Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Two days later, I sit on the balcony, my legs tucked under me as I watch a thunderstorm crawl its way to Perdition.
Music floats softly out of the penthouse onto the balcony, keeping me company while Karson takes a phone call in the hallway.
My fingers rub the soft blanket draped over my lap as the lightning flashes over the mountain tops.
I love thunderstorms. Something about the way the lightning lights up the dark gray clouds, the way the thunder rumbles deep in my bones, and the way the rain washes everything away is comforting to me.
Maybe that’s why I haven’t left, or even tried.
Karson is like a thunderstorm. You don’t run from a storm.
You either hide from it, or let it ruin you.
As promised, he untied me that morning when he returned. I got up, showered, then stood in the middle of the room while he took a call outside. The door was open. No one was in my way. I could have ran. Instead, I crawled back into bed.
The door slides open and Karson drops in the chair next to me. He pulls a cigarette from his pack, lights it, then exhales a steady stream of smoke. I watch him from the corner of my eye. He drops his head, raking his hand through his sandy hair then looks over to me.
“Hey,” he gives me a small smile. He looks exhausted.
I don't think he’s slept the whole time I’ve been here.
He lays with me at night, cradles me to his chest, but I notice how he slips out of bed when he thinks I’m asleep.
He paces the penthouse, chain smokes, and comes back sometime before the sun rises.
“Hey,” I answer softly as I continue watching the storm.
“The club’s opening again tonight,” he starts. “But I need you to stay out of it.”
My gaze rolls back over to him, raising a brow. “Karson, I need to work.”
His jaw tenses. “After what happened the other night, and everything else that’s going on, I need you to promise me you’re not going to turn your defiant switch back on and go in there just to piss me off.”
I stare at him for a minute, annoyed he called me out like that. I bite the corner of my lip, debating what to say next. “Tell me what’s happening, and I won’t go,” I bargain.
His eyebrows pinch together as he looks me up and down in disbelief. After a beat, he raises one, as if to ask if I’m serious. I nod, and he clears his throat.
“Last week, a bartender on the second floor was taken from the parking garage.” No easing into it, no sugar coating, he gets straight to the point. My blue eyes narrow on him for a second. How did I not know about this? Why did no one tell us?
“What do you mean? Isla never said anything to any of us about it,” I tell him.
My spine straightens when I remember the day she stopped me and asked me to cover the second floor.
“She just told me someone didn’t show up for work.
No call no show.” My eyes search his. “You don’t think she knew what happened and didn't tell us, do you?”
He shakes his head. “We’ve kept it quiet so we don’t raise any alarms with the staff. We’ve beefed up security and told her it was because it’s been so busy lately, but we’re trying to find the person who did it. Trying to find her.”
“You think whoever did it would come back?” The hair on the back of my neck raises.
“Maybe not the person who physically took her, but we think Rapture’s become a hunting ground. The other disappearances from the casino? Three of the other four were drinking at the club the night they disappeared.”
I sit quietly, letting the information sink in. A sudden feeling of unease washes over me and I fling the blanket off my lap. I stand and rush to the door. Karson catches me by the waist before I can make it past him, and he pulls me into his lap.
“Woah. Where are you going, terror?”
“To get my phone. I have to tell Layla.” I try pushing his arm off me, but he only tightens his hold.
“Relax,” he whispers into my hair. “We already pulled her out. She’s going to be serving over in Hades at the arena. She’s safe.”
My body relaxes into him a little, feeling better knowing my friend won’t be walking into Rapture again.
“Okay,” I tell him. Letting out a slow breath, I watch my fingers knot in my lap. I nod. “I won’t go back.”
“Really?” he asks incredulously. “You’re not going to make me drag you out of there kicking and screaming again?”
I shake my head. “Really. If you tell me it isn’t safe, then it isn’t safe.”
“Now you believe me?” He raises a brow.
“Karson–” My blue eyes meet his gray ones as a rumble of thunder vibrates the balcony. “If I had listened to you before, that guy would have never gotten his hands on me.”
Guilt twists in my gut. Guilt for not listening, for letting my anger toward Karson put me in the line of fire.
Guilt because if I had just listened to him instead of engaging in a yearlong pissing contest, that man might be alive today.
