The Fortunates (Unfortunates #2) (4 page)

Chapter Five

Nine

My mother died.

And I don’t feel the way I should. Tears don’t fall and rage doesn’t ignite. I feel numb, like an imposter in a body that doesn’t belong to me.

I swirl my hands around in the dirty water as Kade slides the soapless sponge along my collarbone. My eyelids burn and threaten to shut. I can feel the sweet bliss of sleep hovering over me, just waiting for the chance to crash down upon me at any second. Startling me, Kade drops the sponge in the water and pushes himself to his feet. I wait patiently, one long blink away from drowning, and, eventually, he returns with a white towel and a large men’s tee. I glance over my shoulder as he places the tee on the basin and approaches me with the large towel. A mass of butterflies unleash themselves in my belly. They’re stupid. Kade has seen me naked plenty of times and still the fluttery flies release themselves from their cocoons. As he walks, he exudes calm control and I wonder if he feels the way I do. I wonder if his heart is beating as hard as mine.

He extends a hand and I take it, pulling myself to my feet. I step over the side of the bath, dripping water onto his shoes. On the mat, I stand still as he pats the soft towel over my wet body.

“There’s a cut on your neck,” he points out, darkness thickening this tone. “What happened?”

He avoids my eyes as he wraps the towel around my shoulders and carefully uses the edge to dry underneath my breasts and down my flat tummy. I take the chance to swallow hard, unsure if I want to inform him of what happened. How do I tell him the moderator who watched over me in the cell made an advance on me without provoking his anger?

“It’s nothing.”

He slows his movements, finally locking his intimidating stare with mine. “It’s deeper than your other cuts.”

“It’s just a scratch.”

Kade snaps forward, his hand snaking around to the back of my head. The towel falls from my body as his fingers tighten in my hair and I shiver as cold air clings to my weak body. Fear blends with excitement and my exhausted mind refuses to fight back, seeing Kade’s arms as a comfortable place to sleep rather than a serious threat. I shiver again and this time it vibrates my entire body.

“You’re scared?”

“You have me by my hair.”

He places a ginger kiss just below my bottom lip, a gesture to ensure me he doesn’t mean any harm. Funny, given his grip. What’s even funnier is the fact I trust him. I trust him not to hurt me. Foolish? I guess only time will tell.

“Is this what I have to do? Revert to treating you like one of them just so you answer me truthfully?”

“Have you tried treating me with kindness? I bet that would yield the same result.”

His broad, powerful shoulders square and I expect…I don’t know what I expect. I sure as hell don’t expect him to press his damp lips to mine. He kisses me gently.

“You know I’d kill for you,” he mutters, resting his forehead against mine, his fingers unrelenting in my hair.

Nodding, I slide my head against his. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Enough people have died because of me. I can’t handle anymore. My conscience can’t bear the weight.

I almost topple backward as Kade releases me, but I manage to keep from falling on my ass by leaning forward. Have I always felt so light in his hands? I straighten my spine, wobbling slightly.

He grabs the grey tee from the counter and holds it out in front of me. Cold droplets still run down my body and drip from my hair, but if drip-drying gets me into bed quicker, I’ll take it.

As he opens the fabric, I slip my arms through the necessary holes and let it slide onto my body. The hemlines stop just short of my knees and elbows, and the remaining droplets of water on my body darken the fabric further. I feel ridiculous, but in the grand scheme of things it really doesn’t matter.

With one guiding hand on my shoulder, Kade escorts me out of the bathroom, across the main floor, and over to his bed. I glance around. It has only been a little while, but it feels like years since I was here last.

The deep reds…

The browns and golds…

The memories…

A red hot flush heats my cheeks as I spot a little glass and tube with a bulb and on the end filled with half-burned grass. I remember that night…the night Kade treated me as an equal. The night I truly fell in love with the man he is on the inside.

Kade pulls back the heavy feather-filled blanket on top of his bed and I climb in. Before he tucks me in, he rushes around the room and closes all the curtains, drowning the room in darkness. I sink lower on the bed, pulling the blankets up to my chin, and in the distance there’s the sound of a belt hitting the floor followed by the sound of two shoes as they’re kicked off. My eyes flutter shut only to shoot back open when a smooth, warm hand brushes over my cheek. His naked skin is soft against my cheek and, directly under my ear, the sound of his beating heart thrums loudly.

“I thought I’d never have you here again.” He clears his throat, but it doesn’t chase the thickness in his tone away. “I haven’t slept. I haven’t eaten…I was so damn scared.”

I slip even closer to him, hooking my leg around his.

“It’s over now,” I mutter, my eyelids falling shut. “I’m here.”

Kade utters something under his breath, but it’s unintelligible as it filters through my tired ears. I nod my head and sleep swallows me.

∞

I jolt upright, unsure what startled me from my sleep. A bad dream, perhaps? I can’t remember. I gasp for air as my lungs squeeze and burn themselves from the inside out.

What’s going on?

“Nine?”

Heavy, calming hands grip my shoulders and pull me forward, pressing the side of my face against a warm chest.

“Just breathe.”

Kade’s quiet voice surrounds me, bringing immeasurable comfort. My stomach is tight, shooting panic throughout my chest. It’s dark, too dark for me to see where I am and what’s happening. I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit.

