Let Me Go (2 page)

“Oh, just a romance novel.”

“A romantic, huh?”

“I just love reading,” she responded, but
could feel her cheeks flush from just speaking with this guy.

“Do you like doing things other than
reading? Say maybe dinner and a movie?”

“Yes, sure, who doesn’t?”

He chuckled and she thought she was going to
faint at the sound of his soft voice.

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Nope.” She hesitated to answer him but she
did; she never really had one. She dated occasionally, had some fun
when she was drunk enough in college, but the thought that she
never had a serious relationship did depress her some.

“So, in that case, forgive me for being so
forthcoming, but I was asking if you would join me in having dinner
and seeing a movie?”

“Why would you want to…oh!” Wow, she was
definitely oblivious. The guy was asking her out. That handsome guy
was asking out plain Kat. Of course she wanted to go on a date with
Mr. Hunky. Who wouldn’t? “You are asking me on a date, aren’t
you?”

He chuckled again. “Yes. I saw you sitting
here and you were so engrossed in your book, but you would crinkle
your nose or arch your eyebrow every so often. It was quite
endearing and I wanted to learn more. I’m Seth by the way. And you
are?”

“Kaitlyn, but I go by Kat.”

“Well, Kat, will you join me?”

“Yes.” She nodded as she spoke.

“Great!” They made plans after he got her
number, and then he left.

They went on a date the following evening
and ended up dating for over two years. He was charming and caring
and loving and everything Kat needed in a guy. So, when he had a
job opportunity arise two counties away, she went with him. She
didn’t really have much to leave behind. Just some friends she
wasn’t all that close with, and an apartment that wasn’t really a
home. The only thing she was really leaving behind was the job she
loved, but she figured she’d just find a new one.

Too bad Seth wasn’t all he seemed cracked up
to be, and she found that out a little too late. Turned out he
liked Kat because she was docile. He wanted someone to control,
someone to be his personal secretary. But she didn’t see that until
it was too late, thanks to his charms. Even with that, she probably
would have stayed as long as he loved her. Her last straw was after
she discovered that he was cheating on her. And here she was, six
months later and still no job in a city she wasn’t familiar with.
She tried to go back to waitressing, even though she felt like that
would be putting her college education to waste. But apparently
times were tough for everyone and she was out of luck.

She was almost through her measly savings,
and although she had paid through the end of the month on her
apartment, that only left a week to figure things out. She was
smart, logical, and had worked hard all her life, so how in the
heck was she in this situation? She had no one around whom she
knew, loved, or even cared about. She had no job, no boyfriend, and
now she was a week away from not having a place to live. She would
trade it all to go back to those darn foster homes.

She was in one of those moods where one of
her favorite books wouldn’t even calm her. She flitted around her
apartment, trying to find something to do. She hoped that she would
finally find a waitress position in the next week and not be forced
to apply for government aid. She also contemplated finding a way to
make it back home and beg for her old job back.
Ugh!
She
couldn’t take much more. She swiped at her face, wiping the silent
tears tracing down her cheeks. Giving in to the turmoil inside her,
she set her head in her hands and sobbed, letting the feelings
escape through her tears. After what seemed like an eternity of
self-pity, she raised her head and looked around her small
apartment as if she sensed something.
No!
She was not going
to succumb to this; she would figure things out. She would fight
through this like she had fought through everything in her life.
She stood quickly on her still shaky legs, undermining her
new-found bravado. She inhaled deeply, letting the courage soak in.
Oh, who was she kidding?
She would probably fail miserably,
but at least she would do it trying.
God
! She needed a
drink. Nope, she needed a whole bottle to wallow in her misery and
chase away the sorrows. At least for tonight. Tomorrow, she would
get a job, any job, and fix all this. But, for now, time to get
wasted. She stomped toward her room with a wine bottle in hand and
plopped onto the bed. As she guzzled the two-buck chuck like it was
hard liquor, she found herself getting lightheaded. She really was
a lightweight. She tried to recall her favorite part of her
favorite book as her mind began to feel fuzzy. It had something to
do with the moment the main character realized she was falling in
love with her nemesis. He had shown her some kindness when she was
desperate and no one else was there for her. If only real life was
that romantic. She fell into a restless sleep, hoping her dreams
would take her away from her sour life.

