Chained (36 page)

And that was my last thought before my world turned black.

Chapter 25

I came around in the back of a big car. I was being cradled in someone’s arms and when I inhaled, I smiled.

Kit.

“Morning, sunshine. I thought you’d never fucking wake up.”

I looked up and saw Ian smiling at me in the rearview mirror. “Where are we?” I stretched my arms and yawned, feeling my muscles protest.

“We’re on our way to Southampton.” Ian winked at me. “Someone once told me of a boat down there called ‘The Little Princess’. I thought maybe we could hide out there for a while. I think we made a bit of a mess back at the house.”

And then it hit me. Zac, what he did the night before, what I did this morning. I killed a man. I actually held a gun to a man’s head with no remorse or regrets and pulled the trigger. The enormity of what I’d done took over.

“I think I’m going to be sick.”

Ian slammed on the brakes and pulled over, and Kit helped me out of the car. I threw up the minute my feet landed on the hard shoulder of the motorway. My gut twisted as I thought about what had happened yesterday and how I could ever get through this.

“Olivia, are you all right?”

I waved my hand out to find Kit. He placed his hand in mine and I pulled at him. “Doctor. I need a doctor.” I wiped my mouth and looked up at Kit’s panicked face.

“What’s the matter, Olivia? Are you in pain? Where does it hurt?”

I shook my head. “I need the pill. The morning after pill.” I saw the understanding in Kit’s eyes, and I turned to face Ian. “I need it, Ian. I don’t want anything of him left inside me. I want to be rid of the evil. I want him gone for good.”

Ian nodded and raced to get back in the car. Kit placed a loving hand around me and picked me up to place me back in the car.

“I’m with you, Olivia. Every step of the way.” He held me close as Ian started the car back up. For a moment, I allowed myself to get lost. For just one moment, I allowed myself to feel happy again.

*****

We drove to the nearest clinic we could find. Considering what I needed, I was seen as an emergency patient. I was checked out and, after an hour of waiting, I was finally given it. I was told I may feel sick for a few days, but that was normal. I would rather feel that than the alternative any day. The other piece of good news was I managed to get another six months’ worth of my contraceptive. Whether I needed them or not, they kept me regular, which was the reason I was on them in the first place. I was told to wait a week, or use condoms. I highly doubted I had any trouble as far as that was concerned. Right now, sex was the last thing on my mind.

Once I was done, we were on the road again. Somebody had dressed me back at the house whilst I was unconscious, and a few items had been packed for me. Ian had his with him, and so did Kit. After being forced out of hiding a couple weeks back, he had emptied out the locker he had at the post office.

“What happened to Craig?” I didn’t know why I suddenly thought of him.

Ian looked at me in the mirror. “He’s gone his own way.”

I gasped. “You mean, he was with you guys?”

Ian nodded with a laugh. “Yeah. I told you he was all mouth.”

I started stuttering. “But… But… What about the clinic? He was watching my every move.”

Ian laughed again. “You really don’t think he knew what was going on? He was playing his part. Looking at how shocked you are, he was playing it really well.”

I huffed. “He was like a walking hormone.” I felt Kit stiffen beside me. I turned to him. “I’m sorry,” I muttered.

And I was. I was sorry for everything, and Kit knew that because he smiled and pulled me to him. “You never have to be sorry, Olivia.”

I noticed Kit and Ian smile and I saw something pass between them. “Do you two know each other?”

Kit squeezed me. “We’re actually cousins.”

I gasped. “Cousins?”

