Let Me Go (13 page)

“Oh, trust me, you won’t let me forget,” she
sneered. “But whatever you are capable of, you won’t physically
harm me. That’s one thing I’m not afraid of.” And she wasn’t, but
it didn’t mean she wasn’t afraid of Mason in general. She wasn’t
entirely sure why, just something about his demeanor made her
cower, but she held her head high. She wouldn’t let him see her
tremble.

“You’re right, I will never harm a woman.
But you are mistaken not to fear me. I can make you stay here,
inside and alone, for eternity if I wanted. I can make you beg and
plead for just a snippet of fresh air until you go insane from
want. But, for now, you want your punishment? Fine. You want your
door gone? No problem.”

Suddenly, Kat didn’t feel so high and mighty
as Mason walked out of the room calmly. She had a sinking suspicion
of what he was about to do, but she couldn’t believe it. Not until
he came back with some tools.
Oh God!
He was really going to
remove the door to her bedroom, the one place she had all to
herself. He never went in there unless they argued and he followed
her. This was her space, her place, and now he was taking it away.
He really was an asshole.

“You don’t want to do this,” she said to
Mason.

“You’re right, Kat, I don’t. I was perfectly
content with the arrangement we had going on, but you seem
hell-bent on being my friend. This should prove that we aren’t
friends. Not even close.”

“You made your point, but I hardly believe
you were happy with the arrangement before.”

“You presume to know what I like and don’t
like.”

“Yes, yes I do. I know you actually smiled
genuine smiles when you were being friendly with me. I know you
secretly enjoy our snarky banter whether you want to admit it or
not and I know that the bond we shared last weekend scared you and
that’s why you are being an ass now. Please don’t take away the
last shred of normalcy I have just to prove your point, because
secretly, we both know this is a façade and it won’t prove anything
to me. I know the real you is hiding underneath.”

He seemed to ponder her words for a minute
before speaking. “I like seeing you backtrack and eat your words. I
especially like hearing you say ‘please’. I’ll tell you what, the
door is coming off, since I have to prove my point and all,” he
said sarcastically, “but if you go back to work and don’t talk back
for the next twenty-four hours, I’ll put the door back on. And if
you don’t, the door stays off for the following twenty-four hours
and the same rules apply.”

Kat didn’t like it, not one bit. But she
knew there was no point in arguing, so she simply nodded. She
brushed past Mason, but she wouldn’t let him get the last word.

“I’ll follow your rules for the next
twenty-four hours and get my door back, but just so you know, the
fact that you negotiated with me means I was right. There is a real
you underneath this bullshit tough exterior. And he’s the one
that’s my friend, not you.” She didn’t have to turn back to know
that her words had stopped his work. She didn’t even have to turn
around to know he was left with a dumbfounded expression on his
face. She could do this, she could break through again.

Chapter 19

Mason was still
a bit of a douche the next few days, but not as snippy as he had
been the previous week. Kat had gotten her door back after a day,
as promised, and it stayed on. She still hadn’t gone outside, and
if Mason wasn’t going to take her in the next day or so, she knew
she was going to have another outburst.

She was standing on a stool, dusting a
shelf, trying to figure out how to get Mason to open up again. She
was so lost in thought that she didn’t hear Mason walk in until he
was just a few feet behind her. “I’m home,” he announced, clearly
letting her know that he came home early. His words startled her so
much that she whipped around too quickly, lost her footing, and
found herself falling backward.

She wasn’t that high up, but she knew her
head was about to hit the hardwood floor under her and that
couldn’t possibly be good. She screamed in panic and flailed her
arms, trying desperately to grab onto something, anything, but
there was nothing near her.
Damn!
Time seemed to go so
slowly as images of her twisted body lying on the floor flooded her
mind as if she had taken a plunge from ten stories up.

And then she hit something, but it wasn’t
the floor. She looked up and was staring into Mason’s concerned
eyes. He had caught her and was holding her, cradling her in his
arms.

