Let Me Go (15 page)

She remembered Mason staying with her,
holding her, whispering how happy he was that she was going to be
okay. He didn’t let her go, watched her, adjusted her, made sure
she was comfortable and all right. Part of her didn’t even want to
wake up because she knew she was living a fantasy. He was being so
gentle, so wonderful with her, and she reveled in it. Her body was
fighting itself, but her mind and heart were at peace. She felt
safe and knew that when the time was right, she’d open her
eyes.

Then she remembered his solid words. “I
can’t love you Kat.” It was Mason. It was his strong voice,
trembling. It was his confession to her, but laced with a hint of
regret. He had said that to her, but he wasn’t sure he believed it
himself. And suddenly, Kat didn’t either. She didn’t understand why
he thought he couldn’t love her. Was it because of whatever he
thought she did to him? The past was the past, and she wasn’t even
responsible anyway. But the questions got her mind buzzing.

Yes, he could love her.
Kat was sure
that he was capable of it. She’d get him to love her, and then
she’d use that against him. He’d love her, and he’d let her go.

He had shown her compassion over and over,
had shown her how much he secretly cared about her, numerous times.
He had shown her a side of himself he probably wanted to keep
hidden. He had shared the pain that he clearly wanted to forget.
And she took it all. Now, he took care of her, stayed by her side,
and made sure she was going to be okay.

He was exactly the man she thought he was, a
regular nice guy with a tough exterior. She had broken through on
several occasions. But now, without meaning to, she had clearly
gotten past a giant wall of his.
Who knew feeling so damn shitty
would be a good thing?

Her conscious, it had to be her conscious
because it couldn’t be her mind, and especially not her heart, told
her she didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to use him. She
didn’t want to get him to fall for her and use his feelings against
him. It had to be because she was a good person and not because she
actually cared about him. But she did care. She didn’t want him
hurt or broken, and she was sorry that he had gone through all that
he had. She had already decided that she hated the person
responsible for turning this man into the broken shell he was. Not
just because of how it affected her, but because he didn’t deserve
it. But the fact remained that she was involved and she was stuck,
and as much as she wanted to pull Mason into her arms right now and
thank him for taking such good care of her, she wanted her freedom
more.

She opened her eyes and leaned over the
still sleeping Mason. She brushed a strand of hair away from his
forehead. He was beautiful. He was charming. And heck, he was even
caring.
In another life
…she shook those thoughts from her
head. It wasn’t another life.

She stroked his arm softly, trying to wake
him up peacefully. “Mason.” She whispered his name a few times
until he opened his eyes and stared at her.

“Kat?” he asked as if he couldn’t believe
she was really there.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

He grabbed her and pulled her to him,
hugging her. “I am so damn happy you’re awake. You scared me. Damn,
I knew when you did something, you did it all the way. But really?
Did that have to include getting sick too?” He chuckled and it
warmed Kat’s heart. He really was so wonderful when he was out of
his shell.

“Thank you for taking care of me. I don’t
remember much and it’s all one giant black box for me, but I
remember that you stayed by my side and made sure I was okay. I
appreciate it.”

“Just don’t go getting sick on me
again.”

“I’ll try.” She laughed.

Oh yeah, she could get Mason to fall for
her.
She just didn’t know if she could do it without also
falling for him.

Chapter 23

Kat enjoyed the
feeling of being wrapped in Mason’s arms and being comforted for a
few minutes before reality set in, and she began asking questions
that needed to be answered.

“So what happened?” she finally asked.

“I found you unconscious and burning up. You
really freaked me out, that’s what happened.”

Kat chuckled. She had figured that out
herself already. She was more curious about how she was attached to
an IV drip that was starting to itch and how she got better in the
first place if she never left the house. Or rather, she didn’t
think that she left the house.

“How did you take care of me? And this,” she
pointed to the IV, “can I take it out now?”

“I’d better do it,” Mason said as he got up.
“You have to take some meds for the next few days, and we need to
get some liquid in you.”

