I'm about one step away from calling Kai when someone knocks on my door.
"Come in," I say as I toss a Snickers wrapper onto my bed.
The door opens and Kai walks in. He looks exhausted and stressed; the dark circles under his eyes have returned, and they also look a bit bloodshot.
The moment I lay eyes on him, I'm overcome with relief.
"I'm so glad you're back," I say as I throw my arms around him.
He slips his arms around my waist and pulls me closer. "Me, too." He nuzzles his face into my hair and breathes in deeply. "God, it's been a shitty day."
His honesty throws me off a bit. Usually, he tries to protect me from having to deal with his issues. What he doesn't realize is it's not something I have to do. I want to help him.
I pull back and part my lips to ask him what happened, but he talks over me.
"Shhh … I need something first, and then I'll tell you," he says.
Before I can ask what he needs, he kisses me softly but deeply.
My eyelids lower and, for a brief, wonderful moment, nothing else exists except for him and me and our lips. Eventually, though, he breaks the kiss and reality returns, pressing down on my shoulders.
He doesn't speak right away, resting his forehead against mine. "I messed up."
I skim my fingers up and down the back of his neck, trying to soothe him. "What happened?"
His breath dusts across my face as he releases a heavy sigh. "All the bad stuff I did in the past, like stealing that car and stuff, finally caught up with me. And now … well, I have to join the football team and work as an informant to figure out the source of some kind of drug trade going on with the players … Honestly, there's more to it than that, but I can't really get into the details … I probably shouldn't even have told you what I just did, but …" He wraps his hands around my waist and clutches me tightly.
Me? I remain frozen as shock sweeps through me.
"How …? What …?" I take a deep breath, trying to collect myself. "How did this happen?"
His grip on my waist tightens. "Big Doug ratted me out. It's why he wanted to meet up with me. There was an agent there and …" He releases a heavy sigh before pushing me back to look me in the eyes. "I always had this feeling that the shit I did was going to catch up with me. And I know I probably deserve this, but I wish it wasn't happening right now. With everything going on … you need to be my top priority."
"I'll be fine." Will I, though? Because with that photo and now this … the walls feel as though they're closing in and I have to remind myself to breathe.
"Hey." Kai cups my cheek as he looks me in the eyes. "You'll be okay. That I can promise you."
"I'm not worried about that right now. I'm worried about you." I loop my arms around the back of his neck, wanting him closer. "This sounds dangerous, and I haven't even heard all of it."
"I'll be fine," he insists.
I shake my head. "Please don't lie to me."
He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm not. And honestly, what I have to do, it really shouldn't take that long. I already know a lot of the guys on the team, so all I really need to do is just talk to some people, see who knows what, and then I'll report back to the agents and will be done. Plus, my record will be wiped."
"Really?" I ask, and he nods. Still, worry courses through me. "I'm still worried about you. Drugs? Ratting people out …? It sounds like some sort of mafia movie."
He cracks a small smile. "I promise you that no one on the football team is in the mafia. It's probably just some player dealing on the side."
"I hope so." I sink into silence as worries for Kai, my life, and that photo overwhelm my mind.
"Where's your head at?" Kai finally asks, searching my eyes.
I lift a shoulder. "I'm still worried about you. And about what's happening with me, too … I saw the photo Lynn sent. Or, well, allegedly sent."
His eyes widen. "How the hell did you see that?"
I shrug. "It was on my grandma Stephy's phone."
His brow elevates. "Why were you on her phone?"
"Because I was talking to my mom."
Now his brows rise toward his hairline. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I just did." I let out a sigh. "Plus, I'm still trying to process it … It was weird … Talking to her, I mean. And then I saw that photo and I …" I swallow hard. "Kai, what did the note on the back of it say?"
He shakes his heads. "I don't think—"
"Please, just tell me," I cut him off. "I need to know, or it's all I'm going to think about."
His Adam's apple bobs as he swallows hard. "I don't want to see you hurt … I mean, I get that not knowing is probably pretty stressful, but I …" He releases a deafening exhale. "I'll tell you a summarization of what it said, but I refuse to repeat every vile thing that was written on that photo."
I struggle to breathe evenly. "Okay."
