by Jenna Aileen
“Let go of the phone, Kathryn,” Conan breathed, his face barely an inch away from mine. I gasped as a wave of pain burned across the tender wounds on my back. The sound of high heels clicking on the floor reached my ears.
“Conan—” I whispered, trying to alert him of the nurse’s presence, but it was too late. She walked in the room, took one very brief glance at us, and walked right back out. Conan sat up and turned to look just as her back was exiting.
“Did she just—” He busted out laughing and practically fell off the bed.
“Oh my goodness. She thought—it kind of looked like…I hate you!” I growled, chucking the receiver at Conan who was doubled over, laughing his head off. My face grew warm with anger and embarrassment.
“Well, at least I didn’t tell them that you were my daughter. That would have made this situation a little
more…interesting,” Conan said, wiping the tears from his eyes. I growled and tried to ignore him. Then the pain came stronger than ever, coursing through my entire body and completely taking my breath away. I gasped and squeezed my eyes shut, gritting my teeth to try and hold back my screams. Conan’s laughing stopped abruptly when he saw the tears in my eyes.
“I’m sorry, Kathryn,” he said, putting a hand on my knee.
“Don’t—just, don’t,” I rasped through clenched teeth. I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on something other than the pain. My mind immediately went to Abel. I thought of his beautiful brown eyes and his dashing smile. For a brief moment, I was back in his arms. Hugging him tightly and inhaling his sweet, musky pine scent. Resting my head on his chest and hearing his heartbeat. The distraction was very brief, but I was thankful that it helped take my mind off the pain, even if only for a few seconds.
The burning sensation slowly lessened to a dull, aching throb. I exhaled, laying back on the bed.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m never moving again,” I muttered.
A look of surprise crossed Conan’s face and he lept up from the chair, striding over to the door.
“What are you doing?” I asked, annoyed.
“We’ve got to go.” He ran back over to the chair and pulled a bag out from behind it.
“Now?”
“Yes, put these on.” He tossed clothes on the bed.
“You’ve got to be joking. You picked out my underwear? And you expect me to wear it? This is not happening.”
“Kathryn, just put it on, we’ve got to run.”
This was the most worried I’d ever seen him, except for the few vague memories I had of him carrying me through the woods.
“Where are we going to go?” I asked, pulling the underwear on under the sheets.
“We’ll get a hotel room somewhere and stay there until you’re well enough to keep going. Come on, hun, pick up the pace.”
I shot him a death look and he turned while I attempted to put on the bra. I jumped when I felt his fingers on my back. “Don’t look at me,” I snapped, hissing through the pain.
He ignored my request and pulled the shirt over my head, helping my arms into the sleeves. I was able to get the pants on by myself. As soon as I slipped my shoes on, Conan helped me to my feet and over to the door. He peeked his head out before pulling me into the hallway behind him.
“Look straight ahead, not down,” he whispered as a nurse walked past. I tried to do as he said but I had to concentrate really hard to keep my knees from buckling. Sweat beaded on my brow as we passed the nurses station. Thankfully the hospital was fairly busy and nobody stopped to ask us anything.
Once we were in the elevator I breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against the wall for support.
“Where are Valko and the others?” I asked, the fact that it had just been me and Conan for a day now.
“I sent them to lead the rogues away so I could go and find you.”
“Are they going to meet up with us?”
“If they make it.” Conan’s face darkened a little, and he turned his head away. I guessed that meant he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
*~*~*
A blast of cold air hit me as the automatic doors opened. Conan put his arm around me for support and probably warmth. I had learned that werewolves generated a lot more body heat than humans, so I was okay to walk like that to the hotel. It was only a few blocks from the hospital, but I felt like I was going to pass out while we were waiting at the front desk.
My legs gave out just before we got to the room. Thankfully, Conan caught me before I fell to the ground. He plopped me down on the bed and I laid back with a groan.
“Everything hurts. I’m starving.”
“I could go catch a rabbit,” he joked.
I scrunched my nose up at the thought. If I never saw a rabbit again in my entire life, I would be completely A-OK with that. “No. Definitely no. Um, how about…pizza?”
“Alright I’ll order a pizza. I should probably get something so we can keep clean bandages on your wounds. Do you need anything else while I’m out?”
“Wait, what day is it?” I asked tentatively.
“The twenty-first of September I believe. Why?”
“No reason. Oh, could you get me a toothbrush and some deodorant please?”
“No problem. Be back in a little while. Try not to get into any trouble, alright?”
Trouble? I could barely move. But oh yes, I was in a heap of trouble. It was soon to be my – ahem – time of the month, and I am left without any of my, um, necessary items that are, uh, needed for such things. I should have just swallowed my pride and asked Conan to get me what I needed, but I was trying to preserve what little dignity I had left.
I sighed and laid back down on the bed, trying to think of a way that I could get what I needed without asking Conan. I had no money and no energy to get up and get them on my own.
If I could steal Conan’s wallet maybe I could sneak out and get them while he slept. Wait…does he even have a wallet? How has he been paying for all of this? The stuff we had, I’m assuming, had been stolen by the rogues.