Though, I’m not so sure. If it wasn’t me he harassed and assaulted, it most likely would have been someone else.
He searches my gaze, nods his head, and wraps both arms around my waist. He doesn’t say “I told you so”, doesn’t poke any further, just rests his chin on my shoulder. Both of us sit in comfortable silence as we watch the clouds roll in closer and the rain start to pelt the side of the building.
“When I found you again after all that time, I couldn’t believe it. I told myself I’d never let you out of my sight again, never let another bad thing happen to you. I intend to do just that.”
“Never let another bad thing happen to me?” I question.
Plenty happened to me after he left the foster home, but that statement sounded pointed. I’m starting to understand that it wasn’t done on purpose. That’s a question for another day.
“What’s the last thing you remember from that night?” He asks, watching me carefully.
“I don’t know. Seeing you after all that time cut open old wounds I thought had healed.
” I pause, feeling silly now for pushing him away as hard I did.
Or tried to. “I served drinks like I always did, nothing really-” I trail off, realization dawning on me.
“I don’t remember anything after you getting up and going to the bathroom.
” I search my memory for something, anything. But it’s hazy at best.
“What happened?” I ask. His hand rubs up and down my back.
“When I got out of the bathroom, I sat in a booth to give you some space. A guy sat down, ordered a drink, and when you had your back turned he dropped GHB into your water glass.”
I gasp, my hand covering my mouth. My hand shakes. “He wha–” A knot forms in my throat. “That’s why I was so sick for a few days.”
He nods.
“When it started to kick in, it was close to closing time. Everyone else left. You passed out behind the bar, and I beat the shit out the guy. Didn’t even see me coming.”
We sit quietly for a minute before he continues. “I got you in my car, took that fucker to the warehouse and got rid of him.”
My jaw drops. Why didn’t he tell me this before?
You were too busy being an angry bitch, how was he supposed to?
Shaking my head, I let out a sigh. Tears start spilling over my lashes. I don’t know why but I can’t even control it. He wipes them away with his thumbs.
“I brought you back home when it was done. Sat with you while Elias helped get an IV in you, some oxygen,” he continues. “Once your vitals started returning to normal, I left. But Elias and I checked in on you constantly until you were better.”
“You should’ve brought me to the hospital,” I whisper.
“And risk the fact that someone else could have been with that guy, and leave you unprotected?” He shakes his head.
“Absolutely fucking not.” His tone is firm, final.
My chest cracks open, tears streaming down my cheeks now as he shifts me in his lap.
My head drops to his shoulder and I breathe him in.
Dark, dangerous, unhinged, but also safe.
He’s always been my safe place, and I hate that I forgot that.
“Thank you,” I mumble into his shirt. Sitting up, I wipe my face with my sleeve. Another question burning the back of my throat.
“Did you know where I was?” His eyes soften a touch. I don't think I’d be able to handle it if he tells me he did, but I need the truth. “Did you know where I was the whole time?” He shakes his head.
“I went back for you as soon as I could. You were already gone. I never stopped trying to find you, but it was like you just vanished.” He slides a hand into my hair, keeping my gaze on his.
“I was on my way back from a private detail that night. I saw the sign and decided to stop for a drink. I walked in and there you were.”
My eyes widen, tears falling faster now. The onslaught of information causes my nervous system to go haywire.
I never stopped looking.
There you were.
Time between then and now collapses. Every night I thought he forgot me. Every mile I thought he chose not to come, he was still searching. Grief, forgiveness, want, regret, lost time and relief all come together at once, forming a knot in my throat.
“Karson, I-.” He doesn’t let me finish. His mouth is on mine in an instant. I stiffen, then quickly melt into the kiss. His tongue grazes my lips, and I open for him.
I kiss him hard, our tongues fighting for dominance.
My arms wrap around his neck, as he rises from the chair.
Without breaking the kiss, my legs lock around his waist when he starts moving.
My back meets the cold, wet concrete, and it sends a chill down my spine.
He lifts me onto the ledge of the balcony before his hands grab my face as he breaks the kiss and I chase it.
My eyes flutter open, looking up into his. A small grin pulls at his lips.
“Trust me.”