip my other arm around her neck and pull her close to me. She rests her chin on my chest. “Tell me everything you remember about her. I want to know about all the funny moments you shared. What she made you for breakfast, and what song she’d sing to comfort you.”

  For the next few hours, Cambree tells me everything she can remember about Joyce. She falls asleep as she’s talking, sharing her memories with me. I stay awake, my eyes glued on the ceiling until I can’t fight my own sleep any longer.

  This morning, I feel different when I wake up. Number one, my head is still lying on a hard chest. It tells me that Niko is still sleeping and I’m wrapped up tight like a present is his arms. Number two, I’m alive and as moot as that point may be, it’s valid. Like I said before, I am a survivor. I’ve lived through the deaths of my parents and grandmother. I feel like I can do anything — tackle the world and stand on my own two feet.

  While my heart is still heavy with grief, I know that today is a new day and I’m prepared to get up and start fresh. Grams would have wanted that. I can picture her face as she shakes her head in disappointment at me hiding away and putting my life on pause. Lifting my head off Niko’s chest, I slide my hand under my neck and wrap my hair up into a bun. I can see through the mane now. He doesn’t stir as I slowly unravel our limbs and climb off the bed.

  Trying to be quiet, I lightly walk toward his closet and turn on the light. Everything is color coordinated and tidy. I glance over at him, glad that he’s still sound asleep. I wonder when the last time was that he overslept. It causes a tiny bout of flutters to ignite in my chest, thinking about it. I’m glad that he’s actually getting some well-deserved rest. After putting up with me yesterday, he surely needs it.

  When I open his bedroom door, a heavenly smell hits me in the face. Bacon. Like a dog, my nose guides me to the smell’s source. I round the corner into the kitchen and see Ruth and a small child cooking. I’m not sure who the child is, but Ruth is a sight for sore eyes, especially as I take a step forward and my stomach growls.

  “Morning,” I say as step onto the kitchen’s tiled floor. It’s cold against the bottom of my feet.

  “Morning to you too, Miss Cambree. Would you like to go ahead and eat or wait?” She smiles wryly.

  Stepping closer to the coffee pot, I use one of the empty cups beside it and pour myself a cup and steal a piece of bacon and then make my way back through the kitchen to the foyer. I pause in front of a wall made out of glass. I can see the pool, a table, and an outdoor kitchen. It looks like something you’d see straight from HGTV. It’s breathtaking. I wonder if Niko has ever even swam in his own pool. The sunlight pouring through the windows is deceiving as I open the door to go outside and enjoy my coffee. It’s cold. Teeth-chattering cold. I take a step back into the warmth of the house and decide against going out.

  Instead, I walk in front of the fireplace and sit on the edge of the couch. I close my eyes and let the fire toast my body. That mixed with the warmth of my coffee feels amazing. Eager to get another piece of bacon in my stomach, I stand up and head back to the kitchen.

  “You better behave or you won’t be allowed to come back,” I hear Ruth scolding the child as I near them. He’s sitting on top of the counter with a grin plastered on his face. He looks mischievous. I do everything in my power not to laugh at the kid as he mocks Ruth behind her back.

  “Who is this little guy?” I ask, curious.

  “Lamar. That’s my name and I’m six years old. Much younger than you.”

  Ruth turns around faster than the speed of light travels through air. “I’m so sorry, Miss Cambree. I apologize for his rude behavior. My husband had a shift at work and the babysitter can only handle the other two. I had no choice but to bring him.”

  “Ruth, stop it. He’s fine. I was a kid once too, and Lamar, I also had a smart mouth.”

  “Do you want to play a game?” Lamar asks as he jumps down from the counter.

  “I love games.”

  I follow him toward the dining room. There are stacks of playing cards sprawled out all over the tabletop. It’s apparent that he loves games, too.

