Page 23 of Evading Darkness

He pulls out, and I can feel him dripping from me. Reality sets in with what I just did, and I feel ashamed. I grab my panties, pull them back onto me, and drag the covers up over my body to hide myself. My fists ball at my sides as he sits up on the bed. I can't believe I just let him fuck me.

"Do you still want me to stay, or did this change things?" he cautiously asks.

"I don't know," I confess. My mind is split down the middle, a full internal struggle. One part is saying that I made a mistake by letting him have this piece of me, and the other part is begging to give him more.

"Let me just lay here with you for a bit, and if you start to feel like you don't want me around, you can kick me out. How's that sound?"

"I guess that would be fine. Like I said, though, my bed is a little small."

"That just means I get to snuggle up closer to you, wanderer."

"Why do you call me that? Wanderer?" I inquire.

"I watched you before we brought you here. You have an energy surrounding you. The best way to describe it is you aren't lost, but you also haven't found your place in the world yet. A wandering soul. It was one of the things that drew me to you. It's like you are looking for a place to belong, but nothing quite fits."

"You don't know anything about me," I hissed, irritated by how right he might actually be. I shove out of the bed and walk to the makeshift bathroom to clean the remnants of him off of me.

"I know enough," he spits back. "Where you work, your best friend, your fucking loser of an ex, who, by the way, waited an entire week before he started looking for you, the grocery store you shop at every week, the takeout order from the Chinese place in town that you love so much, chicken and beef with mushrooms and white rice. I thought it was weird at first, but Itried it and fucking loved it. It's my go-to order now." I wish I could keep the shock off my face as he continues. "Watching you and learning about you has become my favorite pastime. You consume all of my thoughts."

His words are like a knife to my heart. "He waited a week before looking for me?" Tears well up in my eyes.

"Yes, he doesn't deserve you, Callie. He never did. That man was always pretending around you every time we watched him. I don't know exactly what he's hiding, but something is there."

I really mattered that little to him that he waited an entire week before looking for me. Resentment sets in, and I'm almost grateful that I was taken from him. I would have most likely made my way back to him and accepted whatever line of bullshit he used to get me to fall back in line and get back together. If he really loved me, there’s no way he would have waited that long to try to find me. My anger at Kyler dissipates, and I make my way back over to the bed with him. He runs a hand along my cheek.

"There’s something I wanted to ask you, wanderer."

"At this point, you can ask me anything," I admit.

"How do you feel about moving to the house instead of staying here?"

"Would I have to stay in the basement or another cage?" My tone is a little more nervous than usual.

"No, but we don't have a room prepared for you, so you would be staying with me or my brother, Barrett. We would have to sit down together for you to meet him. He has been wanting totalk to you as well. You'll still be closely watched and won’t be permitted to leave the house without one of us accompanying you, but it will give you more free reign than you have in here. We have a pretty impressive home gym with punching bags if you ever want something to pound on besides me." My eyes instantly roll at his last remark.

"If you're giving me a choice, then I think I want to stay with you. I don't want to be here by myself anymore.”

He nods. "Tomorrow, I'll take you up to the house to meet my brother, and we can get you situated in my room. Now go to sleep." One arm wraps around my waist to pull me closer, while the other traces the tattoo on my wrist. It's a soothing gesture that I’m starting to love. I find myself snuggling in, and before I know it, my eyelids feel heavy, and sleep takes me under.

Chapter 15

Barrett

Today’s the day we move Callie to the house. The guys and I had lengthy discussions about this, and we all agreed it was time. Leaving her alone below the pool house any longer might mess with her head, and that's not our intention. She’s just a tool to get to our bigger goal: answers from Gabriel or her if she has them. Hurting her, at this point in time, won't solve anything; in fact, it would likely make matters worse.

Seb still believes the girl might know something, and for now, we play nice. I think that's a risky move, considering Kyler is already hooked on her. I see the allure and enjoy watching her from a distance, but allowing him to continue playing with her could complicate things further. If she doesn't know anything and we have to use her as bait for her father, I don't know how Ky would handle that. He would, of course, do anything for Seb and me, but he likes this girl, so it would hurt him in the process.

I’ll keep watching her through the feeds I have set up in the room we put her in. I admit she’s beautiful, and I’d love to see how she handles a little pain. Would she crave it like I do?

I've been scrolling through my camera feeds for the last hour, seeing what I can pick up on her friend, Avery. We entertainedthe possibility of taking her friend to convince Callie to be more willing to talk to us. That would be a worst-case scenario, of course. Getting more people involved would further complicate our situation. If we go that route, we’ll have to kill her friend, and we try our best not to kill innocents. She seems to be a regular civilian, but we don't need people like that knowing of our existence.

Avery isn't as easy to track as Callie was. Her movements are less predictable. She’s more of a go-with-the-flow kind of person, waking up at all different hours of the day and working completely different shifts at the restaurant. I plan to spend a few hours watching her over the next few days to see if I can pick up on some type of routine that we can count on if we need to take her. The only constant she had was the recurring meetup with Callie at Maria's each week. We took that option out of the equation, so I'll have to find another fixture to pinpoint.

I close out of those cameras and pull up the feeds from the cell. She's still sleeping. I understand why Kyler likes to watch her sleep. She seems so peaceful when she's unconscious. When she’s awake, I can see the darkness that she tries to hide from the world, and I know the others see it, too.

She's been too passive since we brought her here, caving to Kyler's wants and needs. We know how she grew up, and her manipulation tactics won't work on us. I'm sure she thinks she can use Ky to get the upper hand. He may seem like a lovestruck puppy when it comes to her, but he knows where his loyalties lie.Contrary to what she believes, some piece of ass will never come between the three of us.

Seb plans to keep as much distance from her as possible until we’re ready to sit down with her and talk about Maxton. He’s also the only one out of the three of us who talked to her before we took her, so there’s always the chance she might recognize him.