She hopped up on the counter. "I want you, Camden."
He crossed his arms. "Just like that, huh? Five minutes ago, you were scared of me." He tried to keep his face hard, but Kaine saw the hope in his eyes. She forced herself to keep looking into his eyes. "Since you came back, I’ve been having these feelings. I can’t explain it. When Shane left, I felt free for the first time in years. Like I could finally breathe. I didn’t have to be afraid anymore. I want you, Camden. It’s always been you. Not him."
He scoffed. "So that’s why you got the restraining order? Because you wanted me? That makes a lot of sense."
"I didn’t do that," she protested. "Shane was the one who called the police. I wouldn’t have told anyone. I love you, Camden Lawson. Let me prove it to you."
"You took him back."
"I was scared," she said softly. "I didn’t have anyone to protect me like I do now."
He watched her for a second, trying to gauge her sincerity. "So what now?"
She lifted her dress over her hips and his eyes widened. "Now you fuck me on this counter."
Camden took two long strides to her and grabbed her face, pressing his mouth to hers. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him closer as he groaned. She tugged at his shirt and he took the hint, pulling it over his head. Her plan was to grab the knife while his shirt was over his head, but it happened too quickly. She gasped as he lifted her up. "My first time with you isn’t going to be on a counter."
"Wait!" She cried as he started walking to the room she was kept in. He ignored her and kept walking, lowering her to the bed. "I have to pee," she said desperately as he kissed her neck.
"You can wait," he muttered.
"I can’t. I have to go now."
Camden sighed, frustrated. "Hurry up."
She slid out from under him and quickly went to the tiny bathroom, closing the door. She let out a shaky breath and forced herself to think. She needed to get out of this room and somehow lock him in, but she had no idea where he kept the key. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if she tried to escape and he caught her, but she wasn’t going to have sex with him. No way.
"Hurry up!" He yelled. She rolled her eyes and came out of the bathroom, shocked to see Camden lying on the bed in his boxers. He grinned at her. "Take off your dress."
She hesitated, then walked to the foot of the bed. "Don’t look," she tried.
"Why?" He asked, annoyed.
"I’m shy. I don’t want you to see me."
"Kaine, stop it. Take off your clothes."
She glanced around, seeing his jeans on the floor next to the bed. She slowly walked over to them and turned around, unzipping her dress. She lifted it over her head, turning around and facing him. His eyes widened and he grinned at her. "You’re even more beautiful than I remember. Come here."
She smiled at him before throwing her dress in his face and grabbing his jeans from the floor. She ran out the door and slammed it, locking the deadbolt just before Camden crashed into it. She reached into the pocket of the jeans, breathing a sigh of relief when her fingers closed around the key.
Thank God.
"KAINE!" He roared. "Open the god damn door!"
"Fuck you!" She screamed back.
"Open the door and I won’t hurt you."
"Let me tell you something," she said angrily. "Shane treats me like a queen. I’m not scared of him. He is kind and gentle and an amazing father. He puts my happiness before his own and makes me feel like Adam and I are his entire world. So fuck you, Camden. Fuck you and your shitty cabin."
She gasped and stumbled back as he crashed into the door. She didn’t think he could get through. She had done the same thing, and the door didn’t even budge. Camden smashed into the door again, and Kaine ran down the hallway and into the first room she saw, which looked like Camden’s room. She yanked open the drawer and hastily threw on a plain white tee shirt and a pair of sweatpants. She put on socks and ran to the kitchen, searching for his car keys. She stormed back to the locked door and pounded on it. "Where are the car keys?" She shouted. She heard jingling behind her and her blood ran cold.
"Right here."
Her heart dropped to her stomach. She put her head on the door and closed her eyes, not bothering to turn around.
