Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
KAGE
Summer has a way of making me see things in a perspective I’ve never been lucky enough to know before.
I understood little to nothing of the real world before I ran, so I didn’t even know where to begin once I found myself free. I wandered the streets for a while, always looking over my shoulder for Carter or my father, but the further I tread from Colorado, the lighter my steps became.
I eventually found myself working under the table at farms along the way, like I do now—just with weed and outlaws this time around.
The first family to take me in were endlessly kind.
Jack and Hannah Colt, newlyweds taking over his family’s farm that spanned five generations.
They never pried too much, but Jack caught on quickly how little I knew.
He’d often over-explain things whenever I was near, teaching me from afar without embarrassing me in front of the other farmers.
Watching how gentle he was toward Hannah was a crash course in how to treat women. Seeing the love and adoration in her eyes every time she looked his way became an obsession to me; all I wanted from that point forward was for my own partner to view me the same.
I learned so much in that year and a half.
They bought me my first phone, taught me how to legally drive, how to cook and properly clean.
In a way, I was their adopted child. But they knew I’d eventually fly the coop, and I did the day I saw Carter in town at the local diner.
He hadn’t spotted me, so I quietly fled further north into denser, older forests with secrets dark and sinister like mine.
It was Jack I called last week to get Poppy for me. Without hesitation, he found the shelter and picked her up, saying he needed a mean old mouser for his barns. And then he drove halfway across California to pass her off to me so I could have a small chance at seeing Summer smile.
And right now, she’s beaming.
The moon looks like a thumbnail clipping—fuck if I know what phase that’s supposed to be called—and the stars?
They’re like a spilled jar of silver glitter across a navy canvas, clustered more in some areas.
Milky Way. The candy bar and the name of our galaxy.
I remember watching something about that, and ever since, I’ve always enjoyed coming out here at night to spot it.
Up here on this quiet, dangerous mountain, no light from the town below or distant cities disrupts the darkness, making everything shine that much brighter.
Nothing will ever shine as brightly as Summer’s sparkling green eyes, though, and she turns that devastating smile on me, wielding it like a weapon.
We sit side by side on the overgrown patch of crab grass in what would be the backyard of my property.
It’s more a jungle than anything, nature closing back in around what humans greedily overtook a century or so ago.
This house and the land it sits upon are a far cry from the manicured gardens and pristine stone facades I knew as a youth, and something in me craves the wild, untamed beauty of it.
I think that’s why I love Summer’s curly, kinky hair—even more so now that it’s grown and imperfect. She’s meant to be wild and free, sprinting through the forest like a wood nymph while I guard and protect her.
If only I didn’t have to be the monster who imprisoned her.
I want so badly to tell her the truth, but she’s still not ready. I think I’ll know when she is; I’m just praying it’s soon, before Carter bombards our lives and I’m forced to do unspeakable things to keep her away from him.
She turns her grin to me, and it fades a little, her eyes tracing what she can see of my face. Those keen eyes can read me far better than anyone I’ve come across before, and it’s sort of a humbling experience. “I never see the stars like this where I live. I used to, before I moved to San Diego.”
The corner of my mouth rises in a gentle smile.
A soft, cool breeze ruffles her hair, pulling it across her slender shoulders.
She’s wearing a white tee shirt of mine with some beer logo emblazoned across the front and a pair of athletic shorts with the strings tied about as tightly as they’ll go.
I like seeing her in my clothes, as though even when I’m gone to work, she’s shrouded in my protection.
She turns her gaze back to the stars and the tips of the swaying pines and evergreens. All is quiet, save for the rush of wind in the trees and the crickets in the rustling grass.
“Why’d you do it?” she whispers, voice tight, not bothering to turn and glance my way.
My spine stiffens, and I bite the inside of my cheek.
With a heavy breath, I drop my gaze to the shadowy ground between my knees, searching there for an easy answer to a puzzle I created myself.
But there is no easy answer for this problem, and self-loathing courses through me with each heavy beat of my heart.
