After serving a customer, I felt a headache coming on. I didn’t have many, but this one was coming on hard and fast. I rubbed my head, trying to get rid of the tension, but it was no use.
“You can go home.” I looked up and saw Charlie standing in the doorway. He shrugged. “You might as well. It’s dead in here tonight and I think you have some things you need to sort out.” He offered me a tight smile. I knew he wasn’t happy, but had accepted my decision.
He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out some money. “Here. This will pay you right up until your shift ends. Consider it a bonus for all the times you’ve helped me out.”
I put my hand on his. “I can’t take that–”
He pushed his hand forward. “Take it. It’s not much anyway, Olivia. You weren’t getting paid well enough to warrant trying to give it back to me. Just accept it, say thank you, and give me a hug.” He smiled a genuine smile at me this time and, of course, I couldn’t say no.
I walked towards him, took the money, and wrapped my arms around him. “Thank you for everything, Charlie, and I’m sorry about everything else.”
Charlie tugged me to him. “Don’t mention it, Olivia. I’ll miss you. Just promise me one thing.”
I smiled as I felt him tighten his hold. “What’s that?”
“That you’ll look after yourself. Not other people, not the next door neighbour’s cat or dog... Yourself. You need to look after
you
now.”
I felt a tear fall down my face as I nodded into his shoulder. “Okay,” I answered, sniffing a little.
“Hey. This is a brand new shirt.”
I laughed, pulling away. “Charlie, you never stop.”
He smiled and stroked my cheek. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
I nodded. “I hope so, Charlie. I really do. No one ever knows what the future holds, eh?”
I grabbed his hand and he pulled mine up to kiss the back of it. “Tell him I said not to hurt you or he’ll have me to deal with. Also tell him I’ll steal you away if he does.” He smiled again and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Okay, I’ll make sure to tell him.”
“Are you going, Olivia?”
I looked over Charlie’s shoulder and saw Sue. I nodded. “Yep. I’m going to miss you, Sue.” I walked over and pulled her in for a hug. “You’ll take care of him for me, won’t you?”
She laughed and pulled away. “Of course. I’ll keep him out of trouble. I hope whatever you find next will make you happy.”
I nodded, smiling. “Thank you.”
An awkward silence ensued, so I knew that was my cue to leave. “Right, well… I better be off.” With a sigh, I walked to the back to grab my things. Charlie helped me with my coat and when I spun back round to thank him, his lips were on mine.
He kissed me very softly, then pulled away. “Take care, Olivia.”
Another tear rolled down my cheek. “You, too, Charlie.”
He let go of me and we held hands until I walked past him. Our fingers slipped apart and, before I knew it, I was outside and facing the direction of home.
I knew Kit would be mad at me for coming home alone, so I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, ringing my landline. Within a couple of rings, he answered.
“Kit, it’s me. I’m coming home.” I couldn’t help the big smile on my face.
“Don’t move. I’ll come get you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be silly. I can walk. It will only take me ten minutes.”
“Olivia.” I heard the stern tone in his voice. “Don’t walk home. I’m coming to get you.”
“Okay.” I smiled. “I’ll wait for you.”
“Good.” I heard the phone go dead and pressed the END button on mine.
I stood there for a few seconds, wondering why on earth I was waiting. The sooner I started walking towards him, the sooner we would be together.
I started to stroll down the main street. It wasn’t long before I was turning onto the road I was attacked in all that time ago. It seemed like an age now, but the thought made me shudder.
Deciding to ignore the nagging in my head, I ventured further. Freddy was gone, so I didn’t need to worry about him anymore.
As I got halfway down the street, I heard the screeching of tyres behind me. Before I could react, a man got out, threw something over my head, and pulled me, kicking and screaming, into the back of a van. I lashed out so much, I must have hit the guy pretty hard in the ribs because he cursed.
“Fuck!”
I was waiting for the inevitable blow, but I heard another voice.
“Don’t you even think about it, Craig. Boss will cut your fucking hands off if you touch her.”
I closed my eyes, knowing who was behind this. I could have cursed myself. Why did I have to go to work tonight? Why didn’t I just listen to Kit and stay home with him? I could have been in his arms telling him everything he needed to know by now.
Shit! I wasn’t ever going to see him again. I knew Uncle wouldn’t let me. I’d become his prisoner, having him doing whatever the hell he liked to me and I would just have to smile and take it…no matter how much I knew I didn’t really want it.
What was wrong with me?
No, no, no, no... I can’t take this. Please, I can’t do this.
I could feel the blackness wash over me, the darkness feeding off my anguish. I thought I had wanted all this, but after finding Kit, I realised just how wrong I was. I couldn’t do this anymore. I didn’t
want
to do this anymore. I wanted a new life. I wanted out of the darkness and into Kit’s light. I wanted to be in his arms, having him tell me everything was going to be okay. That I was safe and I was his.
I knew that wasn’t going to happen now. To protect Kit, I had to pretend I had failed. I had to lie to Uncle and ask that he forgive me for failing us both. I had to do whatever it took to keep him safe.
The man I love.
The man who was now everything to me.
After a while of struggling, I decided to relent and just let go. There was nothing I could do.
“Thank fuck. She’s a strong one.”
I heard another man laugh. “No wonder Boss wants her so much.”
The man who held me laughed. “I can see why. I’m getting a nice view from up here. If I just pushed her blouse down a little, I’d get to see what her momma gave her.”
I elbowed him again and I heard him
umph
. The other guy just laughed.
“I think you earned that, my friend.”