Somewhere in her dreams, she saw the
beautiful face of a haunted man, with the most stunning green eyes
she had ever seen. She felt his strong arms encircle her and it
felt so real, but in the back of her mind, she convinced herself it
was just the alcohol. For a brief moment, she wondered if she was
dreaming of the one. She barely felt the small prick on her arm
before all went black and the man of her dreams faded.

Chapter 2

Kat could barely
contain the groan as she resisted the urge to open her eyes. Her
head was pounding, and her mouth felt like she had eaten sand. Even
with her eyes closed, the light in the room was enough for her to
wish she had never touched that bottle of wine. And she was
supposed to go out into the world today and find a job. That wasn’t
sounding too promising due to her new friend, Mr. Hangover. As her
eyes finally opened, the room seemed different than last night. But
then again, her vision was a little fuzzy right now. She tried to
sit up when she realized one of her hands was in an awkward
position and not budging. Her eyes shot above her head and quickly
focused to see one of her hands was handcuffed to the bedpost.
Before the inevitable panic had time to manifest, she heard a rich,
rumbling voice. “Welcome to your new home.”

Her eyes shot to her left. “You,” was all
she was able to make out as the panic was finally starting to
bubble to the surface. It was Mr. Green Eyes from her dreams. She
remembered them being the most riveting deep green pools, but now
all she saw was a cool, distant fury. She opened her mouth to
scream, but nothing came out as her hazy mind tried desperately to
process what was going on. The last thing she remembered was
falling asleep in bed after getting completely wasted. She didn’t
feel sore and all her clothes were still on. That hopefully meant
nothing sexual had occurred, thank God for that at least. But who
was this guy, what did he want with her, why was she here, and how
was she going to get away?

She realized that when she whispered, “you,”
staring into his eyes, they flickered for a moment, as if her
recognition of him meant something to him. She really didn’t know
him, only from what she thought were dreams but clearly weren’t.
She needed to find out what was going on. Her logical side was
arguing with the overwhelming fear building within her. She
reminded herself to keep calm and try to figure out what he wanted
with her. Maybe she could just answer some questions and he’d let
her go.
No harm, no foul.
She tried to ease her own mind,
although she knew that scenario was unlikely.

“Who-who are you? Wh-what do you want from
me?” she stuttered, even though she had tried to sound tough.

“I think you know who I am and you are about
to find out what payback feels like.”

In another time, she would have sworn his
voice had a calming effect. But right now, all she heard was a
bitter edge to his voice that only caused the hairs on her neck to
stand up higher. She couldn’t help but survey him while her mind
tried to process his words. He was tall and definitely built. She
could see muscles straining through his black t-shirt. His hair was
tousled and his lips were full.
But, oh, those eyes.
Yet
they seemed empty, void of empathy, and for obvious reasons, the
longer she stared the scarier they appeared.

“I don’t know you. I only saw you for the
first time in my dreams last night. Er, when I thought I was
dreaming. I don’t understand what you want from me. But I’m sure
this is all a misunderstanding. If you let me go, we can part ways
and then there won’t be any problems.” She tried to sound cool and
collected as she realized that this guy clearly thought she was
someone else. All they had to do was straighten things out and she
could be on her way. Definitely freaked out, but at least she would
be fine.

“No,” he stated simply.

“N-no?” she asked.

“You aren’t going anywhere.” Her instincts
were now telling her to run, but obviously, she wasn’t going
anywhere.

“I’m Kat, and you are?” she asked, hoping if
she got him to see her as a person and not just some part of his
“payback” plan, then maybe she could reason with him. But he didn’t
answer, his straight face not giving anything away.

“You have the wrong person.” She tried to
stay calm, but she could hear her own voice cracking. He seemed to
flinch at her words before handing her a bag.

