Locked Together (In Chains) (22 page)

“Imagine you hadn’t known Simon, wouldn’t you be a little nervous about meeting him for the first time,” I ask Nathan.

“Yes, I guess I would,” Nathan reaches across the table for my hand, “but it’ll be fine Savvy, don’t worry.”

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

Kayden

Ugh, I lift my head up off the floor and look around. I’m alone in their van. They must have started work; I dunno what time it is. My head hurts and there’s a nasty taste in my mouth. I drag myself up and take a swig of water, swilling it around my mouth and then I catch sight of myself in the mirror, I’ve got a black eye, how the hell did I get that? I rub my hands over my face, it’s bristly, I need a shave. I’m drained and I can’t remember much about last night. I find Clay’s razor and make myself look decent. I need to go see Savannah.

As I head to her brother’s house I go over what I’m gonna say. My stomach is fizzing and my hands are sweaty, I wipe them on my pants. I take a deep breath and ring the doorbell. I look down at my feet, shit, they’re filthy, I wish I hadn’t left my sneakers in the road, why didn’t I pick them up, idiot. I hear the door open and my head snaps up. I stare at Savannah, I know what I wanna say but all I can do is stare. I want so badly to hold her, to tell her how much I love her.

“Kayden.”

She looks white and her mouth is hanging open, I have to say something. “Savannah, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean what I said to you, I love you.” Now she’s staring at me. “I wanted to come talk to you yesterday but-”

“You were here yesterday and you didn’t even bother to tell me.” She frowns at me and I wanna kiss her frown lines away. “Exactly how long have you been here Kayden?”

She’s mad at me, I don’t blame her, I swallow. “Just yesterday, I was gonna speak to you, but you were with…him.”

She folds her arms across her chest. “So why did you send me away Kayden and where have you been for the last three months?”

I reach out to touch her but she backs away from me. There’s a burning pain in my chest, I squeeze my eyes shut for a second, then I take a breath and look into her eyes. I can’t tell what she’s thinking. “I did it to protect you, I thought they were tracking my chip and I thought you’d stand a better chance of getting away if you weren’t with me. When I found out they weren’t tracking it, I tried to find you, I ran up and down that street, but you’d already gone.”

“What happened to your eye?” She asks.

“Is everything okay, Savvy?” He’s come to the door and he’s standing beside her, I glare at his arm that’s around her shoulders and clench my fists, he needs to get his fucking hands off my baby.

“I’m fine, Nathan,” she says.

I laugh. “Her name’s Savannah, not Savvy,” I say as I glare at him. She wraps her arm around his waist and my throat feels like it’s swollen, it’s hard to swallow.

“You knew where I was, Kayden,” she says.

I reach out and brush my fingers along her cheek. She lets me. “Yeah, but-”

He shoves me away and stands in front of her, pushing her behind him. “Who does this slave belong to and why are you letting him talk to you and touch you, Savvy?”

“He’s my slave, I own him,” she says. No one owns me right now, but it makes me feel good to hear her say that.

“He needs to learn his place. Come on, Savvy, this conversation is over.”

He tries to push the door closed but I press my hand against it to keep it open and step closer so that we’re face to face, I glare at him. “This has fuck all to do with you, Natty. And my place is with my girl, so you’d better back the fuck up.” I look over his shoulder at Savannah. She looks scared, I didn’t wanna scare her. “Can I talk to you on your own for a minute, please baby?” I ask her.

“Nathan, get away from the door,” her brother opens the door wide. “Savannah, Nathan, go into the kitchen,” he says. He stares at me. “I don’t know where you appeared from, or where you’ve been, but now is not the time to discuss this. Savannah’s busy. If you intend living here on my land, make yourself useful, there’s work that needs doing in the fields,” he says.

“Yes sir, I will, I just wanna explain-”

“I said she’s busy.”