"You think I wouldn’t have a spare key hidden in case you pulled something like this?" He asked quietly. She didn’t answer. He turned the deadbolt and pushed the door open and she stumbled inside, falling to her knees. She crawled to the corner and wrapped her arms around her knees. He stared at her, an empty look in his eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for him to grab her. After a minute, he hadn’t moved. She opened her eyes and he was still staring at her with that cold, empty gaze. "I’m sorry," she choked out.
A grin spread over his face and he burst out laughing hysterically. It was the most terrifying thing Kaine had ever seen. He looked insane.
He stopped laughing abruptly and walked to her slowly, crouching in front of her. He pulled her arms away from her body and leaned closer to her. "You need to be punished," he said softly. She closed her eyes and waited. Nothing she said now would make him stop. He knew she had tried to trick him. "I should hurt you for doing that," he said angrily. "But I won’t. You know why?"
She didn’t answer.
"Because the sight of you right now makes me fucking sick. I think you need a few days to think about what you’ve done."
She kept her eyes shut as she heard him storm out of the room and slam the door.
17
Kaine laid in bed, physically and emotionally drained. She knew Camden would come back eventually and do whatever he wanted with her. It didn’t matter anymore. She was never getting out of here.
Or maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe she would starve to death in this terrible little room. That might be better than whatever he had planned for her. She wondered where he had hidden a key. She had searched everywhere for something to use as a weapon. A key was tiny though, and he had probably taped it somewhere that she would never think of looking. There were a million places it could have been. She was thirsty, but had no energy to get up. She needed water. She sat up to go to the bathroom but immediately fell back down, her head swimming. She took a few deep breaths and crawled out of bed before collapsing on the floor and blacking out.
Kaine had no idea how long she was on the floor before she felt a pair of arms lift her up. "Shane," she croaked.
He said nothing as he carried her out of the room and into the bathroom. He set her on the floor before pulling her shirt off. She was too weak to protest and let him pull her limp arms up. He pulled her pants off and picked her up, sitting her in a tub of warm water. She kept her eyes closed as he put soap on a loofah and gently picked up her arm, running the sponge up and down. "That feels nice," she murmured. She loved it when Shane did things like this. She sat back and let him run the sponge over her. "Is Adam asleep?" She asked sleepily.
He paused for a second before continuing. "Yes."
She smiled, thinking about how much she used to love showering with Shane. They did it every time their parents left the house together. Shane never wanted to have sex with her in the house because her dad had threatened him, but they found creative ways around it.
He lifted her out of the tub and sat her down, drying her off. He carried her out of the bathroom and into his own bedroom and laid her down on the soft bed. She inhaled, smelling the fresh linen. She snuggled closer to him as he wrapped his arm around her. "Love you," she murmured before falling asleep.
Camden watched Kaine sleep, wondering if she was really confused or trying to trick him again. He wasn’t taking any chances. He got out of bed and locked the door. He crawled back into bed and laid next to her, thinking. He had been furious when she tried to trick him, but he wasn’t shocked. Not really. He didn’t think she would come around after less than a week. He had just wanted to believe her so badly when she said that she wanted him. He didn’t want to hurt her. When he had her for t
he first time, he wanted it to be because she wanted him too. He didn’t want to take it from her. If he did, he had little chance of her falling in love with him. He didn’t have any chance while Shane was still around. He needed Shane out of the picture. He rolled over and draped his arm over Kaine, closing his eyes and wondering if the gun he paid cash for could be traced back to him.
Kaine woke up to the sunlight in her face. She squinted, confused. Camden lay next to her with his arm around her. She sat up, putting her head in her hands when she felt dizzy.
"You ok?" Camden asked sleepily. She nodded, not taking her head out of her hands.
"Do you know who I am?" He asked.
"Camden," she mumbled. She briefly wondered why he thought she wouldn’t know who he was and how she had gotten in his room, but she didn’t really care. He hadn’t hurt her, and that’s all that really mattered.
"Are you hungry?" He asked. She shook her head.
"You need to eat. You haven’t eaten for a few days."
She had no appetite. She had been starving for awhile, but eventually the hunger pains went away.