“Put this on,” he stated. “I suggest you get
comfortable because you aren’t going anywhere.”

She peered in the bag and saw what looked
like a sleazy version of a French maid outfit.
What the heck was
going on?
The only plausible thing that ran through her mind
was that Seth had cheated on her with this guy’s wife and now he
was going to get revenge by sleeping with her. She wondered if he
knew that she and Seth were over. Seth wouldn’t care one lick about
who she slept with.
And besides, what was he planning on doing?
Raping her?
She hoped he wasn’t counting on her being a willing
participant in this revenge plot, especially dressed up in some
kinky outfit.

“Look, I know you think you are doing the
right thing here by getting revenge and all, but no one is going to
care if you and I sleep together. And besides, I don’t even know
your name, not to mention the fact that I’m not sure how I got
here. I’m tied up at the moment, so I’m definitely not just going
to go along with this plan of yours. Basically, it’s not going to
work. You might as well let me go.” She should have dumped Seth a
long time ago.

“No sex,” he said, cutting off her little
rant.

“I’m not following. If you don’t want sex,
then what the heck is this?” She pulled out the barely there
outfit. And the panic she had managed to push down while she ranted
at him was suddenly back. No sex meant she had no clue what was
going on. And that meant it probably didn’t involve Seth after all.
So whatever was happening was bound to be bad news.

He stood up, stalking closer to her, making
her sink back into the bed with nowhere to go. He towered over her,
sending chills down her spine, and not the good kind. “I spent five
years of my life rotting in a cell, had my license stripped from
me, my life taken from me, my body and mind far removed, and my
reputation destroyed. All because of your lies. Now, Kat,” he spat
her name with disdain, “it’s time for you to feel the humiliation
you bestowed upon me. You will feel my type of restitution for your
sins. And it starts now.” He reached toward her handcuffed hand and
Kat couldn’t help but turn away, even flinching as his hands
brushed hers. After he released the handcuffs, she brought her
hands to her chest, rubbing her wrist. She momentarily debated
whether she should lash out at him but knew the likelihood that
anything good would come from it was slim.
Maybe she should try
anyway.
Before she had her chance, he turned on his heel,
spinning away from her. She felt the rage billowing from him as he
stepped away. Fear gripped her while she still hadn’t registered
the brief explanation he gave her, and she felt her hands shaking.
He walked slowly and deliberately toward the door, and her mind was
still not processing what was going on. Before he reached the door,
he turned back. “You have two minutes to change into that outfit or
I will change you myself.”

“Wait! Because of me?” she finally cried
out, dumbfounded as his words started sinking in, but still not
able to lash out at him, frozen in her spot. “What do you mean
because of me? What did I do? I don’t even know you. I have never
met you before today, er, last night. You have the wrong person. I
don’t know what you want from me, but I’m not the right girl.”

His eyes burned with rage and she shrank
back. “Two minutes,” he gritted through his teeth and closed the
door behind him.

She ran to it, knowing it would be locked
but pounded on it anyways. “Please, you have the wrong girl. I
didn’t do anything to you, I promise. Please, just let me go,” she
repeated over and over, pounding with all her might, tears
streaming down her cheeks. It seemed like hours before she
collapsed against the door, knowing she was doomed. She stared at
the ridiculous outfit in her hands. She wanted to fight, find a way
out of here, but she was also terrified of the man. Whoever wronged
him had clearly done a number on him. She felt a faint hint of pity
for him before the anger and sadness took over.
What was she
going to do?
She had to escape somehow, but she needed to
figure out what was going on. She concentrated on recalling what
one of the heroines in her books would do. Depending on the book,
they’d probably be a deadly assassin and wouldn’t even be in this
darn mess to begin with. That clearly wasn’t an option. Well,
another would assess the situation and figure out the best course
of action. She figured that she was logical enough to do that. So
all she had to do was figure out where she was and get out when he
wasn’t looking. “I don’t have a choice,” she mumbled to herself,
trying to wipe the tears that were still trailing down her cheeks
and looking down at the clothes in her hands.