Let Me Go (25 page)

“Of course I believe you,” Benny answered,
the hurt in his tone at Mason’s accusation obvious. “It’s just, are
you sure it was Katherine Gingham that accused you?”

“It was Kat.”

The rest of the conversation didn’t matter.
But Kat relived that part of it for a reason. At the time, she
hadn’t thought anything of Benny saying Katherine. Kat was short
for something and she just brushed it off because she thought Benny
assumed that was her full name. It had happened to her before after
all. People would say things like, “Kat, with a ‘K’, huh? What is
it short for?” or they would say, “Kat like Katherine?” Besides,
Mason had answered Benny using her widely accepted nickname, Kat.
She hadn’t even used her full name, Kaitlyn, in so long that a lot
of her paperwork even listed Kat as her name. But now… now it
clicked. It wasn’t Kat Gingham that had accused Mason, er, maybe it
was Kat, but it wasn’t Kaitlyn. It was Katherine.

She snapped out of her memories and
practically screeched, “A twin!”

“Yes, Kat, I see you have yet to understand
the concept. The guy whose hand you are still holding onto, for
dear life I must say, is my twin brother Ty. Although, we are only
identical in looks.”

She looked down at the hand she was
squeezing and blushed with embarrassment before she let go. “No,
Trent,” she said turning to her friend, “we are looking for the
wrong person. It wasn’t me.”

“Yes, we’ve established that. That’s why we
are trying to find the right accuser.”

“No! Argh! I’m not getting this right. You
are a twin, right? How many times did you and Ty trick people into
thinking one was the other?”

“Oh! The shit we used to pull off! Classic!
But what does that have anything to do with…” He trailed off, and
then his face lit up. “Oh shit! You don’t know anything about your
biological family, right?”

She didn’t and she shook her head no.

“Oh my God! That can’t be it! It can’t! That
would be way too freaking crazy! You have an evil mastermind twin
out there that you don’t know about and because of her, you got
roped into this mess?”

“Oh God, Trent! It has to be! Stop looking
for Kaitlyn Gingham and start looking for Katherine Gingham.
Particularly, one that looks exactly like me.”

Chapter 37

Trent was able
to secure the police reports and some trial transcripts, but they
only confirmed what they already knew. The accuser was Katherine
“Kat” Gingham. Apparently she was no stranger to the police. She
had her fair share of missteps, which mostly included drugs. So,
how she had convinced a jury that Mason was a rapist, especially
with her not-so-incredible character, was beyond both Kat and
Trent. Trent had mumbled something about injustice and righteous
judges trying to make an example of the rich. It didn’t matter now,
what was done was done. They had to go about making it right.

So they had to find Kat’s sister. The
problem was that any known address was a bust and it was like she
had vanished into thin air. Trent spent weeks trying to find her,
trying to catch some lead, but everywhere he looked people were
vague and sketchy. Sometimes, he was pointed in the right
direction, only to find out he had just missed her. So, at least it
seemed this mysterious Katherine Gingham did exist. And when he
showed people pictures of his Kat, they all said she looked
familiar. It looked like they were dead on with their theory.
Either that or they were dealing with a doppelganger that happened
to have the exact same name.

Kat didn’t give up, but the weeks with no
answers were taking a toll on her. She checked in with Benny, but
every time he asked her about her progress, she brushed him off.
She didn’t want to give him, and in turn Mason, any false hope. She
figured it was better to say nothing than to tell him only pieces.
She yearned to call Mason, but she didn’t have the courage. She
knew once she heard his voice, she’d break down, forget this
search, and run to him. She was also secretly a little afraid that
he might move on, and she couldn’t handle knowing that. And every
time she asked Benny about it, he assured her Mason loved her and
was miserable without her. “So hurry up and get back to him, Kitty
Kat. He needs you and don’t you dare tell me you don’t need him,”
he told her almost every time they spoke.

It was true, she did need Mason, but she had
to be strong enough to resist, or this would always overshadow
them.

