Caleb (The Unseen Series Book 1)

by K. M. Thompson

  “I appreciate that.”

  “Okay, so we are going to let Kade do his thing and we are going to girl talk.”

  “I’m not really up for girl talk, can someone just tell me what’s going on?” I ask.

  “You’re safe now,” Kade interjects. “That’s really all you need to know.”

  “Where are the twins?”

  “Caleb has gone to get them. They were staying with your friend Rita and they will be here very shortly,” Dana explains. “Your friend is wonderful, she was so welcoming to me and my children.”

  “Where are we now?”

  “We are on Edward’s private plane. You, Caleb, and the children are coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks.”

  “Why?”

  “You and Caleb both need to recuperate. You’ll be safe at our place.”

  “What’s wrong with Caleb?” I ask, concern etching my voice.

  There’s silence in the room for a long time, it feels like at least five minutes, but it was probably no more than thirty seconds.

  “Caleb gained some injuries during your rescue. He needs rest.” That’s all Kade tells me, but I know there is more to it. I can remember hearing agonizing screams. I thought I was dreaming, now I’m not so sure.

  Dana tries several times to engage me in conversation, but I don’t respond. The only thing going through my mind is the screams I heard and the more I hear them, the more I believe they weren’t a dream. Caleb was torture because of me, I’m sure of it.

  “I’m going to try and get some of this glue out of your eyes. It’s just warm soapy water but it will probably sting quite a bit,” Kade says and begins wiping my eyes.

  He removed the offensive diaper and the plug from my ass with great efficiency. There was no hesitancy or awkwardness—he did it all as quickly and professionally as possible. My cheeks were burning from embarrassment, but he carried on and didn’t try talking to me through the process. I think that would have humiliated me more.

  The soapy water appears to be working, parts of my eyelids have come unstuck and I can see through small slits.

  “Your eyes are probably going to be pretty sore so once we have them open, I want to apply some antibiotic eye cream and then place a gauze patch over each eye,” Kade explains. I can’t help the hollow laugh that comes out.

  “So basically, you’re giving me my sight back and then taking it away again?”

  “Only for about six hours. I just want to make sure you don’t get an infection.”

  I nod, understanding what he’s saying, but it still triggers my pulse to begin racing.

  “SJ, breathe,” I hear Dana’s voice, but my mind is elsewhere. My mind is back in the room with him, my knees hurt so badly and the smell of urine is potent.

  “Stop, don’t do this, please. I can’t take anymore. I’m sorry. I’ll be good, Master!” I scream from the top of my lungs. He places a hand on each shoulder and holds me down, I’m struggling to get out from underneath him, but he’s too heavy. There’s a sharp prick in my upper arm. I can feel the drug running through my system, making me woozy. “Please don’t hurt me anymore,” is my last plea before the light fades.

  ***

  “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry. I wish I could have got to you sooner. I’m going to kill him. You don’t ever have to worry about him again.” I hear the words being whispered into my ear. There’s so much promise and remorse in them. “I love you. I hope you can forgive me. The twins really need their mommy, SJ. I need you and so does our baby that’s growing inside you. You’re so strong. Stronger than me. We’ll pull you through this.”

  I lay in silence for a moment, pretending to be asleep, contemplating his words and wondering what the hell he wants forgiveness for. This wasn’t his fault, this wasn’t even my fault. This was my mother’s fault. I won’t let that woman think she can rule my life after everything she’s put me through. I hope Caleb does something about her too.

  “Hey.” I turn to look at him forgetting my eyes are still covered. “How long do these have to be on for?”

  “Kade said about another four hours. We were waiting for you to wake up, it’s time to take off.” He helps me into a sitting position and I swing my legs off the edge of the bed.

  As we exit the bedroom, I hear people clapping and whistling. “Mommy,” Maddie squeals. “Are your eyes okay now?”

  “Yes, the doctor said Mommy got a bit of dirt in them so she just needs to keep them covered for a little while,” Caleb explains, saving me from having to think off the top of my head.

  “I missed you, Mommy,” Mitch says and I drop to my knees as the pair of them give me one of their awesome hugs. I can’t help it, I break down again.

  “I’ve missed you so much too. I’m never leaving you again,” I pledge to them. It isn’t until just now that I realized how close I came to losing them forever. How dare my mother do this to me, how dare she!

  “SJ, are you okay?” Caleb asks softly.

  “No, I’m not,” I say as he helps me to stand again and guides me to my seat.

  “What do you need me to do?” he asks and fastens my seatbelt.

  “I don’t need anything from you,” I snap. “I need time to myself, to think.”

  “I understand—”

  “No you don’t. Please just...” I trail off not wanting to continue that sentence.

  The cabin is eerily quiet during takeoff and when the pilot says it’s safe to take off our seatbelts, I stand and ask to be escorted back to the bed.

  “I’ll take you,” Dana says, but Caleb seems determined to prove something.

  “I’ll take you,” he demands.

  “Caleb, I need to see to your injuries. We’ll go into another room,” Kade intercepts him.

  “Mine can wait,” he argues.

  “No they can’t, Caleb. I need to make sure you don’t get an infection. Plus I believe there is a tracker you need removed.”

