I unlocked the door, and we stepped inside.
She immediately took a seat on the edge of the bed, still wrapped in the towel from the bathroom. Her arms crossed over her body like she was still cold, and her gaze was downcast, her eyes open and still, as if she was reliving it all over again.
“Grab your things.”
She slowly lifted her chin to look at me. “What?”
“I said, get your things.” I kept my voice controlled and soft since she was sensitive right now. What I really wanted to do was snap my fingers and get her to move quickly, so no one would see what was about to happen.
“Why?” She got to her feet and looked at me, her face so puffy from her tears, she looked like she’d just taken a beating.
“Because you’re going to stay with me. Now, come on.”
She inhaled a deep breath when she heard what I said, like she couldn’t believe it.
“If I leave you here…” I didn’t need to finish the sentence to make my point. “Do as I ask.”
She nodded then dropped the towel, not caring that I could see her naked bottom half. She pulled on her underwear and her pants then gathered what few possessions she had. It was just a couple items that she stuffed into her pockets. Then she turned back to me, emotional all over again, but for a different reason.
“I can’t let you go, but I can keep you safe while you’re here.” I walked out.
She followed behind me a second later.
I locked the door even though there was no point. Just a habit.
We crossed the camp until we reached my cabin. I unlocked the door and let her go first.
She stepped inside and looked around, seeing the small desk against the wall with a laptop, the TV on the stand against the wall, the twin bed in the corner under the window, and the bathroom.
I didn’t want to share my space with her like this, but I had no other choice.
She moved to the chair in front of the desk and took a seat. She was in a dreamlike state, like she was still in shock. She glanced at her hands before she raised her chin and looked at me again.
I stared back.
The moonlight came through the window and made her eyes shine. “Now what?”
It was late, and I had a long day tomorrow. “We’ve got to sleep.” I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it in the hamper in the corner. My jeans came next because I couldn’t sleep unless I was in my boxers. If it made her uncomfortable, that was too bad. “You can stay up and watch TV if you want. Just keep it on low.” I pulled back the sheets and lay on the small bed, which was already too small for just me. I missed my king-size in Paris, having all the space I could need. I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling.
She stayed in the chair, her eyes looking out the uncovered window.
I was tired, but I couldn’t sleep, not when she was sitting in that chair, looking out the window. Someone had just tried to rape her fifteen minutes ago. It would be impossible to wind down and drift off so quickly. “Do you want to talk about it?” I could see her face turn slightly in my peripheral to look at me.
She stared for a while. “No.”
“Touch my laptop or my phone, I’ll throw you back to the wolves. I may have helped you, but I won’t liberate you. I built this place to make it impossible to escape, so I suggest you don’t bother.”
She was quiet.
“Do you understand?”
Her voice came out quiet, afraid. “Yes…”
I turned my head to look directly at her.
She shifted her gaze away, like it was too hard to look at me. “Should I sleep on the floor?” She stared at the hardwood at the foot of the bed. There was a rug, but it would still be rock hard against her sore body.
“No.” I pushed the sheets back.
She turned back to me. “You want me to join you?”
“If you sleep on the floor, you’ll hurt your back. And I’m not sleeping on the goddamn floor.”
She gave a slight nod before she got up and started to undress. She turned around and pulled off her shirt, revealing her bra underneath…and the scars.
I quickly looked at the ceiling again.
She dropped her pants next and stood in just her underwear. “I don’t have anything to wear…”
“Take a shirt out of my top drawer.”
She moved to the dresser and grabbed the one on top. It was a short-sleeved gray cotton tee. She pulled it on, and it fell down her body to her thighs, covering the scars that made me sweat with disgust.
She approached the bed and looked at me, as if she expected me to move over.
“I sleep close to the door.”
She got on the bed then crawled over me, settling into the narrow spot right against the wall.
The bed was not made for two people.
There was no way for us to lie together without touching each other. I couldn’t lie flat without being on top of her slightly, so I turned on my side and faced my desk, the sheets around my waist, my eyes open and looking at the light and shadows in the room.
She was still after she found her position. Based on her breathing, she was wide awake and alert.
So was I.
She sat up and closed the curtains over the window, bringing the bedroom into darkness. “What will happen to you tomorrow?”
All the damage I’d finally fixed was gone. I had to start over…because I was weak. “That’s my problem, not yours.”
“Your problems are my problems…just as my problems are your problems.”
I walked her to the clearing—like I was her guard again.
I was her guard again.
She didn’t speak to me or look directly at me. She was submissive, which was completely unlike her. She was always strong and fierce, but all those qualities had faded. She shone in bright colors, but now, she was muted gray.
I didn’t like it. “Nothing will happen to you.” I looked at the side of her face, seeing her eyes down. “I promise.” I’d never made a promise to anyone in my whole life, but I made one to her…and she didn’t even ask me to.
She slowly turned to look at me. “I know.”
When we reached the clearing, she walked away and headed to work, keeping her head down, like if she were small enough, quiet enough, no one would notice her.
Alix walked up to me right away.
My eyes glanced down to his hands, expecting to see a blade.
He carried nothing.
He stopped in front of me, getting so close to my face that his breath fell on my cheeks.
I didn’t back away because I wasn’t intimidated. Even if he had a knife and I had nothing, I’d still kick his ass.
He kept his voice low so everyone else couldn’t hear, but the threat was unmistakable. “The boss is going to hear about this. What will you do, then?”
“She’s a prisoner all the same. But now, she’s my prisoner.”
When he was this close to me, it was easy to see his features inside his hood. He gave me an incredulous look. “It doesn’t look like you treat her as a prisoner.”
“What I do with her is none of your business.” I was concerned what would happen when Fender came to the camp for a visit. He would see what I’d done—and he’d definitely have an opinion about it. “Guards keep prisoners for themselves. What I’m doing is no different.”