  We play games until the sound of someone’s footsteps guide both of our eyes to the foyer. Niko stands there wearing a loose knit pair of navy jogging pants, a tight V-neck T-shirt and is barefoot. The hair on his head is disheveled, and I’m ashamed to admit the naughty thoughts that course through my mind as I take him in. Since he left me sleeping on my homemade cot yesterday morning, I never got a glimpse of him just out of bed. But this look is good. I’d love to wake up every morning and see this sight. I know it would never get old.

  “What do we have going on here?” he asks as he casually walks toward the table where we’re sitting. Sex appeal drips off him. Good thing I’m sitting because my knees feel weak.

  “This is my new friend Lamar. Lamar, this is my good friend, umm…Mr. Marks.” I make the necessary formal introductions, scared to use Niko’s his real name.

  “Friend? I thought I asked you to be exclusive,” Niko says, well asks, as he cocks his face to the side while sporting a cheesy grin.

  I shrug my shoulders. “You’re the bossman, remember. You tell me what we should be labeled as.”

  “I guess you’re right. That discussion is a little heavy for breakfast. Scoot over and deal me in.”

  He’s perfection bundled up into one human. I remember being petrified to meet him that first night that Jarod, gag, brought me to the estate. Now I feel lucky and blessed to be here sitting by the man that I’ve grown to love. He holds my heart and the Ace that I need in his hand.

  “Breakfast is served,” Ruth announces as she appears in front of us with a pot in one hand and a stack of pancakes in the other. I start to stand up to give her a hand but she says, “Tsk-tsk. Sit your hiney down and enjoy.”

  We share a quick smile before she sets the dishes down on the table and then heads back into the kitchen for more. When she comes back, she’s carrying a plateful of fresh fruit. My eyes take in all of the colors in front of me. Fresh watermelon, cantaloupe, and purple grapes make up the plate.

  As soon as she sets it on the table, Niko grabs a grape and pops it into his mouth. Amused, he looks over at me and says, “You were a forbidden fruit that I couldn’t stop eating.”

  “Stop.” I giggle and then kick him under the table. Lamar’s eyes are glued on us.

  “Are you two in love or something?” he asks, his nose scrunched up in disgust.

  I don’t want to speak up first so I tilt my head to Niko and wait for him to answer.

  “Yes, little man, we are. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go ahead and kiss my girl good morning, now.”

  Lamar makes a gagging sound and springs up from the table. I want to laugh at his sudden brashness but refrain as a warm pair of lips connect with my own.

  IT’S BEEN TWO DAYS of pure bliss. With Jarod still on the loose, I haven’t felt like letting Cambree out of my sight. She’s a grown woman, I know she can take care of herself, but that’s not the point. If that filthy bastard ever touches her again, I might kill him and I’d rather not be outted to the media while I’m hauled off to jail for murder.

  I’ve been trying to give her space and not smother her. I know she’s still dealing with the loss of Joyce and I don’t want her to feel like she has to hide her emotions from me. Honestly, after that first night at the funeral home, she’s been handling things surprisingly well.

  We’ve been swimming in the indoor heated pool during the day and sitting outside, bundled up in sweatshirts and jackets, at night while we toasted marshmallows on a fire. If I ever craved normalcy in my life, I now have it. Not once have we discussed my demons, but I feel an urge to tell her. To finally open myself up and talk to her about the things that burden me inside. She deserves to know, especially after she’s opened up to me on so many occasions. Not only did she relive memories with Joyce but she also told
me about her parents.

  From what she said, she had a happy childhood. Her mom stayed home to raise her while her father worked in the city. It wasn’t until she was older that she learned that her father used to cheat on her mother all of the time. That was the reason that Joyce stayed away. Cambree said that Joyce couldn’t handle being around her son when he treated his wife so awfully. It was not the type of man she raised him to be, but it was how he ended up. His behavior made her sick, and to prevent forcing her daughter-in-law and Cambree out of his home, she decided to stay away and wait for them to see him for the man he really was.

