Like a Bird (4 page)

Once they were outside, a cool spring breeze greeted them. Sky shivered. They were quickly escorted to a waiting limo. Sky slipped in first followed by Gareth and then Louis. The driver closed the door, took her seat, and Louis gave her directions to the waiting helicopter before he raised the privacy divider.

“Well, we did it. We stole a girl and got away with it,” Louis said, triumphant.

Gareth, damp with sweat, pushed back his hood and glared at his friend.

“What?
”
Louis said. “Don’t give me a dirty look. You’re the cradle robber, in more ways than one.”

Sky wrapped her arms around herself and shivered again. Gareth removed his cloak to wrap it around her narrow shoulders. She leaned into him and closed her eyes.

Louis turned away from the couple. City lights and endless traffic flew by in the pre-dawn light as the driver sped toward their destination. Gareth closed his eye to shut out the urban chaos.

Chapter 4

Sky rolled onto her back and rubbed her eyes. She yawned and stretched to her full length, then rolled back over and propped herself up on her elbow. Sunlight illuminated the room through a large window, but she found herself looking through a set of dark metal bars. She bolted upright. Although her vision was blurry, it was evident she was enclosed in a huge circular cage.

She scowled and tried to stand but her head swirled and pounded. She attempted to regain her balance but stumbled forward, her hand grabbing at a bar to break her momentum. When she was stable and upright she began to shake every bar that imprisoned her, looking for a weak spot. She grabbed the small door, and although it rattled a little, it wouldn’t open.

“Hello?” she called out in a loud, high-pitched voice. “Hello?” she called again, louder this time. There was no response. She stepped to the other side of the cage and looked out the window at a manicured garden that gave way to endless miles of green treetops. Staring into the isolated woodland, she felt her stomach to swirl with panic. When she looked down at her feet to distract herself from the view, she noticed the floor of the cage was covered with soft fur pelts. She dropped to her knees and ran her fingers through the soothing surface before she lay back down, pulling her knees into her and struggling to subdue the panic. She stared up at the top of the cage where the bars converged at the center and connected to a heavy chain that suspended the cage from a large wooden beam in the ceiling.

Quite suddenly, the door to the room swung open and a small Japanese woman entered, holding a silver tray. She smiled at Sky. “Good morning, Miss. I hope you’re feeling better. My name is Rose.” The smiling woman passed the wrapped items off the tray to the girl, finishing with a glass of water. Sky just blinked and rubbed her eyes, not knowing what to make of the situation. Rose exited without a word of explanation.

Hoping the knot in her stomach might be soothed with food, she grabbed a package and opened it. Inside there was a croissant stuffed with egg salad. She sat with her back resting against the iron bars and devoured it, stopping only to guzzle water. When she finished she opened the second package, a collection of cut fresh fruit. Sky had a few bites of peach and one piece of pear before she started to feel groggy. She left the food at the edge of the cage and lay back down on the fur pelts, fatigue flowing through her body and leaving her no other choice.

- -

Gareth sat at his desk with two large computer screens in front of him. His chin rested in one hand while the other scrolled through a lengthy proposal. He began to type just as his phone rang. He grabbed it off the top of his desk. “Yes?”

“Hello sir, it’s Rose. Sky woke up just a few moments ago. I gave her some breakfast that put her back to sleep.”

Gareth switched his screen view to his full-color closed-circuit monitor that revealed an image of Sky sleeping soundly. “I see,” he said. “Did she complain of any pain or discomfort while she was awake?”

“No, sir. She said nothing, but she did seem groggy.”

“Thank you, Rose,” Gareth said and hung up. As soon as he put down his phone, it rang again. He frowned and looked at the caller ID. “Lou, what’s up?” Gareth said.

“Hey Romeo, did you read through the package I sent? How’s our girl? Or should I say, girls?” Louis asked.

“The proposal is bloody long. These guys have too much to say about themselves. I like their idea, but I’m not sure if they’re a worthwhile investment yet.”

“They’re a smart team. Their developers have a good track record. If they can pull this off, their security system will be huge, and we should get in now before they get too hot.”

“That’s a big
if
, Lou. You spend too much time imagining yourself drinking piña coladas on a tropical beach. You need to analyze why this won’t work. That’s your job this week,” Gareth said.

Louis sighed. “OK, Monsieur Buzzkill. I will put on my disaster thinking cap this week.
Your
job this week is to call Kitty and take her out to dinner.”

“I don’t have her number,” Gareth said.

“Oh. Well surely you can find her. That will be your
new
job for this week. By the way, how are things going with girl number two?”

Gareth leaned back in his chair. “Not as well as I had planned. Turns out she has some bad habits I need to break her of.”

“Damn! That sounds fun. Like, what kind of habits exactly?”

“She reminds me of your ex.”

“Mm, you mean fairy dust? That’s rough, man. Women are expensive enough as it is without a drug habit. I’d rather a girl be addicted to shoes; they’re cheaper. And sexier. I never thought I would say that.”

“She’s restrained and detoxing right now. It’ll be another week or two before I let her loose.”

“You’re an ass. Did you know that? Even in rehab they don’t lock people up.”

“She’s safe and sedated,” Gareth retorted.

“Oh. Well, that’s a great solution. Cure her of her drug addiction while pumping her with more drugs. That makes a lot of sense.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

“She’s a human being, Gare, not a wild dog you found in the woods.”

“You’re hardly one to be giving advice about women.”

“Well at least I don’t torture women like prisoners of war. Fuck Gare, show a little compassion.”

“I have medical guidance from the doc on this.”

“Well, what the hell do I know, I don’t have a medical degree. Just take good care of her, OK?”