I sat on the bed and watched the clock. Conan was only gone for less than an hour, but it seemed like so much longer since I was watching the clock nonstop. I jumped when I heard him walk in, afraid that it might be the rogues coming to kill me, or worse.
“Did I scare you?” he asked with a chuckle. I nodded my head. “Alright, well, it’s probably about time that you take one of these.” He held up a bottle of painkillers and shook it “But you should eat something first so they don’t make you sick.” He didn’t need to tell me twice. I ripped open the pizza box and dug right it, burning my tongue on the hot, greasy cheese.
“Ow, ow! Hot! It’s really hot!” I said, barely moving my mouth. It sounded like gargling gibberish and Conan laughed.
“Well, I was going to tell you that but you didn’t give me a chance. Oh and I forgot to get paper plates, so just eat it over the bed.”
So I sat there, glaring at him and breathing like a dragon with asthma because the pizza was burning my mouth and I didn’t have anything to spit it out on. After a few minutes it was cool enough to swallow and I, of course, did so very dramatically.
“You’re definitely feeling better,” he chuckled. I wonder what put him in such a good mood.
“A little bit. It still hurts if I move around too much.””
I had no idea why I was being so talkative with him. It was weird because I had started to feel comfortable with him-which was crazy because even though he had saved my life—he was still my kidnapper and I shouldn’t trust him. But I did. Was that really a bad thing?
I had vague memories of him carrying me through the woods when I was injured and speaking softly to me.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Oh, nothing,” I said with a shrug. I could feel myself start to blush, and I knew that wouldn’t escape Conan’s notice—the man didn’t miss a thing. There was no way I could tell him that I was thinking about him…abou
t us…that sounded really weird.
“What were you dreaming about last night?” he asked, his tone more serious.
I finished chewing the pizza that was in my mouth and swallowed slowly. “I don’t know. I just remember it wasn’t good. ”
“You’re such a terrible liar.” He shook his head, looking mildly amused. I was glad he didn’t press any further. “Here, I got you some toiletries while I was out.”
“Thank God, deodorant. Now I don’t have to smell like horse ass anymore. Oh, and I was wondering, where are you getting the money to pay for this?” I asked.
Conan chuckled. “Well…I had a very charitable donation from a stranger.”
“I knew it! You stole it, didn’t you? Conan—”
“I had no other choice,” he snapped.
“That doesn’t make it right,” I countered, getting up and walking in the bathroom. I was too nervous to take a shower, what with all the gashes still not fully healed, but I wanted to at least try to wash my hair. I felt guilty using the items bought with stolen money. I know he really didn’t have any other choice; but still, I knew it wrong.
With a huff of displeasure, I locked the door behind me. My fingers slowly lifted the bottom of my shirt to reveal the pure white bandages that covered my stomach. Wow, I really did look like a mummy. I wondered if it was safe to take them off. After a moment of contemplation I decided against it—just in case it turned out like the time I removed my own stitches when I was twelve and cut my head open all over again. It was probably best to just leave them alone for now.
The bandages covered most of my torso, but I still wished I had a tank top or something to wear, just in case Conan decided to burst in. Locked doors didn’t seem to stop him.
I stuck my head under the hot water and let my hair get wet. Now came the hard part, shampooing it. Searing pain went up my back if I stretched my hands up even just a few inches. I was stuck. And there was no way I was calling Conan in to help me—he had helped enough lately. As if on cue, I heard a knock on the door.
“Kathryn, you didn’t take the bandages off, did you?” he asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
“No, I’m just washing my hair,” I said, frustrated.
“Do you need any—”
“No, I’m fine!” I heard him walk away muttering something that I’m sure was lovely, and I returned to trying to figure out the best way to do wash my hair. In the end, I just pushed through the pain and scrubbed my scalp really fast. Washing my whole body seemed impossible, so I just did a quick wipe down with a warm, soapy washcloth. It was hard to keep the bandages dry but I did my best.
Lacking the strength to wrap my hair in the towel, I draped it over my shoulder so it could catch the water without my shirt getting wet.
“Oh thank god, you don’t smell like death anymore,” Conan said sarcastically when I finally came out of the bathroom.
I threw a pillow at him and sat on the other bed. “Do you think the others are alright?” I asked Conan after a few minutes of silence.
“I hope so.”
“Are we safe here? Are we far enough away from the rogues?”
“Not as far as I would like to be. But for tonight we’re going to stay here.” I must have looked worried, because Conan’s face softened. “I will keep you safe, Kathryn, don’t worry.”
Don’t worry? They almost killed me and you’re trying to tell me not to worry. Confusion clouded my mind. What kind of game is he trying to play here? This is either a whole new side to Conan that I’ve never seen, or for some reason, he’s trying to gain my trust.
Chapter Eighteen, Conan
Her eyes always gave her away. She was better at hiding her emotions than most people were, but if you looked her in the eye long enough you could usually tell if she was lying. There were so many things I wanted to ask her purely because I could see right through her.
