“Kat!” Christopher called.
Kat tried to ignore him, but he yanked open the driver’s door.
“Where are you going?”
She reached for the handle to close the door. “Out for a drive. Uncle Dimitri said I could.”
“Don’t go alone, Kat.”
“I need to be alone, Christopher.” She looked up at him and her breath caught in her throat. “I need to get away. I won’t be gone long.” She pulled on the door, but he held it open.
“Kat.”
Her heart hammered in her chest like it always did when he was near.
“Look at me.”
She squeezed her eyes shut to gather her courage, then turned and looked up at him.
His square jaw was tense, and his nostrils flared. “Do not go alone.” His own heart hammered in his chest when he stared into her emerald eyes. “Please.”
Kat’s brows puckered. He was being ridiculous, and she told him so. “Now, close the door and let me go.”
Christopher swallowed hard then held his hands up in surrender.
Kat slammed the door, put the car in gear, and peeled out. Christopher watched her go with a deep sense of unease.
At the end of the long driveway, Kat debated which way to go. This was a new area, but honestly, how lost could she really get? Either she drove north toward Moore, or she drove south toward Arco. She settled on Arco and steered the car in that direction. Kat opened the windows halfway and let fresh air blow through the interior. Although it was spring, it was chilly. She didn’t care. The crisp air gave her something else to focus on along with the wide-open road and horizon. She considered just driving without stopping, running away. Although impossible, it was a fun idea to entertain.
Several minutes later, she forced her shoulders to relax and rolled her head around, then fiddled with the radio until she found a country station. She didn’t care for country music, per se, but she didn’t hate it, either. She cranked up the volume and belted out the lyrics three words behind the music because she didn’t know them, nor did she care. The town loomed in front of her and she turned the music down a little. There was no need to draw attention to herself. She slowed her speed, too. Her eyes shot left and right at the town of Arco. It certainly met the description of Sleepy Town, USA.
Kat sighed. She didn’t want to drive back and forth on 93 but didn’t know what else to do. She continued until she reached Pickle’s Place where she pulled into the parking lot. She hurried inside and approached the counter.
“Hi.” She smiled at the woman behind the counter. “Can I have a large Coke to go, please?”
“You want anything else with that? Chips, cookies, a slice of pie?”
Kat shook her head. “Just the Coke.”
The woman nodded and turned her back to Kat and reached for a large Styrofoam cup. Kat leaned back against the counter and glanced around the place. She saw several customers staring at her, some overt, some at least trying not to look like they were staring. Kat frowned and turned back to the counter. She paid for the drink, thanked the woman, and left. She climbed in the car, took a long draw from her drink, then started the car and looked around.
“Where to now?” She swiveled in her seat before settling in and clicking her seatbelt in place. “I’ll just drive around, I guess.”
She pulled out of the gravel parking lot and headed back the way she came, but with no intention of returning home yet. A marker caught her attention. It read, “Big Lost River Valley” with an arrow that pointed to the left.
“Huh. That sounds about right for me. I’m big lost right now.” She flicked on her turn signal and turned onto Sunset Drive. She bumped along the road out of town until she saw an almost hidden turn-off and the same sign that drew her in this direction. She turned onto the dirt road that wound through the landscape. When it came to a dead end, she pulled the car off to the side and got out. There were no other cars around. The only sound came from a nearby stream or creek. She locked the car and set off toward a line of trees to investigate.
It felt good to be among trees again. It wasn’t long before she burst through them, however, into a gorgeous scene that had her frozen in awe.
“Wow.” She looked wide-eyed at the stunning river before her. It was shallow, clear, and with the mountains in the background, absolutely breathtaking. Kat smiled and picked her way along the bank until she found a nice spot to sit where she could lean against the trunk of a tree.
