“Yes, Klayton. Extra anchovies, right?”
“And a side of piss off.” I opened my laptop and powered it on, despising my reflection on the dark screen before the home screen came on. “And a liter of Coke. Breadsticks too. Hot wings also.”
“You eat like crap. It’s a wonder how you’re so hot.”
“It’s my overall disgust with the world. It keeps me thin.”
“Or your healthy sexual appetite,” she teased.
I gave my computer a small smile. “Or that.”
“Slut,” she mock-whispered, and then yelped into her phone. “No! Not you. Yeah, hi. I’d like a medium pepperoni—”
“Large,” I corrected.
“I mean a large pepperoni for my greedy friend. With hot wings, breadsticks, and a liter of Coke. Cool, thanks.”
I had to get some work done. “You have to go to the bank tomorrow to make a drop.”
“Yes, boss.”
“I wrote out the guys’ cuts, so write the checks for them while you’re there.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Yours too,” I added. “And add her to the payroll. You know what she’ll need.”
Neither of us mentioned that her friend hadn’t moved, or that she was watching me like a hawk.
“She eighteen?”
“How old are you, Madi?” Cat asked softly.
After a long pause came her quiet reply. “Twenty.”
For some reason, the sound of it made me uncomfortable. “Go hang out in my room,” I ordered, searching through an online store for inventory. Buying locally was killing my profit. “I’ll use the bathroom down the hall. Just toss a change of clothes in there for me.” I added the last part for her friend. “There’s a lock on my door.” Out the corner of my eye, Madi’s head turned away from me.
“We’ll sleep here tonight, okay?” Cat led her down the hall.
Madi nodded, her backpack in hand, looking over her shoulder at me with her eyes unsure and fearful.
I looked away.
When the pizza got there, I shoved my face as I restocked the shop. I felt guilty buying cheaper merchandise online, but the vendors in town were so damn expensive I’d have to raise prices to keep buying them. I couldn’t charge nine hundred bucks for a two-hour piece to cushion my costs. Part of my success was low prices for great work. At two in the morning, I could barely keep my eyes open. I dug out a pillow from the hall, and as I pulled a sheet out with it, I heard low voices coming from my room.
And though I knew I should give them privacy, I leaned carefully close to my door and listened.
“Are you sure about him?” came the girl’s delicate voice.
“Klay is the only man I’m sure about,” Cat said. “Trust me on this.”
“He’s scary,” Madi breathed, and it broke my heart.
I had no choice but to admit that I was an unpleasant person. I’d never been pleasant, so I doubted that would change. Most people avoided me the way I wanted them anyway. I’d gotten my life to finally work for me, and I wasn’t about to disrupt my already churning waters.
“He’s a teddy bear,” Cat whispered back. “A teddy bear with tattoos and a chip on his shoulder. That’s all.”
“I don’t see a teddy bear.”
What did she see? I glared at the door, willing her to finish, reminding myself to rearrange Cat’s ideas about me when I got the chance. Teddy bear? Yeah right.
“You probably won’t see that for a long time. Let’s sleep.”
“I can’t sleep.”
“You want anything to help you?”
“No. I have to stay awake.”
Unable to take any more of her quiet heartbreak, I left them to whisper. I made a bed on the couch, punching at my pillow. I went into my kitchen and rummaged around in my medicine box, locating a bottle of antihistamines. I tapped out two and then filled a glass with cold water. Then I walked them down the hall and knocked on the door with my elbow.
Cat unlocked the door and then opened it, dressed in one of my tank tops and her panties. “Yeah?”
I held out my hand in answer, dropping the pills into her palm when she gave her hand to me. I gave her the water as well. “To sleep,” I explained, spotting Madi eyeing me fearfully. She was in a ball on the bed, hands fisted in my sheets, pointing out the fact that I probably hadn’t knocked gently.
“Thanks.” Cat reached up and gave me a peck on my cheek, whispering in my ear. “I put a pair of clothes in the hall bathroom for you.”
