Chapter 7
Morgan
"I'm surprised to see you in here," I say, doing my best to hide the irritation I've been feeling.
I know I'm here where Kaylee lives with Ellis because I was in danger. I also know that I've never owned every single second of her time. We're spending more time together now than we ever have, simply because of proximity, but it hasn't kept me from feeling all out of sorts.
Staying at any place other than your own home comes with its own issues. I don't have the same comfort level I'd have if I were surrounded by all my own things.
I feel weird walking into the kitchen to find something to eat because I didn't pay for nor did I select the food.
My home didn't have cameras on the inside, but this place has one in nearly every corner in the common areas. I don't feel upset that they're there, but I do feel like I have to perform in some other way than I normally would.
Like right now, as I walk on the treadmill, I seriously need to pull a wedgie out of my ass, but I can't because someone might see.
And by someone, I mean Robert. He's the man behind the computer equipment, so he'd be the one with immediate access to what the camera catches me doing.
"I've been a bad friend," Kaylee says as she places her water bottle into the cup holder on the machine beside me.
"No," I say, feeling like an asshole for even bringing it up. "I just figured you'd be getting enough exercise with that hot-as-sin husband of yours."
Her cheeks pink as she steps on the machine and presses a few buttons to program her workout.
"Sex is good?" I prod, trying to take the negative energy out of the room.
The way she chews her lip and pretends like she didn't hear me makes me smile.
"That good?" I ask, even though she didn't give me a verbal answer.
"Does he have a brother?" I joke. My mind instantly wanders to a different set of brothers I have no business thinking about.
"He has a sister," she says, choosing to respond to this question although she ignored the other ones.
"Is she hot?" I tease, smiling when she does.
"I haven't met Eleanor yet."
"Does she even know about you?" I ask. This information is throwing up a huge red flag for me.
She turns her head to face me, arms going out to keep her steady on her treadmill. "She does. We've talked a couple of times on the phone. But don't forget, as much as I love Ellis, this is still a very new relationship."
"So he's not trying to hide you?"
"Morgan," she groans. "He's not a bad guy. Why are you trying to find something wrong with him?"
"There's something wrong with every person with a cock hanging between their legs," I remind her. "He has to have faults, Kaylee, even if you think he's perfect."
"I don't think he's perfect," she argues. "I think he's perfect for me ."
I make a gagging noise, but I smile when she glares at me.
"I'm happy you're happy," I say, reaching over and covering her hand with my own. "I'm also glad Ellis got off of you long enough that I could see you."
She pulls her hand back and smacks my arm with it.
"We need to have a bachelorette party."
Her head immediately shakes. "I'm already married. There's no point in that."
"There's always a point for strippers and drinks," I argue.
Her laughter washes over me, making me smile as well, but I know Kaylee enough to know she has no real interest in what I've suggested.
"You're crazy," she says when she stops giggling.
I know the woman has been doing all sorts of acrobatics with that sexy husband of hers, but it thrills the hell out of me that even mentioning strippers makes her cheeks flame red.
"It's been fun being here with you," I tell her.
"Even though we haven't spent much time together?"
"It's fine," I assure her. "I don't expect you to be at my beck and call or anything. We might have to riot against the food choices, though."
Kaylee scrunches her nose. "They eat like teenagers."
I point to the machine I'm walking on. "Do you think I'd spend an hour and a half on this damn thing if I wasn't forced to eat a pop-tart for breakfast this morning?"
"I can talk to Ellis," she offers, but I hold up a hand to reject the idea.
"I don't want to be a pest. I'll have to go home soon anyway."
"No," she says. "It's not safe out there."
"You sound like a cult follower," I tease. But when I look in her direction, it floors me just how serious the expression on her face is.
"It's really dangerous," she continues. "I was only part of that marriage-for-sell shit for like eighteen hours, and it was horrible. The living conditions were horrendous. I have no doubt the women who are married off are abused every single day."
"I'm not getting tangled up in a marriage-for-sell scheme," I remind her. "I have to go to work, Kaylee. I've already missed too many days."
"You have vacation time, don't you?"
"I do," I say with a quick shake of my head. "And I've been hoarding every vacation day for the last three years for my trip to Europe."