Gareth sighed. “I will.” He hung up and placed the phone in his pocket. He leaned forward and looked closely at the image of Sky sleeping. He got up from his desk and walked down the hall to a door at the very end. He waved his phone and the lock clicked open. He slowly opened the door and closed it gently behind him. The cage hung motionless in front of a large window, and Sky’s small body huddled in the center of it. Gareth moved in close and watched her through the bars, her chest softly rising and falling.

- -

A week after he had brought Sky home, Gareth went for an afternoon walk through the woods with Wisdom at his side. They climbed down an embankment toward a small creek. Wisdom moved cautiously, favoring her weak back leg. At the edge of the creek, Gareth sat on a large rock and pulled a plastic bag full of meat scraps from the pocket of his worn army surplus coat. Wisdom moved in close and nuzzled his arm while giving him her most pleading stare.

He rubbed her head and ears with one hand and held out a meat scrap for her with the other. She quickly swallowed the treat, sat down next to him, and rested her chin on his leg, gazing up at him for another. He complied and held out his hand again.

“Do you miss this?” he asked the wolf, as he surveyed the woods around them. “Do you feel out of place in a house, surrounded by these strange animals who don’t speak your language?”

Wisdom tilted her ears back as he spoke and shifted her gaze back and forth from his face to the bag in his hand.

The two of them hiked back home. Wisdom settled on the great room rug for a nap, and Gareth went for a swim in the indoor pool. After a series of laps, he rested against the tile wall and let his legs float to the surface. On the other side of the glass wall, bright green buds had opened, and the first round of spring flowers sprinkled the hills with color. Gareth’s meditation was interrupted by the buzz of his phone.

He left it to ring while he completed another series of laps. When he was tired, he climbed out and toweled off before he checked his phone. There were two new text messages, both from an unknown number.

Hey there, sorry it’s been so long. Life got crazy! When can we meet up?

BTW, this is Kitty! Talk soon.

Gareth raised his eyebrow in surprise. He stared at the outdoors for a moment before he picked up his towel and walked out of the solarium. Upstairs, in his bedroom, he dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a white T-shirt. He glanced at his phone again before slipping it into his pocket.

On his way back downstairs to the dining room, he was welcomed by the repetitive thud of Takao chopping up something in the kitchen. Gareth sat down at the dining-room table and waited. He unrolled his cutlery from the cloth napkin and began to arrange the silverware in a neat line. When he was satisfied the cutlery was suitably positioned, he relaxed in his high-backed chair, put his hands behind his head, and stared at the light fixture, a large simple row of lighted pods he has crafted himself.

Takao quietly entered the room with a tray balanced on one hand and a bottle of sparking water in the other. He set a salad and thick soup before Gareth, then placed a wedge of lemon in a tall glass before filling it with the carbonated beverage.

“Thank you Takao. This smells wonderful,” Gareth said.

“It’s a special spring gazpacho. I hope you like it.” Takao paused for a moment before he disappeared back into the kitchen.

Gareth placed a napkin in his lap and began to eat his dinner. On his third bite of salad, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Gareth ignored the interruption and continued eating.

His phone buzzed persistently.

Gareth sighed, put down his fork, and grabbed his phone to see text messages from Louis.

Remember: Nab that little Kitty Kat!

Don’t ignore me.

I can tell when you’re ignoring me.

Gareth texted a reply.

I’m not ignoring you. I’m eating dinner. Kitty sent a message today.

Louis was quick to respond.

Whatever she wants, the correct answer is YES.

Gareth put his phone down and resumed eating. When he had finished, he returned to his office and opened his e-mail. There were thirty-seven new messages, two of them from his assistant Denise. He flagged her messages as high priority then quickly scrolled thorough the remainder. Distracted, he pulled out his phone to reread Kitty’s message.

Gareth walked to the large window that overlooked the green, rugged landscape. The sun had nearly set behind the cliffs, and the sky was glowing pink and orange.

“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight,” he said quietly to himself.

His phone buzzed again from his desk. He groaned and returned to retrieve it.

I’m going to bet 10K you haven’t responded to her yet. Tell her you’ll meet her for dinner at LaSalle on Wed. night.

As Gareth was reading the message, a second came through.

I just made reservations for you @ 7pm.

Gareth turned off his phone, and went to check on Sky. As he turned to close her door, she sat up and looked at him, her hair more tangled than ever. The outfit Rose had managed to pull together for her was less than flattering. The faded T-shirt was twisted around her small frame and the loose gray jogging pants had ridden up to her knees. She narrowed her eyes at Gareth in the near darkness and rubbed her head.

“Hi,” Gareth said in a hoarse whisper.

Sky focused on the fur blankets.

Gareth walked closer to the cage. He wrapped his fingers around the bars and leaned in. “How are you feeling?”

Sky moaned. “Shitty,” she said, looking around. “Where am I?”

“Home,” Gareth said. “You’ll start to feel much better in about a week.”

Sky shut her eyes, and Gareth could see a tear slide down her cheek.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, her usually soft voice rising.

“This is a detox. Once you’ve cleaned up, I’ll let you out,” Gareth said.

Sky glared at him through watery eyes. “Fuck you!” she screeched, leaping toward him. She slammed into the bars in front of him and Gareth stepped back. “You’re a fucking monster! Let me out!” She screamed again and tried to rattle the bars. The cage began to slowly swing back and forth.

Gareth clenched his jaw and lunged forward. He shook the cage hard, causing Sky to tumble backward. “Don’t be an ungrateful little cunt or I’ll never let you out of here,” he growled and slammed the door behind him.

“I’ll bite off your cock if you ever come near me!” Sky screamed at the closed door. She threw herself on the cage floor and banged her heels and fist on the pelts beneath her. She paused to gather her breath, only to release a loud scream toward the ceiling. Just outside her window, a flock of feeding grackles startled and flew up into the trees for shelter.