Chapter 28 Calum
Calum
It takes the police two hours to arrive and take statements from everyone. I make sure to tell the officers that arrive on the scene what I know — that Kaia said the attacker was her father. Then I feel restless enough to have my assistant call the chief of police.
There is no way that I’m going to let this drop. I’m still shaking with rage, even when the police officers offer Kaia a ride home. She looks at me, as if seeking permission.
I shake my head subtly.
Like hell I’m about to let strange men give her a ride anywhere.
I make my exit fairly quickly and have my limousine waiting around the corner when Kaia finally manages to shake off all her well wishers. Her friend Ella stays with her until the last minute, only leaving when Kaia seems to insist.
By the time she slides into the back seat with me, my nerves are completely blown. I turn to look at her. I’m not even sure what to say.
I suck in a deep breath. “It’s going to be okay, Kaia.”
She looks at me, seeming shellshocked. “Is it?” she asks faintly.
I lift an arm, encouraging her to hug me. Her brown-green eyes fill with tears again and she scoots over, wrapping her arms around my torso and burying her head against my chest. She sobs silently for a minute as the limo pulls away from the curb.
I look down at her small shoulders, shaking as her tears soak my shirt. I barely recognize this person, this broken spirit that’s clinging to me just now. If I had been able to see into the future at Club X, would I have chosen this girl?
Hell no.
But now I feel sort of protective of her in a way I can’t explain. After all, no one else is looking after her best interests.
No one but me, as fucked up as that might be.
“I’m going to take you to my penthouse, beauty,” I tell her gently.
She doesn’t really acknowledge that I’ve even spoken, but her tears do lessen as we drive. By the time we get out of the limo and I bundle her into the private elevator, she’s not holding onto me anymore.
Kaia does hold my hand though, looking blankly at the mirror reflecting a distorted version of herself back at her. I finding myself wondering what it is that she sees.
I doubt it’s anything beautiful.
The elevator dings and the doors open into the perfect white waiting room.
I guide her through the door at the far end, into the darkly furnished living area.
I drop her hand and grab her shoulders, steering her toward the hallway at the very back.
It’s only another minute before we are in one of the guest bedrooms; my own bedroom, at the other end of the apartment, seemed a little too intimate for this moment in time.
“Sit down,” I say, pointing to the bed.
She blinks, casting her gaze around the well appointed yet rather dull looking room. Everything is gray, from the lamps to the bedspread, the bedside table to the armoire. Kaia moves to the bed and perches on one side, her movements lacking in her usual grace.
She looks pale, as if she’s been bled dry.
I stand above her for several long seconds, trying to decide what I’m supposed to do with her. I’m out of my depth here, traveling in a strange and emotion-laden place.
“I’m going to run you a bath,” I announce after a second.
She looks up at me, nodding. I can see the redden marks on her neck and on her arm.
My fists close, spasming involuntarily. I feel… helpless.
I don’t like it at all.
Spinning, I walk purposely into the en-suite bathroom, yanking the taps of the clawfoot bathtub. As the bathtub fills with steamy water, I turn to look at myself in the mirror. There is a smear of blood on my cheek and a faint reddish mark just below my right orbital bone.
A reminder that her father is a very real threat. I didn’t learn his name… I make a note to ask my assistant for the file that I had the private investigator put together.
When Kaia appears in the doorway behind me, hesitant, I turn toward her. She is wearing a pair of baggy sweats, pushed on her by Bas in lieu of the tattered costume she was wearing when I found her.
I motion for her to come in. “Close the door.”
She does it meekly, without saying a word. I walk over to her and tilt her chin up.
“You’re okay,” I tell her. “It’s over.”
Her eyes are glassy. She looks at me for a moment, then looks away. “It’s not over. Not really. My father has my mom and my sister to use as leverage over me. It’s been this way my whole life.”
I frown. “You’re safe,” I tell her softly.
Kaia looks at me sharply. “You don’t understand. That back there? That’s who my father is. That’s why I live in such a tiny apartment. Why I work at Club X. Can you just…”
She stops, taking a deep breath and dropping her gaze. “Please stop trying to make things okay. They aren’t really ever going to be okay.”
I slide my hand under her jaw, forcing her to look at me. “I’ll never bend. Never become flexible and pliable. Never be soft and malleable. But I think that happens to be just what you need right now, beauty.”
She studies me, her throat working. “I’m so tired, Calum.”
I nod. “I know.”
I reach down and unzip her hooded sweatshirt, peeling it off her lithe body. She toes off her shoes and lets me push down the waistband of her sweatpants. When she stands naked before me, shivering against the steamy air, I guide her to the bathtub.
Acting a steady frame for her to hold onto as she climbs in, I kneel as she sits down. The hot water sloshes for a moment as she settles in with a sigh.
I trail my fingers through the water as it continues to fill the tub. Kaia closes her eyes.
Reaching for the lavender scented soap, I dunk it under the water and then start to lather her arms, her knees, all the places that aren’t sensitive. She releases a sigh at one point but doesn’t say a word.
She stops me for a second, bringing her wet hand to my face. Using the gentlest touch, she rubs away all the traces of blood, washing them away like they never existed.
I wash her hair next, sliding my hands through the silken strands. She seems to fall into a trance as I rub circles into her scalp, even moaning once or twice.
By the time I am done and her hair is rinsed, she looks at me with a sigh. Her eyelids are heavy, her voice low and rough. “Thank you.”
My lips tip up at the corners. “You’re welcome.”
She inhales a long breath, shaking her head.
“I don’t mean for washing my hair, although that was nice.
I mean… thank you for jumping in today. You probably…
” Her eyes close briefly. When they flutter open again, they are filled with tears.
She takes a steadying breath. “You probably saved my life today, Calum. I promise, I won’t forget it. ”
Then she does the oddest thing. She takes my hand, still wet from the bath, and turns it over. She places the lightest of kisses right in the middle of my palm.
Something breaks loose deep in my chest. A chunk of ice in the very cold, very dark ocean that is my heart.
I stare down at her. She looks up at me.
I tilt my head and move closer. She turns her face up toward me, seeking my lips.
When we kiss, there is no hint of gentleness, no sweetness to be found.
Only cloying desperation.
I lift her from the bathtub and carry her into the bedroom, unaware of anything but the need to be inside her.