He gives a long, hesitant pause. "It basically said that you'll eventually replace the girl in the photo. That you would hurt like her. That you would suffer for years like her."
My brows pull together. "Suffer for years like her? Why does that sound like that girl has been tied up for years?"
Kai shrugs but tension ripples from him. "I'm not sure, but hopefully, after the police look into it, they'll have some answers." He cups my face with his hands. "But it doesn't even matter, because they'll never get ahold of you. I won't let them. I don't give a shit if I have to be an informant—you'll always come first."
"You always come first with me, too," I say. "But that doesn't mean I want you to constantly worry about me—"
He silences my protest with his lips, kissing me as he backs me up toward the bed.
"Kai," I whisper breathlessly as I work to get out what I need to say.
But he continues to kiss me, refusing to hear it, refusing to let me tell him that I don't want him getting hurt or in trouble for me. That he should put himself first.
We end up kissing until exhaustion overcomes me. I try to keep my eyes open so I can talk to him more, but he smooths his hand over my head and whispers for me to go to sleep.
Eventually, I do.
And for some reason, when I drift into dreamland, I once again end up in that nightmare, in that basement, with that person who is hitting me, which makes me wonder if maybe it's not a nightmare at all, but a memory.
If that's the case, then why am I suddenly remembering?
And why do I get the feeling that, behind the darkness, something horrible is waiting in the corner?
Eleven
Kai
I'm nervous about what I have to do, not just because it's sketchy as hell but because it means I won't be able to keep an eye on Isa all the time. Still, I'll make sure she's safe, no matter what it takes.
That's the promise I'm making to myself as I lie in bed with her, watching her sleep. Her head is resting in the crook of my arm, her lips parted as she softly breathes. I wish I could freeze time and stay right here. Unfortunately, that sort of stuff doesn't exist, something I'm reminded of when my phone vibrates with an incoming message.
I half-expect it to be from the agents, since they told me they'd be in contact with me soon after I left the warehouse and they drove me home.
Jules had texted me at least ten times, wondering where the hell I went. I had to lie to him, which sucks. But deep down, I know it was only the start of a very long list of lies I'm going to have to tell in the future.
Sighing at that thought, I reach over and pick up my phone. When I see the message is from Kyler, confusion webs through me, but then I read the message and a tiny trace of a smile appears on my lips.
Kyler: Was it you who planted those drugs in my trunk? I know it was. I can't fucking believe you'd do that to me. You got me kicked off the team, you asshole. I'll never forgive you for this.
I don't reply, setting the phone down then rolling onto my side and curling into Isa.
At least one good thing happe
ned today. I got revenge for Isa. I just wish I could get revenge for her with Lynn for everything that woman did to her. Maybe one day when she's found, I will. For now, I plan on tormenting Kyler more. And I'm adding someone else to the list.
Hannah Anders, Isa's half-sister. I got big plans for her.
As I close my eyes and start to drift off to sleep with Isa's sugary smell flooding my nostrils, my phone vibrates from the nightstand again. Assuming it's Kyler, bitching me out more, I ignore it. But when it does it again and again, I roll over and pick it up.
Weirdly, it's from Jules.
Jules: Hey, sorry to message you this late, but I just got some info back on that photo and thought you'd like to know. I ran a facial recognition program on it.
Jules: It's actually an illegal program, so you won't be able to report what I'm about to tell you to the police, but I think you need to know.
Jules: The program matched the girl's face to Isabella Anders.
"What the hell?" I mutter, carefully moving my arm out from underneath Isa so I can sit up.
Me: The program must be shit then, because that's not Isa in that photo.
Jules: The program isn't shit. It's actually the best facial recognition program you can get, which is part of the reason why it's illegal, at least to your average citizen. But I understand what you're saying about there being no way Isa could be that girl in the photo. And I knew that when the results came back, so I looked into it and what I found out is that, if the program does match up someone's face to someone else's, ninety-nine percent of the time, it's because they're twins or are related and have very, very similar features.
I shake my head, completely confused.
Me: Okay, well, then maybe this is that one percent of the time when the program didn't work correctly.
Jules: Maybe. And maybe the police will come up with a better answer. I just thought I'd let you know the results.
Me: Thanks. I appreciate you doing this.
Jules: Anytime.
