Page 32 of Uncharted Desires

She shook her head as it lolled back against the cave wall.

“You bounded into the recording studio with stars in your eyes. I remember thinking this poor girl is about to get eaten alive by this industry. And then you walked right up to me, your hand outstretched . . .”

Kat groaned. “Please don’t remind me. I was so fucking weird.”

West laughed. “I thought you were adorable. With your ‘Hi! I’m Katrina, you can call me Kat, like the animal, but it’s spelled with a K, just not Katy. Well, I guess you can call me Katy, but I don’t like to be called Katy.’”

“Okay,” Kat said, cutting him off, “I get the idea. How do you even remember that?”

“It just came to me when you said your entire name. I think I might have forgotten your name was Katrina. I always remembered ‘don’t call me Katy,’ and then enjoyed doing it to annoy you.”

She let out a slight laugh. “Ten years together and you forgot my actual name, but you remembered how to annoy me?” Her words were soft and slightly slurred.

“You don’t know my actual name.”

“What? Weston?”

“No, it’s Thomas Weston Monroe, and now you’re the only person besides my family who knows that. No surprise that my dad named me after himself.”

“Well, I might die of blood loss so you won’t have to worry about that secret getting out.” She attempted a smile, but her body was sagging. West didn’t find it funny; she was going to bleed to death if he didn’t do something.

“Have you been running around all this time bleeding to death?”

“It wasn’t that painful; I think adrenaline took over.”

“You need more than a slip of fabric, even if it just grazed you,” he said, quickly assessing their situation. “Are there some herbs or plants for a gunshot?”

“I don’t think so. Considering that’s how the White men killed all my ancestors,” she said with a sardonic smile, trying to push herself to a sitting position.

“Not funny. We need modern medicine. There must be something at the top of that mountain. I heard vehicles and voices up there. I’m going to sneak up tonight and see what I can find.”

She grabbed his arm in alarm.

“West, don’t go up there alone. Please, you’ll get killed and then I’ll die anyway. We don’t both have to die.”

Her eyes pleaded with him, and for an instant, he almost gave in, but he had to do this for her. He had to save her. On top of that, they might have other supplies he could steal, including some way to communicate with the outside world.

“They won’t even know I’m there.”

“You know you’re not actually a spy, right? You haven’t even played one yet.”

The corner of his mouth tugged up into a mischievous smirk as he gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingertips lingering on the column of her neck. “What, you worried about me?”

Her eyes fluttered shut at his touch and her lips parted ever so slightly. After a moment, she opened them again, taking a deep breath before saying quietly, “Maybe a little.” Her face softened, and it seemed like she was about to say something else but stopped herself abruptly. After a beat, she finally whispered, “Don’t get caught.”

If given the option, he would’ve sold his soul to find out what she was going to tell him.

“I won’t,” he said with a conviction he didn’t buy. He was a man without shoes and a foot that throbbed like a bitch.

After making sure she was stable enough and the tourniquet was doing its job, he went to get her water, and found another overripe papaya. They forced it down as they waited for the early hours of the morning when West could go to try to find the supplies they needed. He settled her head in his lap and stroked her hair, enjoying the feel of her intimately tucked into him. They were two puzzle pieces that fit. She was fading fast, and he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about a life without her and how empty that life suddenly felt.

Ten

9years ago

Their first tour together was almost over. After nine months on the road, Kat was in love with the tour lifestyle. Some nights, Kat and the band would hang around the venue getting drinks with people who had attended the shows.

They had just finished a show in Cleveland and West had arranged for a private party with another band he was friends with at the House of Blues VIP lounge. Kat still had to pinch herself daily just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.