“Yes doctor,” she teased, but he immediately
tensed. She was curious about what she said that elicited such a
severe response from him. She thought a near-death panic allowed
for a little fun back and forth chatter.

He didn’t say anything, but got up and
removed the line with such care, she gasped. All the puzzle pieces
seemed to fall into place, she didn’t know how she could have
missed it.

“You were a doctor!” she exclaimed.

“You remember,” he answered deadpanned.

“No!” she answered without hesitation. “It’s
just how you went all rigid when I joked just now and well, you
confirmed my suspicion.”

“So you knew exactly what was wrong with me.
You did all this. But how? How did you get everything you would
need?”

“I didn’t. A friend of mine came by and
checked you out. I hate to admit it, but I’m out of practice and
wasn’t as perceptive to the signs that this was just a really bad
virus.”

“Out of practice?”

“Well, yes, after you are sentenced for a
crime, you don’t tend to get to keep your license. And while I was
on trial, I couldn’t very well practice. So, take the trial time,
the time I was in prison, and now the time I’ve been out, and
that’s well over seven years. The medical field changes every day.
You can’t very well stay out of it for that long and not get
behind.”

“But you said I scared you? Surely, you must
have known this wasn’t life threatening,” Kat questioned.

“Well, even the flu can potentially be life
threatening, so no, I didn’t know. And I may have felt a bit like
you were my responsibility, and that clouded my better judgment. So
no, I didn’t see the signs very clearly.”

He wasn’t telling her something. His eyes
were shifting around the room, not looking at her. He was trying to
avoid this line of questioning, which of course, made Kat want to
know more. But she also knew that he was probably done with the
conversation.

“Please tell me what happened. I only
remember small pieces, but I remember that you didn’t leave my
side.”

He sat back down on the bed. “You are still
weak and are going to need to rest for the next twenty-four hours
at least, if not more. I’ll monitor you. Consider this a little
vacation seeing as I’ll be the one taking care of you for the next
few days.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“There isn’t much to answer. I came out for
breakfast, and you weren’t there. I called your name, and you
didn’t answer. I went to see what was wrong with you, and I found
you passed out on the floor. You didn’t respond to me, and you felt
very hot to the touch, so I took your temperature and it was over
one hundred and four. Not sure if you know this, but if you have a
temperature over one hundred and four for an extended period of
time, you are supposed to go to the ER. Since I didn’t know how
long you’d had such a high fever, I panicked. I called a friend of
mine, he checked you out, gave you some medicine and nutrients, and
I stayed by your side to make sure your fever went down. You are
still warm and I’m sure you are still feeling it, but you’re fine
now.”

“You stayed with me all night?”

“Well, if your fever spiked, it wouldn’t
have done me any good not knowing it.”

“I knew you were beside me and I felt safe.
I heard you break through my thoughts and tell me I was going to be
fine, and I believed you even in my haze.”

“Well, doctors usually are right.”

“I didn’t know you were a doctor and I
wasn’t even thinking clearly. It was my subconscious that heard
you, Mason, and knew you’d keep me from harm.”

“It hasn’t escaped your mind that you got
sick under my supervision, has it?”

“I could have gotten sick anywhere in the
world.”

“Yes, well, you didn’t. I felt responsible,
so don’t take too much stock in anything. I can see the gears in
your head trying to process things. I’m not your friend, Kat. I’ve
told you that plenty of times. Just because I don’t want any
physical harm to come to you doesn’t mean I don’t wish to break
your spirit. And right now, you are giving me a headache. So
instead of trying to push me, why don’t you take this reprieve I’m
offering you and rest? Enjoy having me wait on you because as soon
as you are better, you can bet your ass you are going to make up
the time you missed. The house will need a thorough cleaning,
toothbrush and all.”