I set the phone down, feeling utterly perplexed over how the program matched Isa's face up wrong.
But the girl in the photo did look so similar that a small part of me wonders if perhaps it could be a relative of Isa's. Maybe that's what it is. Maybe Isa has a cousin who looks almost like her who's helping Lynn out. Then again, Lynn isn't Isa's real mom, so any relatives on her side wouldn't be blood-related to Isa.
Shit, what am I going to do? I can't tell the police about this since Jules will get in trouble, but I feel like they need to know. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll come up with the same answer.
But luck hasn't been on my side for a while. Well, except for when it comes to Isa being in love with me. That I lucked out on.
And as I lie down in bed beside her, that's what I try to focus on—her.
And for a moment, all my worries go away as I drift off into a peaceful sleep.
I just wish that feeling would last.
About the Author
Jessica Sorensen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives in the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.
Also by Jessica Sorensen
Sunnyvale Series:
The Year I Became Isabella Anders
The Year of Falling in Love
The Year of Second Chances
The Year of Kai and Isa: Volume 1
The Year of Kai and Isa: Volume 2 (coming soon)
* * *
Enchanted Chaos Series:
Enchanted Chaos
Shimmering Chaos
Iridescent Chaos
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
Capturing Magic:
Chasing Wishes
Chasing Magic
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
Chasing the Harlyton Sisters Series:
Chasing Hadley
Falling for Hadley
Holding onto Hadley
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
Cursed Hadley:
Cursed Hadley
Enchanting Hadley (coming soon)
* * *
Tangled Realms:
Forever Violet: Everlasting Moonlight
Forever Stardust: Everlasting Stardust
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
Curse of the Vampire Queen:
Tempting Raven
Enchanting Raven
Alluring Raven
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
Unraveling You Series:
Unraveling You
Raveling You
Awakening You
Inspiring You
Fated by Darkness
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
Unexpected Series:
The Unexpected Complications of Revenge
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
Shadow Cove Series:
What Lies in the Darkness
What Lies in the Dark
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
Mystic Willow Bay Series:
The Secret Life of a Witch
Broken Magic
Stolen Kisses
One Wild, Crazy Zombie Night
Magical Whispers & the Undead
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
Standalones:
The Forgotten Girl
* * *
Honeyton Annabella:
The Illusion of Annabella
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
Rebels & Misfits:
Confessions of a Kleptomaniac
Rules of a Rebel and a Shy Girl
* * *
The Heartbreaker Society:
The Opposite of Ordinary
The Heartbreaker Society Curse
The Heartbreaker Society Secret (coming soon)
* * *
Broken City Series:
Nameless
Forsaken
Oblivion
Forbidden (coming soon)
* * *
Guardian Academy Series:
Entranced
Entangled
Enchanted
The Forest of Shadow & Bones
Entice
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
The Coincidence Series:
The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden
The Redemption of Callie and Kayden
The Destiny of Violet and Luke
The Probability of Violet and Luke
The Certainty of Violet and Luke
The Resolution of Callie and Kayden
Seth & Greyson
The Evermore of Callie & Kayden
Untitled (coming so0n)
* * *
The Secret Series:
The Prelude of Ella and Micha
The Secret of Ella and Micha
The Forever of Ella and Micha
The Temptation of Lila and Ethan
The Ever After of Ella and Micha
Lila and Ethan: Forever and Always
Ella and Micha: Infinitely and Always
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
The Shattered Promises Series:
Shattered Promises
Fractured Souls
Unbroken
Broken Visions
Scattered Ashes
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
Breaking Nova Series:
Breaking Nova
Saving Quinton
Delilah: The Making of Red
Nova and Quinton: No Regrets
Tristan: Finding Hope
Wreck Me
Ruin Me
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
The Fallen Star Series:
The Fallen Star
The Underworld
The Vision
The Pro
mise
The Lost Soul
The Evanescence
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
The Darkness Falls Series:
Darkness Falls
Darkness Breaks
Darkness Fades
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
The Death Collectors Series (NA and YA):
Ember X and Ember
Cinder X and Cinder
Spark X and Spark
Untitled (coming soon)
* * *
Unbeautiful Series:
Unbeautiful
Untamed
Untitled (coming soon)
The Year of Kai & Isa Page 8