I was curious as to how much she knew about her father’s involvement in this situation. Part of me wondered if she had figured it out by now and was just not letting on. But perhaps she had absolutely no clue what was happening. That’s what I was having the hardest time figuring out. She seemed completely stumped and shocked by this whole scenario. It didn’t make sense.
I wanted to ask her if she remembered Vladimir and everything that had gone on between him and her father – but I was too afraid of her answer. If she didn’t know, then I would have a whole lot of explaining to do. If she did know, and had guessed what was going on, then why would she be asking me questions about why we had kidnapped her.
While Kathryn was still asleep, I decided to take a shower. It felt good to finally wash off the dirt and grime from the past few weeks that had collected on my skin. I was able to rinse off the few times that we were near a creek or river, but that was nothing compared to a hot shower. The mirror was all fogged up when I finally got out, and the room was thick with humidity. I dried my dark hair as best as I could and wrapped the towel around my waist before I grabbed my razor. The beard I hadn’t had the chance to shave made me look like a wild man.
Kathryn was out cold and sprawled all over the bed when I went out to check on her. I sat back on the other bed but couldn’t seem to find a comfortable position. I was restless from being cooped up the past few days. I needed to get out and go for a run.
Exhaling my frustration, I rolled out of bed. I couldn’t run but I could at least do something to try and get the energy out. I dropped to the floor and started doing push-ups and sit ups, trying to be as quiet as possible.
Kathryn didn’t wake up again until around mid afternoon. By that time, I had done five hundred push-ups and five hundred sit-ups, and I was just starting to do crunches.
“What are you doing?” she asked with a yawn. “Trying to get rid of energy,” I replied, ever so slightly out of breath.
“Crunches? Looks fun.”
“Want to join me?”
“Only if you’ll redo my stitches.” Her eyes sparkled and it was the first time I had seen a true smile on her face since we’d taken her.
“Are you hungry yet?” I asked, standing and wiping the sweat from my brow.
“A little.” She shrugged then immediately winced and put her hand on her stomach.
“You okay?” I asked.
She nodded her head. “Do you want to come with me?” She nodded her head again and slowly bent over to put her shoes on. It was clear she was in a lot of pain still, and that worried me. It would probably be a few days before she could travel on foot again, so I was going to have to find some other way to get her away from here.
It was a short walk to the cafe from the hotel. I put my arm around to Kathryn to protect her from the cold air and she surprisingly didn’t pull away. She got soup and a sandwich and I got a burger and fries. I could tell as soon as they brought the food out she was going to try and steal a fry. She reached for my plate, and I gently smacked her hand away.
“You’re so predictable.”
“You’re mean to me.”
“So soon you forget that I saved your life,” I countered back.
“Is that somehow supposed to cancel out the fact that you kidnapped me?”
“Oh, okay. So we’re even now?” I asked her jokingly.
“No. Maybe. I don’t know.” She shook her head and gazed out the window, her eyes growing distant.
“I’m going to need a coat if you expect me to walk anymore,” Kathryn said, her teeth chattering as we walked back to the hotel.
“I know, I’m working on it,” I replied, mouth full of food. *~*~*
She kicked off her shoes and jumped in the bed as soon as we got back to the room. She un-tucked the covers and wrapped them around her body until only her eyes were visible.
“Ow…” she moaned. “Remind me not to move around a whole lot.”
“Hey, Kathryn, don’t move around a lot,” I said, clicking the TV back on.
“Ha-ha,” she said flatly. “Thanks for dinner by the way.”
“That’s so mean. I still can’t believe you stole someone’s wallet. I feel guilty. I don’t even know him and he paid for our food and everything,” Kathryn said in a sad voice.
I was too busy thinking about Mr. Muchnick to care. “I wonder if he’s married?” I chuckled to myself. “Charles and Laura Muchnick.”
“Seriously, Conan? You are so easily amused.” Kathryn rolled her eyes.
“Why are you so serious, Miss McLeod?” I asked, chuckling.
“Why are you so…happy Mister…stupid wolf man,” she muttered before closing her eyes and promptly falling asleep.
After an hour or so I had just started to doze, but was startled by Kathryn’s screams. I bolted out of bed, expecting to find Desmond and the rogues surrounding us; but I only saw Kathryn, sitting up in her bed and panting heavily. Her shirt was soaked in sweat, and she had tears streaks on her face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, rushing to her side. She couldn’t answer because she was hyperventilating. “Did you have a nightmare?” I asked, slowly sitting next to her. She managed to nod her head. Unsure what else to do, I wrapped my arm around her.
“It was the same dream I had when I was in the hospital,” she whispered.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked quietly. She shrugged, but after a few minutes continued.
“It felt like it was more of memory than dream. Almost like déjà vu. I was in the back of my mom’s car crying for my dad, who I haven’t seen in years, and we got in an accident or something.” Her body continued to tremble as she held back tears.
“What do you mean you haven’t seen him in years?” I asked, trying to keep my voice as low and calm as possible.