She sat cross-legged on the ground and wiggled her drink into the small rocks until it sat stable, then she stared at the water with the sun sparkling off the surface like hundreds of tiny camera flashes. The soothing sound of the shallow water rushing over the smooth pebbles filled her ears. She blocked out everything else and focused on the sight and sound as she took several slow, deep breaths. Kat imagined the stress and turmoil she felt as the color red. She breathed out streaks of red repeatedly until her mind quieted within her. Somewhat, anyway. Eventually, she allowed herself to open and consider what she was going to do about Christopher. She equally loved him and loathed his actions. Kat felt the wind shift and a very warm breeze creep up her back and over her arms and shoulders, but she ignored it.
Kat warred within herself, both arguing for and against Christopher. She grimaced, then smiled, then frowned, then her chin trembled, and a tear escaped and slid down her cheek.
She sighed, nodded, and squared her jaw. She was about to get up when she felt a pin prick on her neck. Her eyes flew open and her mouth formed an O.
“That should do it.”
A harsh male chuckle was the last thing Kat remembered.
Chapter Nine
Kat groaned and lifted her hands to her face. “Ohhh.” Her arms felt like lead and tribal drums pounded against her skull. She pressed her fists to her eyes and rolled onto her side. She took deep dregs of air into her lungs and moaned. It hurt to think, but she had to. When did she go to bed? How did she get to bed? Why did she hurt so much?
Kat pushed onto her back again and tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt like slabs of liver. She scrunched her face, forced her eyelids to obey, blinked and tried to orient herself. The ceiling was different. It wasn’t her ceiling. The walls weren’t her walls. A dread filled her when she slowly realized she was not in her room. Not with her family. Not home.
She stiffened and swallowed the fear. Being fearful would not help. Her hammering heart made her head hurt more, if that was possible. Where was she?
A prick in her neck.
A man’s voice.
A man’s cruel laughter.
Kat bit back a shriek and chewed her lip. Dear God, had she been kidnapped? Her heart hammered harder and she moved her eyes frantically around. Was her captor in the room with her?
She couldn’t see anyone, so she moved her head slowly in a circle and widened her visual range while she attempted to ignore the pounding in her head.
Still she saw nobody.
Kat gathered her courage, swallowed again, then called out, “Hello?”
No answer. No sound.
With a moan, she hoisted up on her elbows and took stock of herself and more of her surroundings. She was fully clothed – thank God – and unhurt except for the heaviness in her body and pounding in her chest. She scrambled to feel around in her pockets. As she suspected, her cell phone was gone.
“Where am I?” she whispered.
The room was a rather spacious, albeit sparsely furnished, bedroom. She was on a queen-sized bed, fitted with luxurious linens, and there was a nightstand next to it with a pitcher and small glass. Against the wall parallel to the foot of the bed sat a low six-drawer dresser and a wingback chair. On the wall over the dresser hung an oil painting of a tropical beach scene. On the dresser sat a large crystal vase filled with colorful and fragrant fresh flowers. Otherwise, every flat surface was empty. There wasn’t even a clock radio to tell if it was night or day. There was a narrow, non-descript door in the wall to her left
that Kat assumed was a closet. The walls were painted in a light sky blue and there were no windows.
Kat gasped when she saw the heavy oak door to her right. Did she dare think it would be unlocked?
She gingerly wiggled her toes and pumped her feet back and forth. Everything seemed to be in working order. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for a camera or other surveillance device. Finding none, she slowly swung her legs over and sat up. The pounding in her head made her squeeze her eyes shut and moan until it subsided enough for her to concentrate. All she knew was she had been brought wherever this was against her will and she had to get out of here.
Kat braced herself and stood up. She took several deep breaths and was happy to realize her strength hadn’t abandoned her. She kept her hand on the bed, tiptoed around it and headed toward the door.
“Please, please, please.” She gripped the door knob with a shaky hand and tried to turn it. It didn’t budge. Her heart sank.