  “Fine!” He let’s go of my arm.

  “Come on,” Dana says, leading me toward the bedroom.

  I lay down on the bed and get myself comfortable. I know the flight will be at least a couple of hours so I might as well get some sleep. That was what I planned until I felt the bed dip.

  “It’s okay, you don’t need to stay with me.”

  “Yes I do.” There’s a concerned tone to her voice. “SJ, I know what you’re going through—”

  “No you don’t. You were kidnapped by your psychopath father-in-law to get revenge on your husband or whatever it was,” I grumble and turn over.

  “You have no idea what I’ve been through, so don’t pretend to know me, okay? I’m trying to help.”

  “You can’t help me. Unless you know what it’s like to be treated like less than an animal, you can’t help.”

  “I know,” she says and from the raw emotion in her tone I know she does.

  “What happened to you?” I ask after a moment of silence.

  She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “Now that is a loaded question. When would you like me to tell you about?”

  “As long as you’re comfortable telling me, start wherever you like.”

  I settle down and listen to her story. She tells me about how her ex-husband abused her and when she tried to escape with their son, he locked her up and made her humiliate herself or he didn’t feed her. When she was found, she’d been locked up with no food and lying in her own feces for at least twenty-four hours. He ex-husband had vanishesd, taken their son and left her to die. She goes on to tell me about her almost two year struggle to find her son and how when her ex-husband found her, he kidnapped her and raped her continuously to impregnate her. By the time she gets to Edward’s father and how he was manipulating her, I have to get her to stop.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through. How are you still standing?” I ask.

  “I didn’t handle it well to begin with. I became addicted to self-harm. Edward, he was a very big part
of my recovery. It didn’t seem like it at the time but in his own way, he helped me realize I needed to see someone and to deal with everything that had happened. Having my son back was also a big plus and my best friend was a constant support,” she explains as I reach out to her, not being able to see doesn’t help the task. “That’s my boob.” She laughs and I pull my hand back quickly.

  “Sorry,” I reply, pretty sure my face is bright red.

  She takes my hand and gives it a little squeeze. “Needing time is understandable. What happened to you was unfair. Just try not to shut Caleb out. He loves you and he’s so worried about you. I’ve only met him a few times myself, but I can see the light you bring to his eyes.”

  “I’ll try, thank you Dana.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  ***

  “SJ, we need to take our seats for landing.” I have to admit, I’m looking forward to spending a little time with Edward, Dana, and their family. Regardless of what I originally thought of them, they’re really nice, normal people.

  “Did I fall asleep?” I ask.

  “Yeah, I stayed with you,” she answers softly. “Just in case.”

  I nod my understanding. “Thank you.”

  We head out to the seating area and I’m greeted by Caleb. “How are you?” he asks.

  “Right now, I have no idea, but I do know I’m going to be just fine.” I smile at my acceptance of Dana’s words. It might not seem like it right now, but if Dana can go through all she did and still be standing, I can too.

  “You will be, because you have me, the twins, all your friends and—” he stops.

  “And what?”

  “Our baby,” he responds quietly.

  “We can talk about that later,” I reply sadly.

  “I understand if you’re not ready for a child. I mean our relationship isn’t exactly stable and you’ve got the twins—”

  “Stop,” I say gently, placing my hand on what I hope is his arm. “That’s not the problem. I’m worried about all the drugs that have been in my system for the last three days. What if they’ve harmed the baby?”

  “Kade doesn’t know what drugs Buccieri used, but he did say that the ones he used himself were completely safe for the baby.”

  “Was that his name, Buccieri?” I ask.

  “The one who held you captive, yes his name was Louis Buccieri.”

  “He made me call him Master.” I’m not sure what made me volunteer that information, it just kind of came out.

  “You will never have to call him or anyone else that again,” he growls, the anger emanating off his rather scary. Whatever Caleb has planned for Buccieri, I know that he will avenge me fully.

  We land and are getting ready to disembark. “I just want to thank you all for your help,” Caleb addresses the people on the plane. In all the chaos, I didn’t realize there were other people on the plane.

  “We wouldn’t have turned you down,” a voice I believe to be Grayson says.

  “Where are you off to now?” Caleb asks.

  “LA baby.” And that voice is Cain.

  “Are you sure you’re ready to face the music?”

  “I need to squash those rumors about us,” Cain replies.

  “Why are you off to LA?”

  “Evangeline is there. She’s in trouble and I plan to bring her back,” Grayson answers. He’s obviously found the girl I was helping him search the CCTV for.

  “I’m going in case she needs medical attention,” Kade joins in. “SJ, keep those patches on for the next two to four hours please.”

  “I will,” I agree. I try to stop the tremble in my lip but it doesn’t work. I know I need to be careful of what I say because the children are around us somewhere, but I have to say something too. “Thank you, everyone. No words will ever describe how grateful I am for what you all did and the situation you put yourselves in.”

  “Your practically family now girl,” Cain says, pulling me into a hug. “Plus saving lives just happens to be my new specialty.” The cabin fills with laughter. Cain really does know how to lighten the mood. “Dana, I’ll see you in November for the christening.” Then he changes to baby talk and I can tell he’s talking to one of the children. “When I’ll officially become your godfather, yes I will.”