“You’re in my room,” he says, stroking my hair with all of the care I so desperately need. “You’re safe.”

My skin is damp with sweat, wetting the roots of my hair.

I suck in a deep breath as heat flares over my body and the dark walls of the room close in. Then I shiver, suddenly feeling cold. What is happening?

Kaden pulls back the blanket and grips the hem of the shirt that has bunched around my hips in my sleep. He tugs it up, whipping it off my body and leaving me naked. I shiver as he leans over me, reaching for something off the bedside table. A lighter sparks to life and I flinch away from the bright light. Instantly, the brightness fades, replaced by a small, soft flame that flickers on the tip of a thin, white stick. With the stick in one hand and the glass tube with the bulb on the end in the other, he says. “This will help you sleep. Dreamless.”

I peer up at him, my chest heaving with deep, lung-burning breaths. The small flame illumines his wide shoulders and beautiful face. In his black irises the flame flickers and my heaving lessens enough to cease the burn.

Tilting the glass tube, he slips the stick down its neck and holds it still against the bright green grass at the bottom. Eventually, the tiny flame on the end moves off the stick and onto the grass. As he removes the stick, the single flame shudders and splits in two. The pretty orange lights dance side by side before splitting in half, creating four beautiful lights. Thin ribbons of smoke swirl up the neck of the glass and filter out into the air as Kade moves the lip of the tube toward my mouth and I close my lips over it, inhaling deeply. The soft, gentle smoke twirls in my lungs, returning my stomach back to its normal position.

The panic fades.

And I feel…warm.

He pulls it from my mouth and leans over me, returning it to the bedside table.

I fall asleep then…or maybe I fall asleep when he’s back under the covers and he’s pulled me into his chest, holding me close. He asks me a question about my time locked up and then the dream starts…I don’t see it, but I hear it. My voice echoes around my own head, describing a memory the exact way it happened, from the smell down to the exact way I felt the night the moderator cut my neck.

The smell of alcohol and smoke was heavy in the room. His friends had just left after tormenting me with delicious smelling food, alcohol, and water. They spat them at me while they shouted obscenities, treating me like a feral animal.

Jim was the name of the moderator in charge. His annoying, husky voice boomed around the room, making me jump every time he started a sentence unexpectedly. He had always been an asshole to me, but more so than usual that night because I refused to entertain him and his company. Of course, he didn’t like it when I turned my back to them, acting as though they didn’t exist. Jim was confused, considering I spent a good portion of the afternoon going back and forth with him. They wanted entertainment, but I wasn’t there to entertain. In fact, the thought made me sick to my stomach.

As I sat in silence, huddled in my barren corner, they verbally attacked me some more. They said horrible things about me and Kade—things that weren’t true. They even dubbed me “The Misfortunate,” claiming I bring misfortune and death to those who get close to me.

Clever.

They could say what they want. Since they weren’t touching me, I didn’t mind.

Once all the food was gone and the booze had been consumed, Jim’s friends grew bored and eventually, they left. By that time, Jim could barely walk in a straight line. I could hear it in his stumble, and that was when my hair began to prickle and my pulse pounded under my skin. I glanced over my shoulder at the sound of keys jingling and saw the anger etched on his face. His eyes were thinned and he clenched his teeth, making him look like an old man rather than the twenty-something he was.

Unsteadily, I rose to my feet and backed up against the wall as he slurred his words and fidgeted with the keys on his chain, searching for the one that fit my lock. Inside, my organs churned and fear materialised, but I managed to keep a straight face. Kathryn shouted from the cell beside mine, but he ignored her, his eyes focusing solely on the keys in his hand. When he found the key, he swiftly unlocked my cage and let himself in. I swallowed hard, pressing myself as hard as I could against the hard concrete wall behind me. Sharp shards of concrete that hadn’t been smoothed off cut my skin, but they were the least of my worries.

“You embarrassed me,” he slurred with a growl. “Now I’m gonna embarrass you, and in front of your mother, no less.”

I shrieked as he launched forward. I thought I was quick enough to dodge him, but he caught me by the last inch of my hair. I screamed as he wrapped my hair around his fist and drove me into the bars. Unsmoothed metal scratched my skin, but failed to dig deep as Jim yanked me off the bars and shoved me out of my cell. My tired feet stumbled underneath me and we would have crashed to the ground if Jim hadn’t snagged the first bar of Kathryn’s cell. Once again, he slammed me hard against the bars, sending pain through my breasts. Kathryn rushed to the bars, her hands out in front of her, but before she made contact, Jim pressed the jagged edge of a key into the side of my neck. I hissed, flinching as the dirty metal bit into my skin.

“One more step and I bury this key inside her neck.”

Kathryn, in her pretty navy dress, stopped in her tracks. Tears welled in her eyes and saliva connected her lips as she opened them with a sob.

“Please,” she pleaded in a whisper. “She did nothing to you.”

Jim pressed the key harder, angling the tip so it dug deeper.

“Who is going to miss her, huh? Kade Sario?” He spit, his breath reeking of whiskey. “Fat chance. He’ll have another Unfortunate whore to replace this one in a week.”

The sloppy sound of him licking his lips right by my ear twisted my stomach, sending bile into my throat. I closed my eyes. Do I not look like a human to him? Do we not share the same features? How can he treat another human being like this without feeling it in his conscience? In his heart?