Chapter 28
KIT
“Not another move. Get next to Damian now, or I’ll skewer you both.” I’m choked by dread as my stepfather swipes his narrow blade at Jasper. I know how sharp that thing is, how much damage it can inflict.
“No,” I groan, the sound catching in my bruised throat. I yank uselessly at my restraints, only to send the wiry plastic deeper into my wrists. But I have to get free. I have to help them!
“Hey, stop moving,” a familiar voice whispers behind me.
Oh, thank god.
“Jane?” I croak.
“Who else? Do you think these idiots would have got this far without me? Now, hold still, I don’t want to cut you by accident.”
My arms shake from side to side as Jane works through the cable ties. I can’t feel a blade around either of my wrists, so I imagine Lucien secured the loops with a third.
“The only pathetic one here is you. You’re sick, and I can’t wait until the whole world knows it.”
I watch Lucien stiffen and turn his lethal attention towards my friend. Shit, what is Jasper playing at?
“Quick, Jane. Hurry!”
“Nearly there,” she says, her voice strained. “Almost…”
Jasper’s chin lifts arrogantly, daring Lucien to make his move. He takes the bait, his arm lifting to raise the knife above his head for a deadly strike. “Say that again, you little shit. Go on, I dare you—”
The tension on my wrists slackens, and my arms fall to my sides. Not wasting a moment, I spin on my heels and come face-to-face with Jane. She’s still holding her trusted knife, so I snatch the blade and race towards my stepfather as fast as I can on my broken feet.
No one sees me coming, too preoccupied with the downward arc of Lucien’s attack.
But my own is quicker. I spin the knife in my hand and take aim, jamming it into the tense flesh of Lucien’s thigh before anyone’s even registered I’m free.
I make sure to twist the knife as I yank it out, though that’s mine and Lucien’s little secret.
Thud.
My stepfather collapses to the ground, blood pouring through his fingers as he clutches his mangled leg. His howls fill the air, the rough sound grating on my every nerve.
How annoying.
Even after everything Lucien put me through, you didn’t hear me caterwauling like this. I spot a rock beside his crumpled form, and I do the only sensible thing. I pick it up and smash it across his temple.
I sigh in relief. Ahh, that’s better. Peace at last.
My three companions stare open-mouthed and wide-eyed at the now powerless body.
“Bloody hell,” Jane gulps. “That’s one way to do it.”
Something inside me snaps. It bubbles up from the pit of my stomach, filling my mouth and spilling out before I can call it back and lock it up where it belongs.
I can’t help it. I burst out laughing, huge, uncontrollable fits that screech manically through the sombre night and rid the area of any remaining wildlife.
I laugh and laugh until my chest hurts and my abs burn, until my chortles turn to screams and choking heaves.
Three wary faces stare back at me.
“Do you think he’s in shock?” Jasper mutters out the side of his mouth.
“He ain’t right, that’s for sure,” Jane replies.
Then slowly, ever so slowly, Damian moves. He gingerly steps over his unconscious dad with his hands outstretched like he’s trying to tame a bolting animal. I let him come.
My wheezing gasps are suffocating, my throat rasping with every short breath. Then, when Damian lays his hands on my shoulders, I finally break.
“I know, I know,” he says, pulling me tight against his chest. “It’s over now, Kit. I’m here. I got you back, and I’m never letting you go again.”
I try to form words, but it’s impossible to speak over my anguished sobs. I throw my arms around his neck and bury myself against him. He smells of cold and sweat. Home’s never smelt so good.
“I’m here,” he repeats over and over. “Never again, I’ll never lose you again.”
He holds me until my tears run dry, rocking me from side to side as I calm in his hold. Then, when I start to sway on my feet, Damian finally lets me go.
“It’s time to go home,” he says softly, tugging off his black hoodie and pulling it down over my head.
Next, he toes off his shoes and removes his socks, crouching down to slip the warm cotton onto my feet.
His body heat seeps through the clothes, and it’s not until they start to sting that I realise how cold I really am.
Once he’s done, he cups my face gently, his hands bringing the colour back to my cheeks.
Then, as softly as he can, Damian leans forward and places a chaste kiss on my icy lips.
He has me now. Damian’s here and I’m safe.
The fear and terror that were keeping me upright leech out of me, and I slump into his strong arms.
“He’s alive,” Jasper says, crouched beside Lucien’s body. “Shame. We probably need to stop his leg bleeding if we want to keep him that way.”
“There are cable ties in his pocket. Would they work?” I suggest quietly.
Jasper shrugs. “Probably.” He picks up Jane’s knife from the ground and cuts off one of Lucien’s shirt sleeves, wadding up the material and pushing it into the bleeding wound. I pretend not to notice how he rubs the makeshift bandage in the dirt first for extra luck.
When he’s finished securing the filthy rag a bit too tightly with a cable tie, Jane spits on Jasper’s handiwork to really make sure the job’s done properly.
“Right,” she says, clapping her hands together and earning herself a disgruntled hoot from beyond the clearing.
“Damian, you go ahead and get Kit back to the cottage as quickly as you can. Don’t worry about Jasper and me, we have Kit’s trail if we lose you.
Once we drag this wanker back, we can decide what to do. ”
“You found my clues?” I ask. Holy shit, I can’t believe it worked. I’m just lucky Lucien was so concerned about our getaway that he didn’t notice me scraping my foot into the mud whenever he changed directions too drastically.
“We wouldn’t have found you else,” Damian says, kissing my temple. “Now, hop on my back so we can go home.”
“You’re going to piggyback me the whole way?”
“Unless you want to climb on my shoulders. Although I can’t guarantee I’ll remember to duck under all the branches.”
With a small smile, I step behind him, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.
“Thank you,” I whisper in his ear, savouring his comforting warmth.
“So, do you think we should pull him back by his arms or his legs?” Jane asks, assessing Lucien’s body contemplatively. “It’s a pretty long way.”
My feet throb inside Damian’s socks, and my shoulder still aches from Lucien’s rough treatment. It’s an easy decision for me.
“Drag him by his legs.”