"I’m gonna make you some toast. Stay here." She heard the warning in his voice, but it didn’t matter. She had no energy to even stand up let alone run away. She laid back down and closed her eyes as he left to make her breakfast. He came back after a minute and helped her sit up. "Eat this. You’ll feel better."
She nibbled on the toast, almost choking on the dryness. He gave her a glass of water and she sipped it. "Better?" He asked when she finally finished. She nodded. She did feel a tiny bit better.
"I have to go out for a bit. I’ll be back as soon as I can, ok?"
She nodded and let him pick her up and carry her back to her bedroom.
No. This is not your bedroom. Your bedroom is at home with Shane.
He laid her on the bed and kissed her forehead. "I’ll be back soon. Love you."
"Love you too," she mumbled. He grinned at her before closing the door. She may as well tell him what he wanted to hear. She knew it wasn’t true, and he probably did too. It didn’t matter as long as it made him happy. If he was happy, maybe he wouldn’t leave her in this awful room for so long.
She curled up in bed and wrapped her arms around her knees. The toast was sitting in her stomach like a lump of cement, and she willed herself not to throw up. She needed the food in her body. Thankfully, she fell asleep before she had a chance to get sick.
She was sure she was in the bedroom for a few more days. She had no energy to do anything but sleep. She woke up what seemed like a week later to Camden poking her in the arm. She swatted his arm away. "Stop poking me," she mumbled. "What are you doing?"
He sat down on the bed, looking at her seriously. "We need to talk."
She looked away. She was beginning to hate it when he said that.
"I need to tell you something," he said.
"So tell me."
He looked at her with pity, and her heart started to pound. "What is it, Cam?" She asked, trying to sit up. "Just tell me."
He sat down next to her. "I’m so sorry. I never thought..."
"Tell me," she whispered.
He took her hand. "Shane and Adam were killed."
She felt the air whoosh out of her body. "No. You’re lying."
"I wish I was," he said softly. "I never wanted anything bad to happen to them. I’m so sorry, Kaine."
"You’re lying," she choked out. "Why would you say that to me?"
He sighed and handed her the newspaper. She scanned the article, tears filling her eyes. She felt her world shatter as she read about a home invasion that had taken the lives of her husband and child. "I don’t believe you," she cried hysterically. "You made this up."
He handed her the pamphlet for their funeral. She looked at the cover with tears blurring her eyes.
"I’m so sorry, sweetie."
"No!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Camden wrapped his arms around her.
"You’re a fucking liar! You’re just trying to get me to forget about them."
He swallowed hard and pulled out his phone. "I really didn’t want to show you this, Kaine. I put a camera in your house a few weeks ago." He pressed play and Kaine watched in horror as Shane turned around and went flying back as a bullet hit him in the chest. She ran to the bathroom and dry heaved in the toilet. "No," she moaned.
Camden crouched behind her and tried to lift her up. "Get off me!" She screamed, turning around and slapping him in the face. "This is all your fault! You fucking kept me away from them so I couldn’t even say goodbye to them!"
"I’m sorry," he said, taking her blows. He didn’t know what else to say or do to calm her down so he wrapped his arms around her. "It’s ok," he soothed her.
"It’s not ok!" She screamed. "I hate you! You made their last days miserable!"
"Kaine, it’s not..."
"Get away from me," she sobbed. "You did this. You hired someone to kill them."
"No I didn’t. Everyone knows you’re gone. They thought the house would be empty."
"Leave me alone," she choked out.
"I’m sorry," he repeated.
"No you’re not," she sobbed. She would never hold her little boy or feel Shane’s arms wrapped around her again. She sobbed hysterically and Camden left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
"You want something to eat?"
Kaine shook her head.
"You’re losing too much weight. You need to eat something."
She shrugged. Maybe if she starved to death she could be with Shane and Adam. At the thought of them her eyes filled with tears again. She was surprised she had any tears left.