“Kage.”
Her voice is stern, verging on demanding, and I glance at her.
Lips pressed thin, she gives me a scolding look that has my stomach sinking in guilt and reproach.
I replay her words from earlier, when she paused out of fright in the hallway.
I never thought I’d leave that basement, Kage. Most girls don’t.
She’s right. It’s a horrific truth that this world is full of monsters, villains who prey on women and children. I was born of those monsters, but I am not one of them. How do I reconcile what I was, with what I am, and what I want to be now?
I shake my head and sigh, turning my gaze back to the stars.
“If…if I guess, will you tell me?”
Shocked, I glance at her, brows raised. She’s earnest, holding her knees to her chest, her bare toes tapping—a nervous habit. Summer always has to be moving, even in her sleep. I’ve watched her for months now, and the first time she moaned, I stroked my dick twice before coming all over my hand.
One perk to not being able to speak, I suppose; she couldn’t hear me moaning her name in my head while I watched her.
Considering her lofty proposal, a shakiness I’m not used to takes root in my chest, and I nod once. She’ll still not know the full extent, but if I can give her something, then maybe she’ll warm to me a little more.
Her eyes ignite at my gesture, and she sits up straighter, facing me as the moon’s pale beams caress her freckled cheeks.
I follow her lead, shifting to sit criss-cross like her, our knees almost touching, both of us attentive and nervous.
A coy, playful look falls across her features, her thin brows lowering over her almond eyes.
“You’re lonely.”
I snort and choke on a dying laugh, and she grins at me.
“Well?” she prods. Sucking in a sharp breath, I shrug and nod. Her eyes narrow further, a small frown dimpling her round cheeks. “Not the full reason?”
I nod. She taps her chin in thought, and I can’t help but grin as I watch the inner workings of her beautiful mind on display.
She’s so hard on herself, something I saw through every time she posted a new video.
Everything around her was absolutely perfect, from the home decor to the lighting to her hair and make up—everything but the haunted, dead look in her eyes.
She wasn’t doing something she loved, because Summer is always afraid to take a risk she deems too big.
“You stalked me and you’re obsessed with me. Don’t even try to deny that.”
Again, I drop my face with a raspy chuckle and shake my head. Cocky little thing. She won’t be later tonight when we’re in bed together.
When my eyes find hers, I sober and nod, but hold up a finger. Her eyes spark with delight at being proven correct again. I point to myself, then to her, and make a cutting motion. Her face scrunches up in confusion, her pretty head tilting to the side as she watches me repeat the motion.
“Me…you…cut?” she asks. I shake my head, frustrated, before I make a motion as though I intend to pick her up and carry her away, then shake my head again. Her left eye narrows slightly. “You…didn’t want to…take me?”
Elated, I nod enthusiastically. Her face falls, and now I’m the one confused. Shouldn’t that be a good thing to her?
“You stalked me but didn’t want to take me?”
Again, I nod, and hearing it aloud only makes me sound that much worse.
“Where’s the damn notepad,” she grumbles to the grass. I can tell I’m frustrating her, but I need to keep her guessing, just for a little longer.
Just until I know where Carter is. Once I have a plan in place to lure him in and end his pathetic waste of a life, then I can tell her every abhorrent thing about me.
I’m about to reach for her elbow and tell her it’s time to go back inside because—although nothing really stands to scare me—being out here in the dark when Carter or any one of my father’s henchmen could be watching isn’t the best idea.
The screech of a barn owl pierces the night, and Summer screams, bursting forth from her seated position and promptly landing directly in my lap, clinging to me and shivering like a frightened child.
Our hearts race against one another’s, our chests pressed tightly together. My arms wind around her trembling body, and I squeeze her to me in reassurance, my head dizzy with desire, with elation.
All I’ve ever wanted is to be a protector, and Summer is worthy of the heinous things I’ll do to keep her safe.
I just hope she understands that when the ashes of my life fall around us like snow, and the horrible truth of it all comes to light.