We've had this discussion before. I hate my job most days because it's incredibly boring, but the company I work for pays very well, and they allow us to roll over our vacation time from year to year. I have every intention of taking a very long European vacation next summer.
This bullshit with Henry and my impromptu stay here at Villa Cerberus has dipped into that saved time already.
"You'd brave traveling in a foreign country alone?"
"Yeah," I respond.
"Even after what happened?"
I tilt my head to consider her line of reasoning. I know she took the worst of what Henry had to offer in an effort to get Robert's attention, but it still happened in my home, where I thought I was safe from danger.
"If something terrible can happen in my own home, then I'm not safe anywhere."
"So why chance getting hurt by traveling out of the country?"
"Because I'm not safe anywhere. I can't curl up in a ball and be terrified for my entire life. If I don't do what I had planned, then that means the asshole wins, and I can't have that."
"We're safe here," she assures me.
I don't know if she's got an overabundance of faith in Ellis and the other guys, but this place isn't Fort Knox. Other than the threat of being seen on video cameras, what stops anyone from jumping over the back fence of this place and wreaking havoc?
"I support you in everything you do. You know that," she says as she reaches up and turns her machine off. "But maybe take a little more time or, at a minimum, let them put some protections in place for you."
"But deep down, you don't think I should return to work?"
She considers this for a moment.
"I know I wouldn't," she says after a long beat of silence.
"We're different," I mutter, turning my machine off.
"How do you figure?" she challenges, and I can already hear the argument in her tone. On any other day, maybe I could look past it, but I've been cooped up for days, and it's driving me insane.
"Maybe you're fine with staying here, never leaving, and letting these men look after you, but I can't. I can't sit around and do absolutely nothing with my life and be okay with it."
She shrinks back like I've slapped her in the face. I should probably stop while I'm ahead, but instead, I let my irritation flow.
"I refuse to be helpless and reliant on anyone, Kaylee."
Her eyes dip as she chews the inside of her cheek.
She pulls in a deep breath.
"I guess we are different because I'd rather be bored than dead."
With those last words, she walks out of the room, leaving me standing there feeling like a complete asshole.
As much as I want to go to my room and pack my stuff up, I head toward the big room where the guys always meet instead. At a minimum, I can take her advice and see if they can put some stuff in place to keep me a little safer than I'd be if I were out traversing the world alone, despite having done it every day as an adult thus far.
I tap my knuckles on the door before stepping inside. I don't want to interrupt Robert. I know he's always busy helping one of the guys.
His smile is bright when he looks up from his computer monitors and sees me standing there.
"Good morning," he says.
"Morning," I reply. "Can I come in?"
"Sure," he says, straightening up higher in his chair. "What's up?"
"I have some questions, but I don't know who the boss is around here. I don't know who to talk to."
His eyes sparkle as if there's some inside joke I'm not privy to.
"We don't really have a boss right now," he says. "I guess it would be Kincaid. He runs the New Mexico chapter of Cerberus."
I have so many questions about this organization, despite it not being any of my business, but I won't burden him with them today.
"I need to know what the plan is where I'm concerned," I say as I pull out one of the chairs circling the massive conference table in the middle of the room.
"What do you mean?"
I shrug, looking up at the massive television to see Twisted and Bandera playing pool somewhere in the house. It looks like a place I haven't ventured to yet, but even knowing there are places on the property I haven't explored doesn't exactly thrill me. It doesn't matter how big the property is; it still feels like I'm trapped within the walls.
I notice the dart board on the wall in the video, and instead of asking him about going home or, at minimum, returning to work, I get an idea.
"Are you busy right now?"
He looks from me back to his computer screens.
"Not particularly. I mean, there's always something I could be doing. The work never ends around here."
"They aren't working," I say, pointing to the guys on the television.
"No," he says with a wide, vibrant smile. "They aren't."
"Wanna play a game of darts?"
He looks from me to the television screen as he pulls in a long breath.
"I suck at darts."
"I do too," I confess.
"I think—"
A chime from one of his monitors draws his attention back to the massive computer system he's sitting in front of.
"Actually," he says as his fingers work over the keyboard. "I have to stay here. Something just came up."
"I understand," I say as I stand, disappointment swimming inside me. "For the record, it's not fair they all get to play and have a good time and you're stuck in here working."
He doesn't argue with me as I walk out of the room.