She took tentative steps toward the small door next to the dresser that she assumed was a closet. Maybe she would get lucky. She opened it to find a luxurious full bathroom instead. The finishes were all marble and it even had a deep soaking tub. There was a fluffy white robe hung on a hook on the wall and it was fully stocked with toiletries and towels.
Kat chuckled darkly. “I have thoughtful captors.” She looked back at the room with her mouth open. “Where am I?”
As if in answer, she heard a key slide into the lock on her door and her mouth dried up. She whipped her head around wondering what to do. A thought occurred to her and she gasped. As quick as she could, she left the bathroom, called forth the ice, and shifted into an area rug.
The door opened slowly and from her vantage point, Kat could only make out the top of someone’s head. The hair was dark, thick, and wavy.
A low rumble of a laugh sounded, and a very tall, gorgeous man came into view. Kat stared at him from the floor. He put his hands on his narrow hips and stared right back at her.
“Hello. I know that’s you. All the furnishings have been carefully selected and inventoried.” He gestured at her form. “You can’t hide like that in here. Go on. Shift back.”
Kat froze, unable to process what he said. How could he know she was a shifter? Dread radiated through her as realization dawned.
The Barotkoffs.
The man let out a frustrated sigh and crossed his bulging arms across his chest. “Come on. I won’t hurt you, but we can’t exactly have a conversation like this, now can we?” He waved his arm at her. “Shift back.” He relaxed into the wingback chair and continued to stare at her.
Kat had no choice. She called forth the ice and rose to stand before him. She threw her shoulders back and stared defiantly at her captor. She would not go down as a coward and she certainly would not show fear.
A smile spread across her captor’s lips as he regarded her. He nodded appreciatively. “Nicely done. I’m Mikhail Barotkoff. It is nice to finally meet you, Katherine Wolff. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Kat lifted her chin and didn’t answer.
Mikhail rested his right ankle on his left knee and stared at her with piercing black eyes.
Kat felt a flutter of fear in the center of her being, but she ignored it and bolstered her own stare.
This went on for several minutes. Finally, Mikhail nodded and let his gaze rake over her body. Kat fought back a shiver of disgust.
“I like feisty stubbornness, but alas, this won’t help you. As I said, I am not here to hurt you. I am here to, shall we say, orient you to your surroundings.”
Kat had many questions, but she refused to ask them. She stared at him in silence.
Almost like he could read her mind, he uncrossed his legs and leaned forward to put his elbows on his knees. “I am sure you have many questions. Let me see if I can answer them for you. We collected you because you are special, Katherine. We know you can shift into anything, and we have seen that you can block us, too. That is...unique. Valuable.”
Kat remained silent.
Mikhail continued. “You are back in Georgia and are now a guest of my family.”
Kat’s eyes bugged before she could contain her reaction.
Mikhail chuckled. “We have a private plane, of course. It was not hard to find you. We have our ways. We know exactly where your family is at all times. Your family isn’t very cautious, you know.” He gauged her reaction before he continued. “My uncle believes you are an amazing woman, an asset, that would be most welcome in our family.”
Kat couldn’t help her hammering heart and the rapid movement of her lungs. She worked to keep her face neutral.
“You have been here for,” he consulted his watch, “about eighteen hours now.”
A light tapping sounded on the closed door. Mikhail glanced at it. “You must be hungry.” He said something in Russian and the door opened.
A beautiful young woman, who bore a striking resemblance to both Christopher and Anna, entered the room carrying a tray. She kept her eyes downward and only cast the briefest of glances at Kat when Mikhail wasn’t looking. She hurried to put the tray on the dresser, then scurried out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Mikhail rose from the chair and turned it to face the tray on the dresser. He gestured at the chair. “Come. Sit. Eat. I know you’re hungry.”
Kat crossed her arms and held her chin higher.
Mikhail shook his head and smiled. “Suit yourself. I’ll leave it here for you. Hunger strikes won’t help you, you know.” He moved toward the door. “See you soon. Everything you need is here, but of course if you need anything else, we are here to serve.” He bowed formally in front of her, winked, then left the room. She heard the lock click into place.