  “Are you sure you want him to be the godfather,” a voice I don’t recognize says.

  “Shut up, Edward,” Dana hisses and by the sounds of it, she gives him a little punch.

  “It’s okay. I’m used to it,” Cain replies. “Bye everyone, see you soon.”

  “Take care, see you in a couple of weeks,” Grayson says in his usual detached manner.

  “Caleb loves you, so we love you. You have a whole family here now kiddo,” Kade says before giving me a hug.

  “Come on, we need to get off the plane, they’re scheduled to leave in twenty minutes and they need to refuel.” Caleb picks me up and carries me down the stairs of the plane.

  “You don’t need to carry me,” I say, but snuggle into him anyway.

  ***

  “You ready?”

  “Nope, do it slowly.” I squirm. “No, rip it off quickly.”

  Caleb is trying to get the gauze patches off, but I almost cried like a baby when he started pulling.

  “3... 2... 1.”

  “Shit!” I scream while clutching my eye. “That fucking hurt!”

  “You’re such a girl, let me see,” he demands.

  I slowly pull my hand away. The light hurts my eye to begin with causing it to tear up. Eventually, I get used to it. It’s strange how much I took my sight for granted. Being in the dark for three days has made me appreciate it so much more.

  “It looks good. A little bloodshot, but doesn’t look damaged. How’s your sight?” he asks.

  “Bright, vibrant, amazing.”

  “Am I as good looking as you remember?”

  That makes me laugh. “Better, in fact.”

  “Good, now let’s get this other one off.”

  “Do it slowly!” I grit my teeth.

  “3...”

  “You bastard, you promised.”

  “I didn’t promise anything.” He laughs.

  “You didn’t even count down all the way,” I whine.

  “Open your eye,” he says and I do what he asks.

  After a good amount of tearing and blinking, my eye finally settles. “Everything looks good,” I tell him

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I don’t know. I’m angry at the moment. I’m angry at my mom for thinking she had any right to sell me. I’m angry at my so called father for thinking he had any right to use me to his advantage,” I ramble on, looking down at our entwined hands and that’s when I notice his thumbs. “What the hell happened?”

  “It doesn’t matter—”

  “It matters to me. What did they do to you?”

  “I was tortured, SJ. Is that what you want to hear? I was tortured because I needed to find you and putting myself out there as bait was the only way.”

  “I’m sorry—” I start.

  “It’s not your fault. Don’t you dare ever think it was. I love you and I needed you. I should have had better protection on you. I’m sorry I didn’t get to you sooner.” The remorse and anger I feel from him makes me want to comfort him so badly.

  “None of this was your fault either, Caleb. You did your best. I am beyond grateful to have someone who loves me enough to save me.”

  “I will always save you,” he says heroically and so far he has been true to his word. He was there when Gary tried to force himself on me. He was there when Jake tried to do the same, and he was there this time.

  I don’t have any words that could even begin to describe how his words make me feel, so I just give him a watery smile. I won’t let any of this get to me. I will get past it.

  ***

  Two weeks have just flown by. We’re supposed to go home tomorrow, but I don’t think I’m ready. Here I can live in my own little fantas
y and pretend everything is great. Going home means facing everything I left behind almost four weeks ago. I’ve managed to block out everything Buccieri did. I locked it all up in a box in my head and refused to let it out. When Caleb asks me about how I’m feeling, the box starts to creep open, but I slam it shut again and tell him I’m fine. Caleb opened up a bit about the torture he went through—it made my toes curl. I know he wants me to open up, but I can’t. I can’t tell him that I was made to urinate on myself or that I was too weak to fight back. He took the pain, he never gave up, and he never talked. I crumbled at the first whip of Buccieri’s belt.

  “SJ?” Caleb calls through the room.

  “I’m in the bathroom, just putting on a little makeup. I’m looking forward to dinner with everyone tonight,” I answer.

  “Good, come on. The twins, Nathan, Caroline and Jacob are all asleep. Dana said Nicola is determined to be a pain in the butt.”

  “Tell her to try doing it with twins.” I laugh, but Caleb doesn’t. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m sorry. I know you were only joking, but don’t say anything like that to Dana. Nicola was meant to be a twin. Dana struggled for a while and blamed herself a lot over it.”

  “I didn’t know—”

  “I know and it’s fine, I just thought I’d better mention it.”

  “Do I look okay?” I ask with a smile, trying to lighten the suddenly sullen mood.

  “Do you even have to ask? You’re stunning.”

  “I think I preferred the speechless reaction you gave me the first time you saw me in a pretty dress.” I laugh.

  We join everyone downstairs. This really has been an amazing couple of weeks. I love how close everyone is here. Dinner arrives and topics of conversation shifts from work to play to something about a man in a basement. I only caught the tail end of that conversation and make a mental note to question Caleb on it later.

  “So you thought I was some stuck up rich boy?” Edward says and I turn to see who he’s talking to, when I notice the whole table is looking at me.

  I must look like a deer caught in headlights. I have no idea how to respond.