Ian laughed. “Yeah, who knew? Kit’s mum is my mum’s sister. Kit told me about this agency when I was in the Forces. I was intrigued and looked into it. By the time Kit disappeared, I knew I had to dig a little deeper. Eventually, I was able to join after a few years. I wanted in and I wanted to find Kit before the agency did. I knew he was in trouble and wanted to help. When you came to the house and mentioned Kit’s name in your sleep, I knew I had to step in and help. I just wished I knew earlier. The Boss had assigned a guard to watch over you at your place.” He saw my surprise. “I suppose you didn’t realise that?” I shook my head. “Luckily, it was Craig, but I wished it had been me. Craig mentioned something to me about a man coming in and out of your house, but I told him to keep it quiet. I knew both you and he would be in big trouble if you got caught. I wished I knew it was Kit. I could have prevented this whole thing from happening. I could have warned you.” He looked apologetically in the mirror at Kit.

Of course. It all made sense now. Why he was so eager to be there for me. He was there to protect me from the very beginning.

It made me shudder to think about Zac finding out about Kit earlier. I should have known he would have had people watching me. I was stupid not to notice I was being followed.

I sighed, thinking about all that had been happening since. It made me wonder how everything went down today.

I turned to Kit. “What happened after I left the room?” I felt the tears well at my shame, but Kit placed a soothing hand on my face.

“Ian rescued me. Despite Bartholomew’s promises of letting me go, he had every intention of killing me. He didn’t want anything coming between the two of you. Even though you said you didn’t love me, he still would have had to make sure I never showed my face again.”

I grabbed his hand. “So Zac would have killed you anyway?” Kit nodded. “Son of a bitch!” I was so angry, I felt I could kill Zac all over again. But then something else hit me. “You know I didn’t mean what I said, don’t you?”

Kit smiled. “Of course. I can never forget the day you told me that every time you thought of painting, it would remind you of how much you love me. I got your message loud and clear. At that moment, I knew I had to fight. When Ian turned up, he told the guys that Zac had requested he kill me. He managed to smuggle me out of the house and took me to a derelict farmhouse about five miles away. There, I met Craig and a couple others. We hatched a plan to come and rescue you at dawn. There was no way I was going to let you go.”

He snuggled his face into my hair, making me sigh. “Thank you,” I whispered as I intertwined my fingers with his.

Kit kissed my head. I felt happy at that moment and I let myself feel that little glow of euphoria because I knew it wouldn’t last long.

For now, we were on the road to the unknown, soon to be on the seas to the unknown. A part of me wanted this and couldn’t wait, whilst the other part of me wanted to hide in the corner like a frightened lamb. I was scared shitless of the unknown. With Zac, I knew my path. He chose my destiny for me. How ironic was that?

We got to Southampton about an hour later. As soon as we parked, we grabbed our things and went straight to the harbour. Kit and Ian followed me because they obviously had no clue where to go next.

I walked down towards James’ shipyard shop, happy to see him at the counter. I opened the door, the bell alerting him. When he saw me, he smiled, then it fell.

“Olivia, it’s nice to see you. I was hoping I never would, though. No offense.”

I laughed. “None taken.” I saw him look towards Kit and Ian with a frown. “Oh, sorry. This is Kit and this is Ian. Kit, Ian, this is James.”

They all shook hands, then James turned his attention back to me. “I’m guessing you’re here to set sail.” I nodded. “So I guess you’ll be wanting your things?” I nodded again. “It’s locked out back.” He pointed towards the back, then disappeared.

“Who is that?” Ian whispered.

“He’s my uncle. My
proper
uncle on my mum’s side. The only truly nice one on any side of my family.” And the only one I knew I could trust to keep my things safe for me. It wasn’t hard since he was practically disowned by my mother after she accused him of using them for money and status. The only problem James had was he was too nice...and my mother didn’t do nice.

James soon returned with my big black bag and set it on the counter. “It’s all there, just as you left it.”

I nodded. “Thank you for looking after everything for me.”

James smiled. “No sweat.” He looked at Kit and Ian before turning his attention back to me. He looked so much like my mother and, unfortunately, so did I. We both had the signature blonde hair and blue eyes. Well, I did until I died it auburn.