He slams the door closed in my face and I stand there, staring at the door. I’ve gotta explain things to her, I’ve gotta make her understand. I bang my fist against the door and yell; I hope she can hear me. “Baby, I didn’t know where I was, I didn’t know how to find the farm, I didn’t even know the name of this town. I was gonna ask Bailey, she woulda known, but when I got back from trying to find you, they’d gone. I was on my own and I didn’t know where I was. I’ve been looking for you this whole time, I’ve been trying to find the farm and I only found it yesterday.” I stop to get my breath; I rest my forehead against the door and close my eyes. “I was so happy when I found it, so excited, I couldn’t wait to see you, to hold you and tell you how much I love you. Because I do love you, Savannah, I love you.” I wipe the tears from my eyes. “I’ve got something for you baby.” I get the pieces of paper out of my pocket and push them through the letter flap. “Please forgive me, Savannah.” I wait for a while but the door don’t open and I dunno if she’s even picked up the papers. I hang my head and walk over to the field, I’ve really screwed up this time, but I won’t give up, not yet.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Savannah

Kayden is banging on the door and shouting and then he pushes something through the letter flap, it looks like a small roll of paper but I don’t want to go near the door to pick it up, in case he’s still there. I’m so torn. I didn’t have a problem talking to him and I wanted to hear what he had to say, this all got out of hand. Has he really been trying to find me all this time? I jump as I feel a hand on my shoulder. “Come into the kitchen, Savannah, I’ve made us all coffee,” Simon says.

Nathan is leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping from a mug. He’s a good man, this past month has been fun, and easy, none of the drama that I have with Kayden. Last night he told me he loves me. They’re both good men. He puts down his mug and holds out his arms to me. “What was all that about, Savvy?” He asks.

I sigh, I owe him an explanation. “We were dating, before I met you. He’s the guy that gave me the panda.” I feel Nathan’s body stiffen. “He disappeared three months ago and this is the first time I’ve seen him since then. He was trying to explain to me why he disappeared, that was all.”

Nathan pulls back and looks down at me. “Let me get this straight, you had a relationship with a slave?” His face is contorted, he looks disgusted. “Did you have sex with him?” He asks. I hear Simon sigh.

“Yes, I did.” There’s no point lying, I’d rather be honest.

He takes his arms away from me and picks up his mug, holding it in front of him. “Who knows what diseases you picked up,” he says.

I stare at him, my mouth open. “Ask Simon, he owned Kayden and he’ll tell you that Kayden was regularly tested for disease. In fact, I’ve probably got more chance of catching something from you,” I tell him. I pick up my mug and take a sip of coffee; I can’t even look at Nathan right now.

I feel his arms move around me. “I’m sorry, Savvy; I don’t know what came over me.” I turn around to face him, he looks across at Simon. “I apologise for insulting your sister, it was uncalled for.”

“It was,” Simon replies, “but I think we’re all a little heated at the moment.”

“You’re a good person, Savvy, why would you lower yourself like that?” Nathan says.

I frown at him. “I never lowered myself; he’s a person just like you.”

Nathan’s mouth twists. “He’s nothing like me, he’s a slave. Do you still have feelings for him?”

Simon sighs. “I don’t think this conversation is going to get us anywhere. I think it would be a good idea if you two removed yourselves from this situation.” He puts down his mug. “I’ve booked a round of golf today. Nathan, I’ll call your brother, he can meet us there and bring your clubs.” Nathan nods his head. “You don’t have to play golf, you can have something to eat and drink at the club and meet Nathan’s brother and his girlfriend,” Simon says to me.

I stare down at my feet. “I’m not in the mood for socialising.”

“We don’t have to leave right now, see how you feel later,” Simon says.

We move into the lounge and I curl up on the end of the sofa. Simon switches on the TV; they’re showing an episode of an old western series. Nathan sits down next to me, his arm snakes around my shoulders. “Can we start over, Savvy and forget this ever happened? I don’t want it to come between us, I love you.”

I have enjoyed being with him, I rest my head on his shoulder. “Yes, let’s forget about this.” I do need to talk to Kayden, but it’s better if I do that when Nathan isn’t around. “Let’s go to the club now,” I say.

I’ve never been to Simon’s golf club. I’ve put on some make-up and put my hair up. I’m waiting at the door for Simon and Nathan. I glance down and see the roll of papers that Kayden put through the door earlier, I pick them up. I’m about to look at them when I hear the guys coming, so I shove the papers into my handbag.