“Didn’t mean to startle you, just wanted to
let you know I was home early and thought you might take a break to
make me lunch. Are you all right?” he asked softly as he set her
down. She felt a little dizzy, but not because she had almost taken
a spill. She was dizzy because she had just been in Mason’s arms,
and damned if it didn’t feel good. He was hard and soft and held
her so gently. The concern in his eyes was enough to take her
breath away. And he was still holding her, making sure she didn’t
fall. For some reason, she didn’t want him to let go. She wanted
him to hold her.

“Yes.” Her voice was shaky. “Uh yes, I’m
fine. That was just a bit scary, but I guess it’s a good thing you
were there. Thanks for, uh, saving me.” She placed her hand on his
arm to keep herself steady.

“You sure you’re all right.”

No, she wasn’t. She wasn’t all right at all.
This was getting to her. His moods were getting to her. He was
getting to her.
Damn it!
When he was nice, he was very nice,
and she couldn’t help but feel for him. Moments like this took her
breath away. She wanted more of them. Stockholm syndrome flashed
through her mind again. She thought about that a lot lately because
she actually liked being around her kidnapper when he was friendly
with her.

She couldn’t tell him all this, so she put
on a smile, straightened up, and answered, “Yeah, I’m fine, just…I
guess being inside all day is getting to me. Just a bit jumpy
lately.”

“All right then, make me lunch and I’ll take
you outside.”

“Really?” she squealed. Okay, there was
seriously something wrong with her if she was this excited to go
outside.

But then Mason laughed. “Damn, that’s all it
takes to make you happy. Well shit, I guess you need to go outside
more. Maybe it will help hold back that snarky attitude you
got.”

And just like that, the semi-nice Mason was
back.

Then he did something that amazed her even
more. “I want to make sure you aren’t light headed, so go ahead and
make us both lunch, and you can eat with me.”

Holy Shit!
She didn’t know what the
hell had come over Mason, but she wasn’t about to question it. She
just nodded and made her way to the kitchen.

Maybe she was getting through to him after
all. Whatever it was, she thanked her lucky stars and prayed it
would last. If she wanted to keep her sanity, she needed him nice.
If she wanted out, she needed him to be her friend.

*****

A few days later, Kat woke up feeling weak
and tired. Her head felt like it was going to explode, and she
could barely breathe through her nose.
Great, she was getting a
cold
. She had probably gotten it from one of the guys the other
day when they were visiting.
Just what she needed
. She tried
to rummage through the bathrooms and kitchen to find some kind of
cold medicine, but all she found was Tylenol. She popped a few
pills and figured that was better than nothing. It helped a tiny
bit, but as she worked all day, she felt pretty shitty. She did a
crappy job cleaning up and when Mason barked at her, she just kind
of nodded and mumbled an apology, promising to do better
tomorrow.

She headed to bed early and prayed that this
would clear up overnight.

*****

It had actually been pretty hard being so
tough and mean to Kat. He knew he needed to be, and he kept up the
charade as long as he could, but when Kat called him out on it, he
knew she was right. Even after he snapped, even after he took her
door off its hinges, even after he yelled at her and tried to make
her feel like crap, she didn’t back down. He admired her for that,
and he’d be lying to himself if he didn’t admit it kind of pulled
some strings in him. So the next few days, he tried to be tough,
but it didn’t work so well. And when he caught her in his arms, she
felt so good, so right. He had lied to her, he did care what she
thought of him, even though he shouldn’t. He knew he shouldn’t give
a damn, but he did. And he was secretly happy that no matter how
much of an ass he was to her, she didn’t buy it and believed that
he was a good guy. He watched how she reacted to her little fall
and him catching her. He was worried, but thrilled to know he had
affected her. It had to have been him affecting her because she was
way too off balance for it to be anything else, right? “Yeah right,
keep telling yourself that buddy,” he whispered to himself.