I nodded and then I struggled a second before I did so at Madi too. She looked away, biting her swollen bottom lip.
I heard the door lock as I went to my bed on the couch. I lay on my back and tried to block out the horror she’d undoubtedly went through.
Chapter Two
Madison
No matter how hard I tried to stop them, the memories found a way to find me.
I twisted in the sheets, waiting for the pills Cat gave me to take effect. I hadn’t wanted to take them, but she promised I was safe here. She was an expert at pleading. She’d done the same thing to the man in the living room, and she’d done so to me. Gotten me to take two strange pink pills. For all I knew, they were drugs. The man in the living room was going to hurt me too.
My panic spiked, making me sweat and my ears to listen. He was huge, well over six feet. He was muscled, tattooed, and bulky. His fists were huge. His eyes were so dark blue they were like winter, this dark blue void of light. His dark brown hair was all over his head, and his stubble was thick. He had hard lines around his mouth and eyes, like he didn’t smile often. He only tortured.
If I weren’t terrified of all that lay outside this building, I’d take off. But I didn’t like it out there either. There were so many people waiting to hurt me. And he was out there too. I tried to block out the memory of his dark eyes and fists. The man in the living room … Klayton, Cat called him, had fists twice as large. But Cat trusted him. I trusted her. I’d run into her last week after I’d escaped, and she’d been the only person not to flinch at the sight of me. It was like she knew exactly what my insides were doing. They were trying to drag me back to the hell I’d escaped.
The smell of the old hotel came back to me. The mildewed carpet, the stench of smoke. My body trembled, and the pressure of Cat’s presence wasn’t enough to keep me from going back there. I’d had no other thoughts in my brain since I escaped. I was either in that room or protecting myself. Watching the men in the world. I never realized how many there were until they were all dangerous. There were dangers everywhere. And I would stop them. No one would take me again.
All those pills did was relax my body. My brain still ran wild. I imagined all the ways someone could get in. There was a window on my right beside the bed, but we were admittedly high up above the tattoo shop where Cat had brought me.
I feared she may grow tired of me. She’d put me up into a hotel room the night she found me, but she ran out of money, and I’d rather be on my own than live with her boyfriend and his brother. I wasn’t her responsibility, but for the first time in my life I didn’t have anyone. I had nothing but the things she’d bought me from the Goodwill this morning. She talked about jobs and tattoos, and I tried my best to listen, but all I heard was my panic.
When the sun rose a few hours later, I heard movement in the house. He was awake. I watched the light under the door, waiting for him to come for me. His shadow passed a few times, but it never stopped.
“You awake?”
I nodded at Cat’s question, glad she was awake too. Two pairs of eyes were better than one.
“Did you even sleep?”
I shook my head.
“Are you hungry?”
“No.”
“Let’s go see what Klay’s doing.” She got up and hopped into her jeans. She wiggled my foot. “Come on.”
“He’s awake.”
“Let’s go. He’s safe.”
Feeling pressured, I rolled out of bed. I felt unst
eady, weak, as I followed her out of the room. The sun flooded the small, sparse living room. Klayton was at the kitchen table on his laptop again. He didn’t look up when we came in. I liked that. He didn’t notice me at all. I liked that too.
“There’s waffles in the freezer,” he spoke up, tone stiff.
I liked that even more. It meant he didn’t want me around. He would ignore me. He wouldn’t hurt me.
“You like waffles?” Cat asked, touching my hand when I continued to stare at him.
I eyed his tattoos. There were so many on his biceps and forearms. He wore no shirt this morning, and his chest sported some as well. Bad boys had tattoos. I remembered my grandmother saying that to me. Memories of her made my heart flinch.
“Why are you crying?”
I blinked my tears away when Klayton looked at me finally. He frowned at my tears. I shook my head at her question and continued to ignore my memories. Parts of me were shaking; I hugged myself. My entire world was imploding and no one knew how hard it was to exist in this unforgettable nightmare.