Kat smirked. He had tried to put on the
tough exterior, but she couldn’t help but feel like it was all a
façade. His words may have been rough, and he tried to appear like
he was chastising her, but his tone was all wrong. It was filled
with concern, worry, and even some longing.

It was clear that Kat wasn’t the only one
who had some feelings between the two of them. She just wasn’t sure
he was aware that he cared about her. And even if he did, he
wouldn’t allow himself to admit it. Not to her and especially not
to himself. But that didn’t mean Kat couldn’t play up his feelings
for her. She would seduce him, and get him to come to terms with
the fact that he was indeed a human being, a pretty good one
actually, and he cared about her whether he liked it or not. And
once she got him to admit his love for her, she would get him to
let her go.
Yep, it would all work out just fine.
All she
had to do was keep tearing down his walls, and he would fall in
love with her. She was sure of it. She had to be confident with her
plan because this was the best chance for her to get out.

“Whatever you say, Mason. You believe what
you want. I’ll believe what I see. And right now, I see the Mason I
like. And thank you for taking care of me, for making sure I was
all right, and for staying with me.”

He shook his head in frustration, but didn’t
respond. She was sure he probably saw no point in arguing.

“You are right though, I’m still feeling
pretty beat. I’d ask you to join me in a nap since I really did
feel safe with you here, but I have a feeling you’ll either pass
out or choke me with that request. So let’s pretend I never woke up
and you never got out of bed.”

“I’m not your friend, Kat.”

“What does that have to do with me getting
better? You want me better faster, you said so yourself. Well, I’m
cold, you have body heat, and I know you must be tired. So take
your own advice and help me get better.”

“You are lucky I don’t hit women because you
are frustrating the crap out of me right now.”

“Well then why don’t you shut me up and get
in bed?”

“Oh, for the love of God!” he cried and
thrust his hands up. “You’ll shut up if I lie down?”

She nodded, and he hesitated before climbing
in bed.

“This doesn’t mean anything, Kat, so don’t
get any ideas.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she replied with a
lie. This was going to be easier than she thought.

Chapter 24

Kat woke up a
few hours later, but she was alone. She wasn’t sure how long Mason
had stayed with her, if he had stayed at all. For all she knew, he
could have waited for her to fall asleep and then slipped out. It
didn’t matter though. The fact that he was willing to get back into
bed with her to comfort her spoke volumes. He obviously cared about
her even if he wasn’t admitting it to himself. Sure, he was moody
and yeah, he was clearly a kidnapper, but he had never truly hurt
Kat. She technically had a roof over her head, food to eat, a nice
clean bed, and a bathroom of her own. He never physically hurt her;
hell, he barely did mentally, and he never tried anything
inappropriate on her. Mason even technically took care of her and
protected her, first from Junior and now from whatever viral
infection she had. Of course, if she wasn’t here in the first
place, she probably wouldn’t have been in the situation with
Junior, and who knows if she would have gotten sick. If you forgot
about the being forced to be here part, it almost sounded like she
was doing pretty well. And if she truly looked deep inside herself,
she cared about Mason as well.

He was obviously broken and damaged. He was
holding her prisoner, because he thought that she was the cause of
all his pain and suffering. She still couldn’t figure out how the
hell that happened. But underneath all that, he wasn’t a bad guy.
He had shown her kindness when she didn’t expect it. He protected
her when she needed it. He opened up to her when she persisted. She
blamed this entire situation on the evil person that put him behind
bars in the first place. She had seen enough abuse and crazy family
situations to know that nothing was black and white. She had worked
with people who believed life was against them and they deserved
whatever they got. As a social worker, she had always told her
clients that everyone deserved a second chance. And Mason deserved
the same. He was clearly someone who thought he needed to make
things right on his own. She didn’t blame him for that type of
thinking, especially after what he had been through. She understood
that every person has a breaking point. He snapped. He took his
need for revenge out on her, but as far as revenge schemes go, this
wasn’t all that horrible. Well, at least from the outside looking
in. For her, it totally sucked; she wanted out.