“Did what?” His thumb moved along my temple.
“I killed him… I killed Aric.”
Caden’s eyes widened slightly, and then he looked to his left, over his shoulder, to the stain on the floor. He refocused on me, and a long moment passed as what looked like awed pride filled his gaze. It quickly gave way to despair. “Good.”
Uncertainty filled me. I swallowed again.
“You don’t need to speak right now.” His eyes searched mine. “I’m going to break this chain, and then we’ll get you out of here and go home.”
Home?
“Caden?” A familiar male voice filled the chamber, hesitant.
“She’s here,” he spoke, and his gaze remained fastened to mine.
“Is she…?” The new voice was soft. Female. Red hair came to mind.
Caden’s jaw hardened. “She’s here,” he repeated. “She’s chained.” There was a curse from somewhere in the chamber, and I shivered. “Keep it cool,” he said over his shoulder. “Keep it quiet—don’t. Stay back. Just for right now.”
“But—” the female protested.
“Ren, go find a blanket or a jacket. Something warm and soft,” he cut the woman off. “We need to get her warmed up. She’s too cold. And call Tanner. Tell them they’re going to need to get the infirmary ready.”
This Ren must’ve listened because Caden refocused on me. “I’m going to break the cuff around your neck, okay? I’m not going to hurt you, but this may startle you, and I’m going to need help, so please be still. No one is going to hurt you.”
I took another breath, but it felt like it went nowhere.
His chest rose. “Ivy, I need you to come over here and hold her head, but walk over slowly.”
Ivy. Ivy. Ivvvvvy. The name. I knew it, but I couldn’t remember her. I knew I should. My heart rate kicked up as uncertainty sprang to life. Why couldn’t I remember?
“It’s all right,” Caden soothed. “I promise you. You’re safe now.”
Light footsteps approached, and then I heard a sharp inhale. “God.”
Caden’s head snapped in the redhead’s direction, and whatever she saw quieted her. She moved out of my line of sight, and I tensed.
“She’s just going to hold your head. That’s all,” Caden assured me. “And then I’ll get this cuff off you, and we’ll be out of here.”
“I’m going to touch you,” Ivy said from somewhere behind me. Seconds later, I felt her hands on either side of my head. “I’ve got her.”
“Thank you,” Caden replied, and I had the distinct impression that wasn’t something he said often. “Just a couple of more seconds, sunshine, and that’s all.”
He folded his hands around the metal band, and there was a strange flaring of heat as his chin dipped. The muscles under his shirt along his shoulders and arms flexed. Slight pressure encircled my throat, setting off warning bells. I tried to pull away, but Ivy held me in place. My stomach twisted with panic—
Metal groaned and gave way, and when I swallowed, there was no longer anything pressing against my throat.
“There,” Caden murmured, placing the snapped cuff aside. He tipped forward. “I got her.”
“Do you?”
His gaze lifted from mine to the woman behind me. “I do.”
“You better,” she said.
I had no idea what their exchange meant, but she said nothing when he slipped an arm under my shoulders and then under my legs. Only then did she let go. He pulled me against him, and the contact jarred me. I gasped as a wave of sensation rippled through me.
“Sorry,” he said gruffly, rising fluidly. He turned, and my gaze swiveled around, landing on the patch of floor that was dark and stained.
Caden was speaking, but I wasn’t tracking what he said. I wasn’t even sure if he was talking to me or not. I shifted my gaze to him as he started toward the door. I’d been here before. Or it felt that way, like it had happened in a dream. A knot formed in my throat as we neared the opening. I locked up, waiting for the catch, the obstacle that blocked me from leaving, the tug on my neck. The reveal that none of this was real, just another elaborate ruse produced by my mind.
Caden crossed the threshold, still speaking in a low, soft voice as we entered heavy darkness. He climbed the stairs, and then…then I saw the silvery glow of moonlight.
Moonlight.
I drew in a broken breath, and the air was fresh and clean. Was this…? Tears clouded my eyes, blurring the rays of moonlight that filtered through the trees.
I swallowed again. “Are you…are you really here?”
“Yes.” Caden stopped, looking down at me. “I’m here. I’m really here, sunshine.”
Chapter 14
Things were hazy from the moment Caden carried me into a vehicle and wrapped a blanket around me. Between the warmth of the throw and the heat his body was throwing off, I couldn’t do what he kept asking of me and keep my eyes open.
Bits and pieces of the conversation floated around me as he held me in his lap, keeping me steady as the wheels bumped along. He held me gently, keeping an arm around my shoulders and my cheek pressed to his chest. Every so often, I felt the soft-as-air brush of his touch on the side of my head or down the bones of a finger. Like I…like I meant something to him, like I was precious and cared for. But there was something that lingered at the fringes of my consciousness that wanted me to pull away, to put distance between us because it was needed. I couldn’t remember why, and I was too tired to figure it out.
Ren was speaking from the driver’s seat when I came to. His name was familiar, as was his face. I knew him and the redheaded woman next to him, and I knew they were together. Their names and faces were like the framework of a house, but the walls and the floors and everything in-between hadn’t been installed.
“How bad?” Ren asked.
The arm around my shoulder tightened and then relaxed. “Bad.”
“Did she say she killed him?” Ivy asked. “I heard that, right?”
“You did,” Caden answered as a weird feeling started in my toes. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant, more like a low burning that reminded me of a sunburn.
“Damn,” muttered Ren. “Well, now we know why Dumb and Dumber hadn’t seen him.”
Dumb and Dumber? Wasn’t that…wasn’t that an old movie? The burning crept up my calves.
“They said they hadn’t seen him in four days,” she said. “Could she have been down there alone?”
“She’s been gone for almost two months,” Ren said, and a flicker of surprise scuttled through me. Had it really been that long? I’d stopped counting after day forty-eight. How many days had I missed in the beginning? “I can’t believe we found her after all of this time.”
“She had to think…” Ivy trailed off, and then she spoke again. “Did you see her? Her skin?”
“I saw.” Caden’s voice hardened.
“That sick bastard—” She cut herself off. “I’m glad she killed him. I hope she made it hurt in the worst ways.”