After a second, his deep blue eyes looked back at his computer. But his mouth was turned down, and he looked unsettled.
“Go sit down.” Cat grabbed my shoulders and urged me over to the table. “I’ll make breakfast. You like coffee?”
I removed my gaze from him and instead stared at the table. Threat or nothing. That’s the only thing that worked for me since I’d managed to escape. Time faded around me. I existed for a while until Cat set down a plate of food. I wasn’t hungry at all. Wanted nothing to do with food. But I ate it anyway. She was looking at me worriedly, her brows drawn down and her lips pressed together. She didn’t deserve to worry. After I’d finished, I exchanged staring at the table top for my empty plate. My eyes closed as a wave of exhaustion hit me. I was so tired.
“Shh,” Cat whispered. I blinked aware to find that I was lying on a couch. Confusion crashed into my skull. “Sleep, Madi.”
I didn’t want to sleep!
But my body sagged and my brain turned off …
When I woke, I immediately bolted up from where I lay. The scent of breakfast was long gone. The light coming in through the window was deep. Afternoon. The pillow I’d laid on smelled like man. Like cologne and male shampoo. I was thankful it wasn’t sweat and body odor, but it was still man, and it made me itchy and unable to breathe.
Spotting a piece of paper on the table with my name scrawled on it, I picked it up and scanned it.
Madi,
I’m sorry I had to do that, but you needed sleep. Blame me later. Klay and I are downstairs. I put clothes in his bathroom for you. Shower. Come down when you’re done, or not. The door is locked and we’re downstairs. If you want to stay up there, that’s okay. There’s a phone on the counter in the kitchen. I wrote my cell # down below.
Call me if you need to.
Cat
I didn’t move.
The letter fluttered to the floor.
I pushed his pillow onto the floor with it, and curled up without it, listening to any sound I could catch. I could hear faint music. It sounded like it was coming from downstairs. I could hear voices occasionally, too. Male voices. I shuddered every time. My thoughts couldn’t focus unless it was on the fear inside of me. It was fear, and it was nothing else.
A couple hours later, I heard pounding. I sat up and scanned for a way out. There were two doors, but I had no idea where the second one went. There was a jingling, like keys, and then the door opened. Klayton came in. I waited for Cat, but she didn’t follow. I bolted to my feet and contemplated how I’d get around him.
But he ignored me. Set his keys on the kitchen counter and walked into his kitchen. He opened his fridge and stuck his head inside. He wore a shirt now. A blue shirt. And dark gray jeans. Black boots. His hair was done. He looked terrifying. Cold. Scary.
I wanted so badly to ask where Cat was. Instead, I watched him.
He pulled out a container of lunch meat and a bottle of mayonnaise and yellow mustard, and then he grabbed a loaf of bread off the top of the fridge. He pulled out four pieces of white bread and made two sandwiches. All the while he ignored me. He piled both sandwiches onto a plate, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and then walked around me and settled on the sofa.
He didn’t want me there at all. I liked it, but parts of the woman I was before I was abducted saw how severe his distaste was. He watched television as he ate on the sofa. His back was tensed, the muscles of his shoulders coiled beneath his shirt. He was mad.
I wanted to do something to change that. Mad men did bad things. But there were too many bad men out there. Cat said I could trust him. I was imposing. I didn’t want to leave. It was easier to protect myself here than it was out there—trust at this point was impossible.
“What did you do?”
I blinked at Cat as she glared at Klayton.
“What are you talking about?” His mouth was full of food.
“Look at her.” She jabbed her finger at me.
He followed her finger and scowled. “I didn’t even talk to her.”
She shoved at his head. “Madi didn’t do anything to you. Can’t you be nice once? It won’t hurt you, I promise.”
I couldn’t believe she shoved him.
But Klayton only glared. “Ask her. I was eating lunch. That’s it.”