The people here look wealthy, I feel out of place. “Nate, is this the beautiful woman you’ve been telling me about?” The man is an older version of Nathan, he must be his brother. He has the same blond hair and piercing blue eyes, but his hair is styled shorter and less messy. He holds out his hand. “My name’s Sam, pleased to meet you.” He smiles warmly and gestures to the woman standing beside him, she’s slim and petite and has short, spiky hair, she looks like an elf. “This is my better half, Suze.” Suze hugs me briefly and kisses me on both cheeks. I smile to myself, Nathan’s family sure love to shorten people’s names. “It’s about time your old fart of a brother brought you here, he’s been hiding you away,” Sam says.

“She’s always been welcome, but it’s not really her scene,” Simon replies.

I excuse myself to go to the ladies room. I lock the toilet door and delve into my handbag for the papers. They’re tied together with cloth, cloth from Kayden’s scrubs. I untie the bundle and hold the cloth to my cheek; Kayden’s scent is still on it. I look at the papers, they’re cheques. I frown as I flip through them, there has to be a couple of hundred pounds here, how did Kayden get these? They’re all made out to me. I put them back into my handbag and open the toilet door.

Nathan is waiting for me; he pulls me into his arms. “Am I forgiven for earlier?” He asks as he gazes at me, his blue eyes look sad.

I put my arms around his neck. “Yes, you only reacted that way because he’s a slave. I can’t hold it against you for having the same opinion as most of the population. I’m the abnormal one here.” I smile up at him.

He pecks me on the lips. “That, and I was jealous. I didn’t like the way he was looking at you and touching you. I’m a mere man, we suffer from jealousy.”

I laugh and plant kisses on his neck. “Believe it or not, women get jealous too.”

The others are now sitting at a table, so we go over to join them. Simon and Sam are discussing golf. “Do you play golf?” I ask Suze.

“Yes, Sam and I usually play a round together, do you?” She asks.

I shake my head. “No, I’ve played pitch and putt, I enjoy that.”

Suze laughs. “Actually it’s not so different; golf is just played over a longer distance.”

“Would you like to play a round?” Sam asks.

“Erm…I don’t think I’ll be any good. You can play, I’ll watch.”

“Nonsense,” Sam says, “you’ll pick it up.”

They seem like nice people, I needn’t have worried about meeting them.

We’re standing at the first hole. Everyone else has their own clubs; Simon hired a set for me. “Nathan pulls out one of my clubs. “This is a driver, you use this to tee off,” he says. I watch everyone else tee off, I make mental notes on how they stand and swing. Now it’s my turn. Nathan puts my ball on the tee and then he stands behind me and adjusts my body so I’m standing correctly. He shows me how to line my club up with the ball. Everyone is watching me, my hands are sweating, I don’t want to make a fool of myself. Nathan stands back. “Now, swing the club and hit the ball as hard as you can, Savvy,” he says.

I bring the club back, and swing. I look off in the distance to see how far my ball has gone, but I can’t see it. “How far did it go?” I ask.

Sam laughs, clutching his stomach. He points to the ground near my feet. “It’s right there, you missed sweetheart.” I see Suze elbow him in the ribs, he stops laughing and she mutters something to him.

“Have another try, no one gets it right first time,” Simon says.

Nathan once again helps me get my position right. His hands remain on my body; he dips his head and kisses my neck. “You can do it, Savvy,” he says.

I take a deep breath, and swing. This time I don’t look off into the distance, I look down at my feet to see if the ball is still there. It’s not, it’s gone, I hit it. I smile. “Where did it go?”

“It’s there,” Nathan says and points to a spot a few yards away. Ah well, at least I hit it, I’m happy with that.

“Good try Savannah,” Simon says, “as you’ve never played before, we’ll bend the rules. We’ll call that a one stroke penalty. Pick up your ball and we’ll go to the hole.” I run over to my ball. Nathan is already waiting for me in the golf cart and we drive up to the green. “Put your ball down at the edge of the green, Savannah,” Simon says.