"Have some oatmeal," he pleaded. She shook her head. He sighed. It had been over a week since he told her that her family was dead, and she had only eaten when he forced her to, using threats that he didn’t want to use but had to in order to make sure she didn’t starve. "Come on," he said, rubbing her thigh. "One bite." He inched his hand higher and she opened her mouth, glaring at him hatefully. She swallowed the oatmeal. "Now will you leave me alone?" She snapped.
"Do you want to go outside?" He tried. She shook her head and laid down, turning away from him. "I want to go to sleep."
"You need a shower."
She didn’t answer. He sighed and picked her up, carrying her to the bathroom. She was like a dead weight in his arms. He set her on the floor and started the water . "Get undressed," he instructed.
She crossed her arms over her chest.
"Do it or I’ll do it for you," he threatened.
She glared at him and pulled her dress over her head.
He leaned down. "Get in the tub."
She looked at the tub as if it was a mile away and he shook his head, picking her up and sitting her in the warm water. He picked up the sponge and ignored her as she cringed away from him. "Maybe if you ate something you’d have the energy to do this yourself," he snapped. He ran the sponge roughly up her back as tears spilled down her cheeks. She let him finish washing her and he dried her off, carrying her back to her room and laying her in bed. He tossed the towel over her, not bothering to dress her. She didn’t seem to care either way. If she wanted to put on clothes, she could do it herself. "Pull yourself together," he snapped. "Get dressed and stop feeling bad for yourself."
She ignored him and he shook his head, leaving the room.
18
The next day, Camden put a state of the art security system on the front door of the cabin. He spent the rest of the day installing bars on the windows that Kaine wouldn’t be able to get off. He checked every corner, making sure there was no way out of the cabin except the front door, which needed his fingerprint and code to get through. Satisfied with his work, he opened the door to Kaine’s room, sad to see that the toast he left for her remained untouched. She laid in bed, still covered by the towel he had draped over her yesterday, facing away from him. He wasn’t sure if she was sleeping or just lying there, staring at the wall
like she usually was. He left the door open and walked away, making himself a sandwich and sitting at the kitchen table. He waited for half an hour but she didn’t come out of the room. Finally he got up to check on her and saw her lying in the same position. He walked around the bed and saw that her eyes were open. She stared straight ahead at the wall. This wasn’t what he wanted to happen. He knew she would be devastated when he told her about Shane and Adam, but he didn’t think she would be catatonic. He jumped when he heard a knock on the door. "Shit," he muttered. "Keep quiet," he warned Kaine, although she probably didn’t know what was going on anyway. He closed the bedroom door and went to the front door, pressing his ear against it. "Who is it?" He yelled.
"Hello? Can you help me?" The voice called. He narrowed his eyes and grabbed a knife from the knife block. He made a mental note to get rid of the knives before he unlocked Kaine’s door again. He entered his code before easing the door open and slipping outside. A guy who looked to be about ten years older than him stood at his door. His eyes widened and he put his hands up when he saw the knife in Camden’s hand. "Whoa, calm down," he said nervously.
Camden ignored him. "What do you want?"
The guy took a step back. "I was hiking and I got lost. I just wanted directions. And maybe something to drink, if you have it. I’m really sorry to bother you."
Camden wanted to tell him to get the fuck off of his property, but he didn’t want to give this guy any reason to be suspicious. "Hold on," he said, blocking the security system with his body so the stranger couldn’t see his code. He slipped inside and opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. He came back out and handed the stranger the bottle.
"Thanks," he said gratefully as he chugged the water. "That’s a pretty crazy security system you have for being in the middle of nowhere."
Camden gave him a winning smile. "That’s exactly why. If anyone tries to rob my house, I need more than a deadbolt. Cell service is awful out here and even if it worked, it would take forever for the police to get here. Sorry about the knife, by the way. I don’t get too many visitors around here and when I do, I can’t trust that they aren’t here to rob me."
Make Me (Bully Me #2) Page 11
