Beautiful Broken Promises(49)

“We were kept in this big room,” she began. “It had a lot of stuff for us in it, but we couldn’t leave the room—ever. In the room, there was this large bookshelf. It had the most random assortment of books. Like How to Master Chess, which, by the way, I will warn you now to never challenge your daughter in a game.” I chuckled at that tidbit, soaking in every last morsel of information like a thirsty man in the desert. I wanted it all.

My inner cop wanted to question her further; I still needed to know why they were taken. Why Raegan and Braden? Why my daughter? But I realized that getting Raegan to talk had to happen naturally or she clammed up.

Raegan continued, “There were some really nice cookbooks, but we were never able to cook. Food was just brought to us. There was also a Massage Techniques book. I liked that one… a lot.”

Something in her tone piqued my attention. “A lot?”

“It had pictures.”

I was still puzzled by her odd reaction to a massage therapy book with pictures, and then it hit me. A woman trapped, kept away from adult interaction, looking at a book that taught how to massage people.

“Rae, are you telling me that you liked looking at the bodies? Male bodies?” I asked in a rough voice.

“Yours is much better than any of those pictures.” The sound of desire and wanting in her voice could not be mistaken as her fingers began heating my skin.

The sound of the kids’ voices down the hall reminded me that pursuing anything physical with Raegan would be inappropriate at this very moment. But f*ck if I didn’t want to turn and see that yearning in her eyes. With a strangled groan, I scooted myself off the bed.

“Now I need a cold shower,” I grumbled and made my way toward the bathroom, not even looking back. I swore I heard her giggle as I retreated.

That girl was a temptress. I couldn’t tell if she was actually trying to lure me in or if she was always this candid. We had never spoken enough before now for me to know. Either way, I was going to f*cking need an ice cold shower.





- TEN -

RAEGAN –

I felt them hovering over my sleeping body and their hands scooping me up out of my slumber. I tried to make sense of my odd surroundings. What had happened to my warm sheets? Why were my feet dangling in the air? A pressure in my ribs became overwhelmingly painful.

A hand pushed into my mouth, while more hands quickly secured a piece of cloth around my eyes. The darkened bedroom was entirely masked and the feeling was suffocating. I distinctly felt a hand slide tightly around my stomach and I jolted, finally realizing that I wasn’t in my bed anymore. This wasn’t right.

I sucked in a lungful of air so I could let it go in an ear-splitting scream, but then I felt a soft touch brush down the side of my face.

“Rae,” I heard a deep voice whisper. “Rae, you’re having a nightmare.”

I jerked away, but then a warm body slid in behind mine and I recognized that my body was still safely in bed. I wasn’t being taken. They weren’t back for us. It was just a dream. I had to repeat all of these phrases over and over until my brain believed them to be true.

Lane’s body wrapped around me from behind, every inch of my back molded to his front. Our legs entwined, allowing us to be as close as possible. His hand threaded through my hair and my rapid heartbeats began to slow down.

“Sleep, Rae, I’m right here. I’ll never let anyone hurt you again. Sleep baby, I’ve got you now,” he whispered.

A protest was on my lips. I couldn’t help but think about the children lying next to us, but his warm, comforting arms squelched any thoughts of leaving. So I slept, knowing my body was safe. It was my heart I was beginning to worry about.

~~~~~~~

We had been in the New York apartment for two weeks and we still hadn’t spoken about where we were going from here. Or even if we would go together. I knew that neither Lane nor I wanted to stay in this apartment, but it was convenient. And I didn’t think that either of us wanted to face the real world just yet.

A week into our stay, Lane finally started working again. He logged in remotely from the computer and made phone calls a couple of hours a day. He informed me that his boss, Jace, would be okay with him taking off as much time as he needed, but he hated the idea of not doing his part.

Apparently, Jace had really helped him out and they seemed to have a mutual respect for each other. I assumed Lane valued Jace for being a good husband to his friend, Audrey. I couldn’t explain my jealousy over a girl I had never met, but it made me feel a smidge better to hear that she was married. Quite happily married, at that. I had to admit though that I still wondered about Lane and Audrey, because they spoke on the phone more than any “friends” I had ever been around.