I sighed a little. “You know, I can hear everything you’re saying. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who you two are...mask or no mask. What’s the point of having this thing on me anyway?”
I was met with silence, then one decided to speak, “Boss doesn’t want you knowing where we’re taking you.”
I laughed. “Oh, really? Is it a surprise? Am I going to turn up at some lavish five-star resort where I’ll be pampered silly?”
Both men laughed and the other guy spoke, “And you have a sense of humour. Nice.”
“The only thing I have right now is a headache, so I would appreciate it if you kept it down.”
I felt the vibration of the man’s chest who held me. “Has someone got their period?”
I rolled my eyes. “Has someone got a severe case of BO?”
The other guy laughed loudly as I felt the guy pull his arm up. I couldn’t help but chuckle a little. He was obviously smelling himself.
“Haha, I can’t believe you just smelled your armpit, Craig.”
I heard Craig growl. “Shut the fuck up, Ian.”
“Hey, just because you failed to get a piece of that pussy last night at the club doesn’t mean you can take it out on me. It’s not my fucking fault you’re a chump.”
“Don’t fucking test me, Ian. You know full well I can get pussy whenever I want. Last night was just a fluke. You know we’re not allowed to anyway, so what’s the point.”
Ian laughed. “Yeah, women just love you, don’t they, Craig? That’s why that woman was running away so fast on her pretty little high heels, she looked like John Wayne doing the funky chicken.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed.
I felt the guy tug on me. “Hey, that’s not fucking funny. She must have been a lesbian.”
Now I was laughing harder. “Oh, please. That’s always a man’s excuse for their own inadequacies. I’m not a lesbian and I can already tell I don’t want to sleep with you.”
“That’s because you’ve not seen my face.”
I smiled. “Well, let me see it so I can make my own judgment.”
Craig went silent for a moment. “Nice try, Olivia, but you know I can’t do that. All I can say is that you’d want me if you saw me.”
I rolled my eyes again. “Your modesty alone is
so
attractive.”
Ian started laughing, and Craig growled a little. “Shut the fuck up. Who asked you anyway? Remember, you’ve been taken, and I think you know by whom. I would suggest you keep that pretty little mouth shut until you’re told you can speak.”
I sighed, but didn’t respond, despite the fact I wanted to talk to keep my mind off whatever was going to happen next. I had an inkling of what it would be and I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty.
To keep my brain occupied, I started thinking about Kit. He must be going out of his mind by now, wondering where the hell I was. I know he’d go in the pub and ask if I was there. That would probably also set Charlie off and have him worrying.
Shit! This was all I needed now. Kit was homeless because he wanted to remain anonymous to the world, but this would probably bring him out of hiding now. I really wanted to get rescued by Kit, then we could ride off into the sunset together. But that wasn’t going to happen now. I never got my chance to tell him everything, and now I never will.
I opened my heart to the one man I had been dreaming of my whole life. The one man who used to haunt me day and night. He was a constant shadow I was chasing, and I’d never see him again.
It was probably for the best. At least he’d be safe then. I certainly wasn’t going to rat him out. Maybe in the beginning, but not now.
It was about another fifteen minutes of driving before I felt the van come to a stop. A door opened and Craig manoeuvred himself out from beneath me.
“Okay, princess. Time to meet your prince. I know he’ll be eager to see you.”
I huffed. “He didn’t have to send two of his goons to grab me and haul me here, did he? He could have asked politely.”
Craig laughed. “I think you know that’s not quite his style.”
I sighed. “No, I guess not.”
I was pulled out and someone threw me over their shoulder. “I can walk, you know.”
Whoever was carrying me smacked me on the bottom. “It’s better this way.”
It was Ian.
“You don’t need to get frisky with me, either,” I huffed and heard him chuckle.
I felt Ian walking up some stairs, then I felt the cool air leave us, so we must be inside a building. He walked up some more stairs and through a door, then he gently placed me down on something soft and pulled the bag off my head.
I squinted at the bright light, blinking a few times. Once my eyes were adjusted, I looked up to see what Ian really looked like.
To my surprise, he was quite good-looking. He had short, wavy, mousy brown hair, and light blue, kind eyes. Eyes that didn’t fit with working for a man like Uncle. He was built for it, though. Everyone who worked for him had to be. He was extremely tall and muscular, hence the reason he wasn’t out of breath carrying me all the way up here.
“Can I get you a drink?”
I nodded. “If you can trouble yourself for a couple of headache tablets, that would be good, too.”
He smiled and started to walk out of the room. “I’ll be right back.”
He left and I was on my own. I took in my surroundings. I was in a big bedroom with red velvet walls, luscious cream curtains, and a four-poster bed that was big enough to hold four people with plenty of room.
There was no doubt in my mind where I was. I just didn’t know what to expect once Uncle turned up. The thought made me shudder.
Within a couple minutes, Ian came in, holding a glass in one hand and two tablets in the other. “Here.” He handed them to me. “They should help with your headache.”
I nodded with a smile and took the water. I popped the two tablets in my mouth and swallowed hard. “Thank you.”
Ian smiled. “Don’t mention it. Do you need anything else?”
I huffed. “Sleep, a foot massage, a bath, some light reading…”
He chuckled. “Well, I can offer some light reading, and the bathroom is just through there for a bath. As far as the other two, I’m afraid my hands are tied. You have to take care of sleep yourself, and the foot massage… Well, I don’t think Boss would take too kindly to me making you feel
that
comfortable. I’ve had strict instructions not to touch you.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Yet you smacked my bottom on the way up here.”
Ian looked away, embarrassed. He placed his hand behind his neck and sighed. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”