She also felt guilty that she was living off
of Mason. She knew that the money wouldn’t last forever, so she
found a part-time job waitressing. What a waste of her education,
but she couldn’t find a permanent job when she needed flexible
hours to help chase down a lead when Trent found something. So her
time was divided between working, spending time with Trent, even Ty
and some of Trent’s friends, and chasing down her ghost of a
sister. She had spent time in crumbling deserted buildings, nasty
motels, shit-hole apartments, random dive bars, and even some ERs.
But it seemed like Katherine was always one step ahead of them.
Sometimes Kat wondered if Katherine knew she was being tracked or
if she was just incredible unlucky.

One thing she learned was that Mason had
been right about his accuser. Her sister, Katherine, was a druggie.
Sometimes she did sell her body for money or drugs, so apparently,
she was a whore too. Some great family genes she had there. Kat
couldn’t help but be nervous that there was something inherently
wrong with her because her sister was a bad seed, and although she
didn’t know her parents, they clearly didn’t care about her or
Katherine. They probably weren’t the best people either. She had
mentioned this to Trent, who spent hours reassuring her that there
was nothing bad about her. And it was during one of those rants
where she was plied with enough alcohol that she actually spilled
the truth to Trent – that is, the truth about how she ended up with
Mason.

After she realized what she had done, she
was afraid that Trent was going to backtrack and refuse to help
her. Then she was afraid he would turn Mason in, then she was
afraid Trent would try to turn her against Mason, but he surprised
her instead.

“Holy shit! You’re serious?”

“Afraid so,” she mumbled. “Do you hate me
now? If you don’t want to be my friend or help me anymore, I
understand. But please, don’t turn Mason in.”

“Oh honey, why on earth would I stop being
your friend?”

“Because I lied to you and I fell in love
with my kidnapper.”

“I get why you lied, it’s not like you knew
me all that well, but I’m glad you trust me enough to tell me now,
although a drunken confession might not count as trust, but we’ll
pretend it does. And yes, sure, it is pretty odd that you fell for
your kidnapper, even more so that you were freaking kidnapped in
the first place. But I trust you, and if you say he didn’t hurt you
and you understand why he did it, then I believe you. And holy hell
if I’m not a diehard romantic and want to believe the best in
people and that love changes them and all that good stuff. So
forgive me if I’m a little taken aback that you are living a
real-life romance fiction. But, good for me, I get to live
vicariously through you.”

She loved having Trent in her life just a
little more that day.

And then, one day she was coming home, just
opening the door to the apartment building, carrying a few
groceries, when she heard someone call her name. She turned to see
Trent running toward her, waving his hands in the air. He was
laughing out loud like a maniac and had a bounce in his step.

“Kat! Kat! Wait,” he called out. So,
naturally, she waited by the front door.

Finally, he reached her and he doubled over
a bit, putting his hands on his knees and gasping for air.

“Trent, are you all right?” she asked as she
put her groceries on the floor and smoothed his hair.

“Yes, yes, just give me a minute,” he
said.

After a second, he stood up, smiled, and
said, “I ran all the way here. I was too excited to even think
about driving or catching a cab or even taking a bus. Now I think
that might not have been the best idea. I guess I also could have
potentially called, but I wanted to tell you in person. And then I
see you standing here and I knew I had made the right decision
because it was fate that you were practically waiting for me.”

“Trent,” Kat cut him off. “First off,
breathe, I haven’t heard you talk this quickly since you found out
your ex was single. Second, spill. What did you want to tell
me?”

“I found her.”

“What?”

“I found her. Kat, I found her. She’s been
living in some dump of an apartment with a few other
less-than-desirable people, but it’s not under her name and of
course, whatever she buys, if she buys anything, is paid in cash,
so it’s been a pain to find her. But I got her. You have your
chance now.”

Kat couldn’t believe her ears. Trent found
her sister, her link to prove her innocence to Mason and his
innocence to the police. Her dreams were coming true. Things were
finally falling into place. Tears ran down her cheeks as she leapt
into Trent’s arms and hung on for dear life. He wrapped his arms
around her and held her while she whispered her thanks in his ear
over and over and how lucky she was to have him and how wonderful
her life was now going to be.

