Let Me Go Read online

  He walked out of the room, his shoulders tensed, seething as his shoes pounded against the floor all the way to his room.

  He had to be stern with her, tough even, but why did seeing her frightened expression get to him? He saw her desperately trying to hold in the tears and he secretly commended her on that stubborn streak because it wouldn’t do her any good even if she did cry. She should be thanking him; this was her way of repenting for her sins. He had planned on assigning her all those extra tasks to ensure she wasn’t happy in this little situation anyway But something about the way it all happened gave him a bit of an uneasy feeling, like he was punishing her for speaking. She didn’t even really have any attitude when she spoke, she just said it as if it were the facts. She said it like she didn’t know what he was talking about, so therefore, she wasn’t his slave. Whether or not he believed her little charade didn’t matter, because she was still responsible. He wasn’t going to soften anytime soon.

  *****

  Kat scrubbed her palm against her eyes to keep the tears from coming. No crying, she reminded herself. Well, that went well. She was trying to be nice, but when he had stalked into her room, she was terrified. She reasoned that he wasn’t as horrible as he wanted her to believe, or he would have done unspeakable things to her by now. At the same time, though, she really didn’t have a clue who he was and whether he was just holding back. Maybe he really was capable of some pretty demented things. She shouldn’t push her luck too much just in case. She needed to find out what he thought she did to him and make him understand that it wasn’t her. Either that or figure out some way to escape, which seemed the highly unlikely choice of the two. Something about him brought out the feisty in her, like she almost couldn’t help it. She reminded herself she would need to shove that down to ensure she didn’t wake his beast if he had one. And now, thanks to that stupid moment of assertiveness, she had no choice but to go grab a toothbrush and pray that the night wouldn’t be too long.

  Chapter 9

  Kat had gotten about two hours of sleep after scrubbing every damn inch of the already sparkling kitchen with a freaking toothbrush. Even with it being so clean, she went through several toothbrushes. And now she was up and making him breakfast while another day from hell was starting. The minute she saw his face with a smug smile on it, she wanted to run to him and gouge his eyes out, but she reminded herself of the fury she had witnessed the day before and calmed herself. Kindness, kindness, kindness, she chanted to herself before plastering on a fake smile.

  “Good morning,” she said as she set his plate down.

  He looked at her, staring for a moment as if she had grown horns. She knew he wouldn’t expect her cheeriness after last night. Point for Kat.

  “If you want me to continue using a toothbrush, I’ll need more. I used three for the kitchen and that was because I had just cleaned it. I’ll need more for the bathroom.” She tried to sound as nonchalant as possible and he continued to look perplexed.

  “Uh…guy…mister. Oh, whoever you are. Are you listening?” And there went her snappy tone. He didn’t even say anything and he still elicited that reaction from her. Even in her frustrated state, she was smart enough to not outright ask for his name, not after his threats before.

  Mason seemed to snap out of whatever reverie he was experiencing. Maybe he finally realized his plan was backfiring, Kat thought to herself, but then his eyes narrowed. The dumbfounded look he was sporting at her apparent cheery disposition was slowly turning into a scowl. The only thing betraying his angry glare was the slight flicker of admiration in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

  “Mason,” he said, as if it was just another command.

  “Huh?” she responded.

  “You’re Kat. I’m Mason, but you can call me Master.” He spoke to her as if she were dumb and it was obvious to the world what he had said.

  Kat was taken aback by that, so much so that she opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. Point for Mr. Green Eyes, er, Mason? Or was that her reward for being nice? Maybe this kill him with kindness thing might actually work. Maybe it was just a slow process. First the name and then friendship and then he’d have to let her go, she told herself.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mason.” She finally found the words as she walked toward him and extended her hand. He just looked at it and grunted.

  “We’ve already met. First time was years ago, but you wouldn’t have called me Mason then. You would have addressed me properly. But no thanks to you, I’m not that man anymore.” He paused, but Kat had heard the tinge of regret and even sadness. She wasn’t the person responsible for whatever happened to him, but she couldn’t help the tiny part of her that actually felt sorry for him. For whatever reason, her traitorous good nature won out over her hatred of him. She wasn’t sure why, but deep down she sort of believed he might have actually been wronged. That maybe whatever someone did to him made him snap, and she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time and got stuck in the middle of it. Her empathy for him, however, didn’t prevent her from wanting to get the heck out, and she didn’t forget that. It certainly wasn’t going to keep her from trying to get under his skin and convincing him to let her go.

  “I’ll be gone again all day.” The rough edge to his voice was back. “And I expect you to be done with your usual tasks as well as at least one of the additional ones I assigned last night.

  Before he reached the door, she called out, “Have a good day,” but he simply continued walking and shut the door behind him.

  She knew that for a fraction of a second, he had let down his defenses. She wasn’t even sure if he knew it or realized it, but he did. If she could get him to let go of his hatred for just a little longer, she knew she could get to him. Besides, she specialized in helping people. She just had to figure out how.