“So where will you go now?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe Cyprus, Croatia, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivore... Somewhere beginning with a C.” I looked over at Kit. Going somewhere starting with the letter of his full name sounded great right now. He was, after all, my saviour.

James laughed and came around the counter for a hug. “Well, wherever you go, take good care now, you hear me?”

I nodded into his shoulder and felt my tears well up. “I’ll be in touch.”

He pulled away and wiped my tears. “Stay safe.” He smiled sweetly, looking up at Kit and Ian. “Please, take care of her for me.”

“Oh, I will,” they both said in unison. The slight annoyance in Kit’s face didn’t go unnoticed.

James cleared his throat. “Well, Olivia... Be good.” He looked at Kit and Ian, as if trying to convey a certain message. He couldn’t be any more wrong.

I nodded, kissed his cheek, and picked up my bag. Kit took it from me, smiling, as he placed his arm around me. “Are you okay?”

I shook my head. “No, but I will be.” I looked at Kit for a moment and felt the guilt rise at what I put him through. “Are
you
okay?” I think he could tell what I was referring to as he winced.

“I’ll be fine, Olivia. With you now with me, I’ll be more than fine.” He smiled down at me adoringly, but I couldn’t help feeling like shit for what I did. If it wasn’t for my pursuit of revenge, Kit would never have been violated by that fucking witch of a woman. I might as well have chained him up myself and shouted, “He’s all yours!”

We headed out to the pier and down towards my boat, but before I could make it there, I saw someone familiar. I gasped and threw my hand over my mouth. “Marcus, what are you doing here?”

Kit nudged me. “He wanted to see you.”

I looked at Kit in shock, then turned my attention back to Marcus. His smile was wide as he came in for a hug.

“Olivia, how are you? I hear you’ve been through a lot these last few days. I’m sorry about that. I wished I had known earlier. Thomas tried to call your phone, but Ian answered.”

I looked over at Ian and frowned. He gave me a small smile. “Zac wanted your incoming calls monitored. He also wanted to find out who was at your house. That’s how I eventually found Kit. That’s how all of us grouped together to hash out a plan to save you.” He looked at his cousin with a glare. “
Unfortunately
, Kit got impatient trying to find out what was wrong with you that day at the clinic and that’s how he got caught.”

I winced, but nodded and turned my attention back to Marcus. He smiled and placed a gentle hand on my arm. “I always knew there was something about you, but I never put two and two together until you disappeared and I tracked down Kit.”

I looked up at Kit in surprise. “I don’t understand.”

Marcus grabbed my hand. “You were drugged with Xanai.” My eyes pooled with tears and he winced. “I’m sorry, Olivia. I didn’t realise. That drug I was telling you about, the one my wife took, was Xanai. I knew about it and knew it was wrong, but never did anything about it. I told you I was working for monsters, and now you realise I was one, too.” He looked down for a moment before meeting my eyes again. “I wanted to see you before you left. I needed to explain something to you. Your father was being manipulated, just like you. I knew about Zac Bartholomew because I used to do dealings with his middleman. Because I was a lawyer, I found things out. I was trusted with things because they knew how much I wanted a partnership in my firm. They knew I would do anything to get it.”

He sighed a little before continuing, “There was another experimental drug. One that would cause fear and paranoia. It was called the ‘suicide drug’ as, ultimately, it would lead the person to suicide. I believe this is what killed your father.”

I blinked rapidly, unable to take in everything. For years, I had been wondering how my father died. Now I had my answer.

I gasped, remembering that time just before he died when my mother said that the tablets were making him worse. It had to have been them.

“So Zac really killed my father?”

Marcus nodded. “He probably killed your mother, too.”

I frowned. “But she had cancer.”

Marcus shook his head with a sarcastic laugh. “You’d be amazed at the amount of drugs that are out there. There are certain things you don’t know that would make your head spin, Olivia.”

When he saw my frown, he stepped closer and stroked my arm. “I’m sorry you had to hear this, but you can see how important it was for me to tell you.”