Yep, things were looking up.

Chapter 38

It had been over
a month since Mason last saw Kat, since he last told her he loved
her, since he last held her in his arms. He was going crazy. At
first, he couldn’t get out of bed, couldn’t move, and just stared
at the ceiling. Then he couldn’t find enough things to keep him
busy so he didn’t think of Kat. Now he was in some sort of limbo.
Nothing seemed to matter.

He spoke to Benny about this often and Benny
told him Kat was miserable too. That made Mason feel wonderful and
horrible at the same time. He was elated because that meant she
obviously still cared, but he felt like a jerk for being happy that
she was upset.

He missed her, plain and simple. He wanted
to see her, and he wanted to touch her. He just wanted her. But she
had asked him to let her go. So he was doing just that.

“Stop moping,” Benny called to Mason as he
walked through the front door.

“I’m not moping, I’m reading.”

“Is that what they are calling it these
days?” Benny snorted.

“All right, fine, I’m moping, or miserable,
or just plain fucking heartbroken. So? What do you want from
me?”

“I want you to get up off your ass and do
something about it.”

“I am doing something about it,” Mason
countered.

“Oh, yeah? And what is that?”

“Respecting her wishes,” Mason stated.

“Fuck that. She’s hurt, you’re hurt.”

“She told me to let her go. I told her I’d
do anything, give her anything, and that’s what she asked of
me.”

“Yeah, because she was stuck in this fucking
place like a prisoner, so she needed out.”

“I gave her keys. I wanted her to be
free.”

“Not the same thing, Mason. You can’t have
her here for about a year relying solely on your good graces and
then tell her one day, never mind. It’s still like being locked up.
She needed to figure things out on her own for herself. Hell, I
don’t blame her if she needed to make sure she cared about you as
more than just the guy she became close to because she had no
choice. But now she’s got that and I know she still loves you, no
matter what.”

“So then what are you saying?”

“Didn’t I already say it?” Benny said while
shaking his head in frustration. “I told you to get off your ass
and do something.”

“Yeah, you did say that.”

“Do I have to fucking spell it out for you?
Oh geez, damn, I do. Go fight for her. Go see her. Go tell her you
still love her, and you want her back. Tell her you’ll even fucking
wait for her if she still needs more time to sort out whatever the
hell she’s doing. And I know she’s doing something, but fuck if I
know what it is.”

“I would wait for her. Hell, I am already
waiting for her.”

“So, then go tell her!” Benny practically
screamed.

Shit!
Benny was right. Yes, she had
asked Mason to let her go. And that is exactly what he did. But she
never said anything about fighting for her. He’d just been sitting
on his ass, feeling sorry for himself. He hadn’t even thought about
what Kat had been doing with herself or how she was feeling, except
when Benny would give him updates.

He grabbed his jacket and ran out, hearing
Benny chuckle as he did so. He had no idea how to find her. She
could be anywhere. She could have a job; she could be shopping; she
could be taking a walk. But he knew where she would go eventually –
to the apartment he had gotten her – and he knew where that was. So
he’d go there, hoping she was there. But, if not, he’d wait until
she came back.

Her place wasn’t too far from his. It wasn’t
exactly convenient to walk there, but he was too pumped up to do
anything but practically run. By the time he made it to her
apartment building, he had suddenly realized half-running,
half-jogging all the way there that this wasn’t necessarily his
best idea. And then he saw her walking toward the front steps. She
was so close. He stopped short, just watching her. He was
mesmerized by the sight of her. She was so beautiful, and now, she
had a content look on her face. He must have watched her for longer
than he thought because all of a sudden, she was at the front
entrance. He had to make his move now. And just when he took a
step, he heard someone shouting for Kat. He turned and watched a
guy running and calling out to her. Mason didn’t know what to
think, he was stunned stupid. He didn’t know who this guy was and
why he was calling out to Kat and running toward her. Mason
couldn’t help but notice that he was pretty good-looking as
well.