  Before getting to work, she thought about his name. Mason. She kind of liked it. And to be honest, he looked like a Mason. It suited him. Too bad she hated him. Too bad he was a kidnapping asshole.

  *****

  Kat was just about to turn and put dinner on a plate when she saw the bag on the counter from the corner of her eye. She peeked at the contents quickly and, lo and behold, it was toothbrushes. She wasn’t sure if she should be happy or upset. On one hand, he had listened to her and gotten her what she asked for, but on the other hand, that meant she would be utilizing the damn toothbrushes for cleaning more often than she hoped. Her back was killing her, her knees hurt, and all this damn labor, every day, was taking a toll on her already.

  “Thank you,” she said and nodded in his direction. She knew it was no use asking if she would actually be using them. He’d tell her yes.

  She set the dinner plate down and stood up to go behind the counter and wait for instructions. The room was silent for a few minutes before Kat decided to take a chance.

  “Were you at work?”

  He didn’t respond.

  “What do you do?”

  He didn’t respond again. He just kept eating.

  “Look, I get you think you know everything there is to know about me. You think I’m some evil person that did something to you in a previous life, but I’m telling you that’s not me. I also know that no matter what I say, you are not going to believe me. If we are both going to be stuck in this damn situation, we can at least be civil to each other. We could try to get to know one another. I don’t know anything about you. Heck, I didn’t even know your name until today. I don’t know who you are or even the man you said you used to be. Somehow I doubt you used to be the kind of person who would mastermind this kind of scenario.”

  Mason stood up slowly, a menacing scowl on his face. “You are right. I wasn’t the type of man to do something like this before, but I also didn’t need to,” he said slowly through clenched teeth. “I had a wonderful life. I had prestige; I had power; I had money; I had a great job that I was good at and I loved; I had family and friends, and you can believe I was never at a loss
for female company. Then one day, you decide I am a character in your revenge scheme. All of a sudden, I am labeled a monster. I wind up in jail for five years of my life. And do you know what happens in prison? It’s not pretty, I can tell you that. And now, you conveniently don’t remember any of it when I am finally getting my revenge. And you want to pretend we are friends. And you want to get to know me now? Now, I am nothing. Now, I barely have any friends, I have crappy little jobs and this,” he said as he waved his hand around his place. “You took it all away and you want to get to know me now? You might have cleaned up and gotten your act together, but you broke down mine. We. Are. Not. Friends. We will never be, so get that through your head.”

  He stood, huffing, anger rolling off him.

  “I…I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything that happened to you. I’m sorry for whatever you had to go through. I’m sorry for you losing it all. I understand why you did all this. I really do, but I swear it wasn’t me. I swear to you, Mason, it wasn’t me. I’ll help you. God, I’ll help you find the person responsible for all this. We’ll do it together, but it wasn’t me. You have to let me go.” Kat felt the tears coming. She actually felt bad for this guy. It wasn’t just a moment like she had earlier. Whatever happened to him really messed him up. And she knew what he implied had happened to him in jail. She saw enough movies to know what happened. The words had just slipped out, but she actually meant what she said. If he let her go, she’d help him find the person responsible. She wasn’t sure she could actually help with any type of revenge, she just couldn’t see herself doing that, but she would help him find the real person. He just had to let her go. She squeezed her eyes shut to keep from crying. She wanted to, she wanted to let the tears flow for Mason and for herself, but the part that had been telling her not to cry won out. She simply stared at him, waiting for a reply. They stood like that for minutes, but neither of them said a word. Finally he simply walked away. Slow, deliberate steps that let her know this conversation was over and he didn’t believe her. He wasn’t going to let her go. He closed his door behind him and Kat knew she just lost that battle. Mason wasn’t going to let her in.

  *****

  He almost believed her. He almost thought she was telling the truth. The pain in her voice was real. The way she said she was sorry, he knew she meant it. And maybe she truly was sorry; maybe she really did regret everything she had done to him. People change; he did. But that didn’t matter now. He knew what he had been told. He knew what he had seen. Kat was definitely the druggie that told him he would pay, he couldn’t forget that. Kat was definitely the woman who accused him of rape, he saw that too. And Katherine “Kat” Gingham was the woman on file, facts didn’t lie. He actually had to remind himself of all these things as he stared at her stricken face. Something about her was getting to him. She was getting under his skin and making him forget for brief moments what all this was all about. He wondered about their future, for a moment, if only they didn’t share a sordid past. Then he remembered who she was and his anger flared back up. They did have a past and that had dictated his future.