Oh, what the hell, it didn’t matter.
He was right about something he had told her – she was there for a
purpose and though he might be getting soft, it didn’t mean she
wouldn’t break. No matter how much of a fight she put up and how
brave she was, eventually, living like a slave would get to her. It
might take longer than he thought, but it would eventually get to
her.
It had to.
In the meantime, he truly was enjoying this
arrangement.
Hell, who wouldn’t?
He had a free maid, a nice
piece of eye candy, a very nice source of entertainment, was
getting revenge, and well, shit, he liked being around her.

He thought about all this as he made his way
to the kitchen, but he stopped short in his tracks as he sensed
that something was off. He didn’t smell bacon or eggs or anything
cooking. He looked around and didn’t see Kat.
What the hell?
He wasn’t sure whether he should be pissed or concerned or even a
little surprised.

“Kat!” he yelled, trying to get her to come
out.

She didn’t answer and he listened quietly,
but there was no sound.

She had seemed a little off the day before,
like she was getting a cold or something. He had heard her
sniffling. Maybe she was knocked out? Well, that just wouldn’t do.
Rain or shine, sick or healthy, she needed to be working.

“Kat, get out here this instant unless you
want me to remove your door again!” he yelled louder but still not
sound.

“What the hell,” he murmured to himself
before practically busting Kat’s door down. He was well and truly
pissed until he stared at an empty bed, unmade, but empty. He
looked around the room, and he gasped as Kat lay unconscious on the
floor, half-dressed, sprawled out with her hair fanned around her
face. She looked like an angel and his breath caught for a moment
before the panic set in.

He was by her side in an instant. “Kat,” he
urged as he tried to shake her, and her skin seared his; she was
burning up.

His doctor instincts took over, and he
checked for any sign of trauma from when she collapsed. When he
thought she was fine, he lifted her from the floor and placed her
gently on the bed. She hadn’t even flinched; she hadn’t moved.
Goddamn it!
He raced to his bathroom and got the thermometer
and was back in a flash. It read one-oh-four point one.
Fuck!
That was high. He needed to get her to a hospital, but
he couldn’t. He couldn’t. He hadn’t brushed up on his skills in
over six years since he hadn’t been able to practice, but he was
pretty sure with the right equipment, he could do something.

He reached for his phone and called
Benny.

“Yo, Mason,” Benny started, but Mason
quickly cut him off.

“No time for that. It’s Kat, she’s got a
high fever and she’s unresponsive.”

“What? What’s wrong with Kitty Kat?”

“Benny, I don’t fucking know,” he answered,
panicked. “I’m not a practicing doctor anymore and even if I was, I
don’t have anything I could use to diagnose her. I need your
help.”

“You got it, what can I do?”

“I need you to get some things for me,
medicine, equipment.”

Benny cut him off. “Mason, you know I’d get
you anything I could, but medicine and shit is a little out of my
league. I mean, I could probably get it sooner or later, but it
will take me a while.”

“Fuck, Benny, Kat doesn’t have a while. I
don’t know what’s wrong with her and I don’t know how long her
fever has been this high. If it gets any higher, she’s in
trouble.”

“Well, shit, you got to take her to the
hospital.”

“Can’t and you know that.”

“What can I do?”

“Nothing.” He hung up, frantic, desperately
trying to figure out what to do.

“Fuck!” he yelled into the room. He would
have to call Adam.

Chapter 20

Adam was one of
the few friends Mason had from his life before. They had met in
medical school, and after a few study sessions together, they
became friends. He had stood by Mason, believed he was innocent,
and thought he got unfairly screwed over by the system. But they
didn’t speak to each other that often now and saw each other even
less. Mason didn’t blame Adam; they were both different and a lot
had changed during the five years Mason was behind bars. Still,
they were friends, and he knew Adam wouldn’t sell him out, at least
he hoped not. And Adam was a damn fine doctor.

He had no choice. He had to call him. He
cradled Kat in his arms as he took his phone out.

“Hey Mase, how’s it going?” Adam was always
pretty upbeat.

“Adam, I need a huge favor.”

“What can I do for you?”

“I have a patient for you that I need you to
see immediately.”

“All right, bring him over to my practice;
I’ll squeeze you guys in.”