  They didn’t realize it until it was too late. Cambree told me about the fire that claimed both of their lives and almost her own. She was young and parentless. The police notified Joyce and without a moment’s thought, she chose to adopt Cambree and raise her as her own. Since then, it has just been the two of them fighting their own battles. I can’t imagine how she feels on the inside. In the past couple of days, I’ve tried my hardest to make her feel alive, happy, and aware that I’m here for her and she doesn’t have to fight her battles alone anymore. It’s a little hypocritical of me to keep my feelings bottled up inside about my past. She knows about Anton and my scars, but I’ve never told her exactly what happened or about my father. But I’m ready to share everything with her now.

  We stand in the kitchen eating sandwiches that Ruth prepared for us before she left for the night. I haven’t felt the need to have so many cooks and housekeepers around. It’s really helped us, being able to roam freely around the house without people lingering around every corner.

  “This is so good,” she moans as she chews her food.

  “You know what else is good? This song.” I laugh, as I take a step forward and turn up the volume on the kitchen radio. I can’t tell you the last time that I allowed myself to act so carefree, much less dance. She giggles as I spin around her, holding my sandwich in the air.

  “Come on, baby, show me your moves.” I bend in front of her and shake my ass.

  Her laugher sounds so sweet as it fills the air around us. “Stop it,” she says as she smacks me. I don’t stop moving.

  “Okay, look here, buddy.” She lays down her food and pulls her shirt up so that her stomach is showing. Slowly her hips start to swivel. Instantly, I feel my dick getting rock hard. She is breathtaking as she waves her hands above her head in the air. Her hair spins widely out of control as she jumps around and shakes her body.

  I lean forward and bellow out a laugh. It’s impossible to hold it in any longer. I laugh for everything that I missed. These moments that we could have shared so long ago but I was too stupid to see through the darkness.

  Grabbing her body, I lift her up in the air. Her legs swing on either side of me and I dip her down, her head almost touches the floor. “Slow dance with me,” I whisper through the mask of hair shrouding her face. Holding her in my arms, legs wrapped around my waist, I slowly move my feet, swaying back and forth.

  “I love you, Cambree Rae Evans.” I kiss her cheek.

  “And I love you.” We dance for the better portion of three songs. Although they’re not really meant for slow dancing, we do it anyway.

  “My toes are tingling,” Cambree admits as her feet dangle in the air.

  I laugh and then set her on the counter in front of me. I brush away her hair and lean forward to kiss her lips. “Do you want to go into the theater room and talk, and then we can watch a movie?”

  She nods and then jumps down from the counter. Grabbing our drinks, we walk toward the closed door. I remember watching movies in there with my father when I was younger and having massive sleepovers with childhood friends. It was fun and as I open the door, all of those memories hit me in the face all at once.

  “Before my father, Wade, died, we used to come in here after dinner and watch movies together. I remember my mother having to come wake us up and carry me to bed in the middle of the night.” I’m scared to dive in, so I tiptoe around my past, delivering a snippet of it to her.

  “That sounds like a lot of fun,” she says as she climbs onto one of the couches and lies on her back: her eyes never leave mine. “Tell me something else,” she probes.

  “When I was ten, my buddy and I thought it was cool to jump into the pool in the dead of winter. Granted it was the indoor pool, we still thought it would be badass. He said other kids at school were doing it, so of course we had to, too. I made him jump first and then I followed. It was like diving into the middle of an ice bucket. We were screaming and yelling for help, our limbs were too cold to even swim back to the side and pull ourselves out. My mother saw us and came running. She dove in and pulled us out one by one. I called her my hero for a whole year. We even invited her to our school show and tell.”

  Cambree laughs as I sit on the couch beside her. She scoots closer to me and wraps her arm around my forearm.

  “I love hearing your stories. Tell me more.”

  I can feel my bones shaking as she requests more details about my past. But I don’t waver. I’ve already decided that I want her to know everything about me. I start at the beginning, the day I watched someone kill my father, and I end on the day that I lie facedown in a puddle of mud and blood, begging God to call me home.

  Hearing about his past only solidified the feelings that are already in me. It made me realize how lucky I truly am to be tucked into the corner of the couch with this unbelievably, brave man.