She blew her breath out and relaxed her shoulders. She put her hands on her hips and looked around the room anxiously. There had to be some way out of here. She got down on her hands and knees and peered under the bed. There was only hard-wood flooring there. She got up and stared at the ceiling, her eyes moving over every square inch. There was only a very narrow vent that would be useless to try and reach. The ceiling was at least ten feet. But if she shifted...she kept that in the back of her mind. Obviously the Barotkoffs had some sort of surveillance on her, otherwise how did Mikhail know she was awake?
Her stomach growled, and she pressed her palm to her middle. She was famished. Her eyes landed on the tray and she approached it with one final stolen glance at the closed door. It couldn’t hurt to eat. Besides, if what Mikhail had said was true, they were not going to poison her.
She lifted the cover from the plate and her eyes widened. There were thick slices of roast beef, creamy mashed potatoes covered in a dark gravy, and a side of green beans with slivers of crisp bacon. On a side plate was a dinner roll with a generous dollop of butter. They had also given her a slice of cherry pie with whipped cream on top for dessert. The only thing missing was a beverage. She glanced over her shoulder at the pitcher and glass on the nightstand. She walked over and peered into the pitcher. It was filled with ice water that had slices of lemon and cucumber floating on top.
“This is surreal. I’m imprisoned in a luxury hotel.” She poured a glass of water and sipped it. It was very good. She swallowed the entire glass and frowned. The icy water on her empty stomach was painful.
Kat sighed, filled the glass again and walked over to the tray. She sat on the edge of the chair and sliced a bite of roast beef. It was hot and perfectly cooked. Her stomach growled again. The taste of food woke her appetite up with a vengeance. Before she knew it, she had eaten everything. She even scraped the last bits of pie crust and cherry filling from the dessert plate.
She sat back with a belch and patted her stomach. Her headache had all but gone and her mind cleared up. Whatever they had drugged her with must be out of her system. Kat sat there and digested for a long while. Her mind churned. Her family had to be worried sick. They had no idea what had happened to her. For all they knew, she
had run away. But surely, they would find Uncle Dimitri’s car, wouldn’t they? Not that it would do them any good. Her eyes lit up as she remembered the tracker in her arm. Surely, they knew where she was and were even now working on a rescue plan. All she had to do was bide her time until they came.
She heaved herself out of the chair and used the bathroom. When she returned, she glanced around the room again. Out of curiosity, she opened all the drawers in the dresser. Each drawer was fully stocked with clothing to include pajamas, panties, and bras. In her size.
“Ew.” She shuddered and refused to think about how they gained that information. She then turned toward the nightstand drawer. Inside she found crossword puzzle books and a variety of magazines. Great. It looked like they planned to keep her here for a while. Her family had to be going through hell.
She closed the nightstand drawer and looked around. It was nothing but a comfortable prison cell.
KAT HAD NO CONCEPT of the passage of time. Without the ability to see the sun rise or set, she couldn’t tell if it was night or day. The only semblance of time came from the cues gleaned from her meals. She got typical breakfast food in what she presumed was morning. All her trays were delivered by the same woman who was always accompanied by Mikhail. He didn’t talk with Kat much and didn’t allow conversation between the two women. Often the woman didn’t even have the chance to make brief eye contact. Kat dared not speak to her because she remembered how the Barotkoffs treated the women in their family and she didn’t want to cause her any trouble. The food was always delicious, and there was plenty of it.
Fifteen meals into her captivity – Kat presumed it had been five days – she felt like she was going crazy from boredom. She had done all the crossword puzzles and read the magazines more times than she cared to remember. Kat had never cared which A-list actress had collected and discarded which number husband, nor did she care what anyone wore to the narcissistic self-congratulatory award gatherings Hollywood set up for itself.
Revelations: The Shifter Series: Volume Three Page 15