  Chapter 10

  As exhausted as she was, Kat had a hard time falling asleep. She kept thinking about how she had almost gotten through to Mason. She also kept thinking about what she had learned about him and his past. She only had bits and pieces, but she was figuring some things out. He used to be some kind of powerful man with some title – he had hinted as much. Someone did something to him that caused him to end up in prison, where he lost everything. And as much as this truly was punishment, he hadn’t laid a finger on her, so she actually believed him. Now all she needed to figure out was what happened that sent him to jail. But, more importantly, the big mystery was how the hell she was connected. Or really, why he thought she was behind it all. For a moment before she finally drifted off to sleep, she wondered if she was responsible somehow and had forgotten. Was it possible that something horrible had happened and her subconscious chose to block it out? That wasn’t unheard of, but realistically, she couldn’t think of any missing pieces of her life. No, whoever did a number on Mason clearly framed her as well. She just didn’t understand who would do that to her and more importantly, why.

  When she finally fell asleep, she dreamed of the night Mason had taken her. She had thought it was a dream, a vague apparition of “the one” with the most amazing green eyes. But now she knew better. And even though she subconsciously knew what night she was reliving in her mind, she felt safe as he carried her away. She couldn’t remember much more of the dream, of the memory, but she figured that probably had to do with him drugging her. And when she woke up, it hadn’t felt like a nightmare. It had just felt like another dream. She really did feel bad for the guy underneath the harsh demeanor, and that was clearly leaking into her subconscious, but it didn’t mean she owed him anything. Nope, she was still going to get under his skin and get herself out.

  That day had progressed much like the others. She worked her ass off being the good little maid and still remained pleasant, but Mason didn’t say a word. Even at dinner, when she tried to ask him again what he did and how he was, he just ignored her. At least he didn’t lash out at her. But part of her wished he had. He locked himself in his room again that night and Kat felt hopeless for the first time in the few days she had been there.

  The following day, Kat set his breakfast down as usual. “Good morning.”

  He still didn’t speak to her, he didn’t respond. If he was going to be like this, she was going to have a hard time finding out more about him. She had to figure out a way to get him to open up.

  “What did I do?”

  He looked up at her sharply, but there was confusion in his eyes.

  “You say I got revenge on you and that I’m responsible for you being locked up. I know it wasn’t me, but let’s say it was and I can’t remember for some reason. What did I do?” Still, he didn’t say anything, but there was something in his eyes. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it seemed to be a mixture of confusion, fury and maybe even a bit of awe. So she continued. “Look, I already told you I had nothing to do with it, but you obviously don’t or won’t believe me. So let’s pretend it was me and I can’t remember. I am asking you to help me remember. Maybe that will fill in some missing pieces, at least for me.”

  “Oh, you’re good. You’re a piece of work, you know that. You tell me you aren’t responsible and you plead with your big hazel eyes. Quite the little actress. But you forget one thing. I was there. I know it was you. I saw you with my own eyes, even though you avoided me like a coward. And here you are, almost making me believe you. If I was anyone else, I would probably be questioning my own sanity. I was an upstanding member of society and they believed a druggie whore over me! You won the court over back then and you think you can win me over now?” He was seething, she could tell.

  “I’ve never done drugs in my life, unless you count me trying pot once in high school thanks to my foster brother!” She was seething too, but didn’t get a chance to say much more before Mason grabbed her arm and started to drag her. “What the hell?” she yelled as he tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her toward the bathroom.

  “You need to cool off,” he gritted through his teeth when they stood in front of the shower. Oh, hell, no, she thought to herself as she realized what he planned to do. Kat started squirming, trying to get away, but he just held tighter as he turned on the shower and then shoved her under the freezing cold spray, clothes and all. She flailed and shouted obscenities, trying desperately to escape his vice grip.

  “Clearly, I’m too nice to you sometimes. It makes you forget your place. The sooner you cool down that attitude, the sooner I turn off the water.” That finally got her attention. She hated him in that moment; she also feared him. He was as hot and as cold as the shower she was standing under. He could snap on a dime, but the softer side sometimes made her forget that she was a prisoner. The cold water sobered her thoughts and allowed her to study him.
He was breathing hard as if he had undergone some strenuous activity, but she knew it was from the anger. She needed to get her own emotions under control and convince him she wasn’t the person he was talking about.

  “I’m sorry,” she stated, even though she wasn’t sure she was really sorry. She just wanted out of the shower.

  “Good,” he answered sternly, but he loosened his grip of her. She turned off the water herself and then stumbled out, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself. He stared at her and she couldn’t read his expression. She took the opportunity to try to appeal to him.

  “I’m telling you, Mason,” she said, her tone softening. Saying his name got his attention. “That wasn’t me. Believe it or not, which I know you won’t, but that doesn’t change things. Look, I’m not even fighting you on being stuck here, well, kidnapped is more like it, but I’m doing everything you ask and I’m being nice about it too, but you have to give me something too. Pretend for just a minute that you believe me and this is all some big misunderstanding. Whoever put you in prison – what did they do?”

  “They didn’t do anything. It was you, and like with my name, you’ll either know when you remember or I decide to tell you. For now, you can live with your guilt, and I sincerely hope you are reformed enough to have it.” He turned to leave. “You might want to work on your acting skills just a bit more,” he sneered. “A little bit more and I might actually believe you don’t remember what you did to me.” With that, he left for the day.