  We make love. Talk and make love again. I don’t even know what time it is but we haven’t left this room once since we came in here after our little impromptu dance party. We’ve been sitting on the couch in his media room watching movies. A few times, Niko has had to take business calls. From what he’s told me, he still hasn’t been able to reach Jarod or Neil.

  It all seems a little fishy to me. Both of his top employees are missing, and after what just transpired between the three of us, I’d like to know where Jarod is. I’d feel more comfortable.

  Niko comes back into the room after his last call and I dig through the blankets to find the remote and pause our movie, Friends with Benefits. It’s right where Justin and Mila finally realize they have feelings for one another. It’s my favorite part.

  His face is bleak as he nears the couch and sits down on the opposite side from me. “What’s wrong?” I ask, biting my nails from nervousness.

  “That was Neil. He wanted to set up a meeting.”

  “Okay? So, why is that a bad thing? Maybe he knows where Jarod is.”

  He jolts up. His sudden movement scares me. I watch as he holds his thumb in between his teeth and paces.

  “Oh, I have no doubt that Neil knows where his son is. Listen, we’re meeting upstairs in about twenty minutes. I’m going to have someone drive you to get some coffee. I don’t want you to be here or at your house alone. I want to know you’re safe, somewhere like a public place.”

  “No!” I protest. “I want to be here. This is just as much my fault as anyone’s. I let him flirt with me, thinking it was innocent. I deserve to hear what his father has to say. Niko, please don’t kick me out. I don’t want to leave. I want to be with you.”

  He walks toward me and kneels in front of where I’m sitting. “Cambree,” he runs the back of his hand down my cheek, “please listen to me. I can’t be rational knowing that Jarod might come with him. I need to know that you’re somewhere safe. Because I know that if Jarod shows his face in my home and you’re here, I’ll lose it. You don’t need to see that side of me. I never thought I could hurt my best friend, but right now, it’s very possible. Please,” he pleads.

  “Okay,” I squeak out, “but I want you to at least check in with me every hour. I don’t want you popping off and killing Jarod and me not even knowing until I see your face on T.V.”

  “Deal,” he says and instead of shaking on it, we kiss. I start to get up off the sofa, but I’m caught by Niko’s embrace. He wraps his hands around my shoulders. His face is in the crook of my n
eck and I can hear his sigh.

  “It’s going to be fine. Stop worrying. It’s just a meeting. See what Neil has to say. Hopefully, he doesn’t try to justify his son’s actions. But you owe it to him to hear him out.” I grab his face with my hands and smoosh it together, kissing his now chubby face.

  I turn off the movie and then go upstairs and slide on my shoes. I haven’t worn real clothes for the past couple of days. I’ve been sporting Niko’s oversized T-shirts and basketball shorts. I laughed when he tossed them at me this morning. I wasn’t able to even wrap my mind around him wearing them until he slid on his own pair, looking like he was about to walk onto a court and dominate. He looked scrumptious.

  “Cambree,” Niko calls, “the driver is here.”

  At the top of the steps, I look down and see Niko holding the front door open. The sky is dark other than the dim lighting of a black SUV parked right outside of the door. We hug and then he sends me on my way. The air is chilly as I step outside of his front door. I take a few small steps to the back door of the vehicle and open it. It’s warm as I climb inside and lean my head back against the leather seat. I can hear the wheels turn as we start off down the long driveway.

  “Hello, Bree,” a familiar voice says from behind the wheel. All of the hairs on my arms stick straight up.

  It’s hard to swallow as the sound of his voice hits me in the core. I’m scared out of my mind as I reach for the door handle and pull. It doesn’t open. Shit. He must have the childproof locks on. He’s smart and planned this out. I’m not even sure how he got around Niko calling another driver. How did he know? My mind tries not to put blame on Neil, but he’s the only person Niko has talked to recently.

  Fear flows through me as I meet Jarod’s eyes in the rearview mirror. The way he’s staring at me is unsettling. I scream at the top of my lungs, hoping, praying that Niko can hear me. Lying sideways on the seat, I press my feet against the window and attempt to kick it out. It doesn’t budge. Jarod laughs at my attempt.