His distaste was stronger than his benevolence. I took off for his bedroom. I’d leave—I didn’t want to—but it wasn’t fair of me to put someone out in their own house.
“What are you doing?” Cat demanded.
I picked up my backpack and grabbed my shoes, slipping on the Converse’s she’d bought me. “I think I should leave.”
“Don’t listen to him. He’s a miserable douche!” She shouted loud enough so he’d hear.
“He didn’t do anything.”
“Then why are you leaving?”
I tried to move around her, but she blocked the door. “He doesn’t want me here. I can leave. It’s okay,” I assured her when she seethed in his direction. “I’ll … uh … figure it out.”
“Listen, Madi. You’re not going to make it out there. Trust me,” she stressed, pain entering her eyes. “I can look at you and tell you didn’t come from the hood. You’re not used to life on the street. You’re not thinking right. You don’t have anyone.”
I didn’t understand what she meant when she said stuff like that. Sure, I had no idea what I was going to do, but I’d have to figure it out. I wasn’t going home. Not like this, and not being this new and unrecognizable version of me.
“I have you,” I said weakly.
Her eyes softened. “Take your backpack off.”
“It’s not going to work out.” I was starting to feel overwhelmed. She was trapping me, forcing me into a corner. “I want to go.”
“Where? Where are you going to go? No,” she said when I tried to move around her again. “Tell me. If it’s a good idea, I’ll let you go. You know my number. If it’s not, you’re staying here.”
The old me wanted to know why she cared so much, but this me was just glad she did. The truth was, I didn’t know where I’d go. Maybe someplace with no people. Like the forest or the mountains in Colorado. I was still in Denver. It wasn’t that far from Boulder. But it was far enough that I still felt like I had a choice whether I wanted to go back.
“Exactly,” she whispered, pulling me into her arms. She held me as the burning in my eyes won out. I didn’t want to be held. “You’re not thinking straight. You want to run. I get it. But you don’t know where you’re going. He’s not the only monster out there.”
That was all I needed to hear.
Before he took me, I thought monsters were only in stories. I didn’t know they were real live damaging things.
My backpack hit the floor.
“Maybe you should talk to Klay,” she suggested.
I couldn’t watch my back and front. Memories of him pulling me by my hair out of his car made it
hard to stand. Cat kept me upright. Like she’d been doing since I ran into her on the street. She’d met her own monster once. That’s why she understood my desire to run.
“Come on. Let’s go talk to him.” She took my hand and led me back into the living room.
Klayton had finished his lunch, and he’d also picked up his pillow. He was cracking the knuckles on his right hand with his thumb. Index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and then pinky. Then he started all over again.
“Can we talk to you?” Cat asked, urging me to sit on the couch.
I pulled free of her hold and waited for her to do it first. I didn’t want to sit close to him.
“Apologize,” she told him.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Klay,” she warned, tone cold.
He sighed harshly. “I’m sorry.”
“Do you accept that?” She nudged my knee.
I nodded at my lap, feeling bad. He hadn’t done anything, but Cat didn’t seem to be moveable.
“Let’s be honest here,” Cat said. “Where is she going to go? Nowhere. Do you have a problem with her staying here? While she heals.”
“No …” he replied slowly. “I don’t mind if she stays here, my dear Catherine.”
“Tell her that. Not me.” She sat back, leaving the space between us open.
“Look at me,” he ordered softly.
I peeked at him sideways.
“Is it all right if Cat leaves? She’s got a client waiting downstairs. I won’t hurt you, and maybe we can talk without her up our asses?”
Alone with him? Cat was downstairs. She’d check on us. I nodded.
“Good girl,” she whispered, getting up and patting my knee before she took off.
He cracked his knuckles again. “You want to talk, or shake your head?”
I nodded.
“You’re not comfortable around men right now, I get it. I’m not comfortable with people living in my house, you get that?”
Mad Love (Guns & Ink Book 1) Page 2
