“Oh, Katie, Katie, Katie, you know how to make me so happy.”

Randall inhaled as he watched her sag against the chair she was strapped to.

“Fuck you, Randall.”

She spat at him as he came close to see her wounds. She realized he would probably retaliate, but at this point, she didn’t much care. It wasn’t that she was giving up; it was just that after so much pain, her body had just become numb to it.

“Oh, baby, in due time. Right now, though, I need to break you before we go on our way.” Looking at his watch, his expression became grim as his mouth shifted back and forth, considering his options. “We don’t have that much time left, so we may need to go to plan B sooner than I expected.”

“Whatever your plan may be, I won’t give in, and I won’t break.”

“So brave, so strong. That’s the girl I know and love.”

“Love? You know nothing about love, you sick bastard.”

Trying to free herself from the bindings holding her to the chair, Katie bounced with all her might to get the chair to break.

“Ha-ha. Nice try, sweetheart.”

“Stop calling me that. I stopped being your anything the first time you smacked me.”

“Oh, yes, that was so amazing, wasn’t it? The look on your face when I hit you.” Sucking in air between his teeth, fondly remembering the moment, Randall ran his hand down her swollen face as she tried to suppress the urge to cry out in pain. “I will never forget that for as long as I live.”

She pulled away from his touch, trying to move her head, but the pain held her in place.

“Struggle as much as you like, you’ll never get away from me again.”

“Why now? Why did you come after me now?”

Trying to stall for time so she could figure a way out, Katie decided now was the perfect time to get him to ‘fess up to everything he had been planning.

“When you left me, without warning, I may add…”

“It’s not like you would have given me the chance to leave if I had warned you, asshole.”

“Ah, baby, you and your pet names. Anyway, after you left, I was so pissed off I could barely contain my anger. Thankfully, I had plenty of women to take it out on. They thought I was such a catch! I had anyone I wanted, and then some. It was fantastic to not have to deal with the constant whining. You have no idea how great it felt to let go of all that rage.”

Well, that explained a few years at least, since he had found some woman to fill in for her.

“But it wasn’t enough. It just wasn’t the same. It only took a few months to realize that all those women weren’t you. Luckily, I’d always had tabs on you, so finding you wasn’t a problem. For a while there, I just watched and enjoyed seeing your pain whenever you thought you saw me. It was fun to mess with your head. Poor little Katie, so many demons from her past causing her to have setbacks all the time. I gotta say, I don’t see why this putz likes you so much, especially with all the annoying triggers you have now, but hey! You’ve picked up some tricks from me that I’m sure he appreciates.”

Backhanding her so hard she nearly blacked out, Katie felt his hand long after the slap ended. She decided the smart thing to do was to pretend she was out cold, but Randall pulled her hair and lifted her head to see her face better.

“Ah, go ahead, bitch. Pretend you can’t hear me. I’ve got some calls to make anyway.”

Stepping away from her and crossing the large room to the other side, he exited the building as he shut the door behind him.

She lifted her head, blinking several times to try and clear away some of the blood so she could see. She scanned the room, looking for a way out. Not knowing how long he would take before he came back to work on plan B, Katie tried to wiggle her hand out of the restraints.

“Katie.”

A voice coming from an open window echoed throughout the room.

“Shush. He’ll hear you.”

“Thank God, honey! Are you okay?”

Was that Zack? She was at the point of hallucinating, or worse Randall was messing with her, and this was somehow part of plan B.

“Katie, can you free yourself?”

Oh no! What should she do?

If it was Randall, she was about to tell him that she was almost able to free one hand. Then he’d come in and make her regret it. Then again, if it was Zack and she was rescued, he’d definitely want to know.

When the door suddenly opened from behind her, she realized too late that it was indeed Zack who had been trying to get her attention from the window.

Without saying another word, Randall crossed the room to stand directly in front of her, blocking her view of the window where she’d heard Zack’s voice coming from. Eyeing her and the area around her, he pulled at the chair, using the arms to position her better. For what, she had no idea.

“There, that’s better. Now, where was I?”

Rubbing his chin with his forefinger and thumb, Randall smirked at her discomfort, obviously enjoying her pain, and making it as evident as possible.

“Ah yes…”

This time he smacked her on the other side of her face.

She hissed out in pain as his smile grew into a satisfying grin.

“I’ll never break, Randall, so you might as well kill me now.”

She hoped the voice she’d heard wasn’t an illusion, and that Zack, along with the cavalry, were actually here to save her from this monster.

“Oh, please. I have no desire to kill you. I plan on making you live through all the things I have in store for you.”

“Continue on with your story, Randall. You were messing with my head, making me have flashbacks all these years.”

“Oh, yes, that was so much fun. The best part was that isolated encounter I had with your boyfriend.”

“Why? Why didn’t you just find someone else to torment, and leave me alone?”

“Why? Why! I’ll tell you why! You, my dear Katie, had the strongest will I’ve ever seen. No one else compared to your determination to resist me.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“You see? Even now that I have beat you, rather well, I might say, you are still determined to go against me.”

You’re damn right, she thought as he circled her, increasing the intensity of his presence by stalling between blows.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zack appear in the window. He was probably getting an idea of the situation and where best to enter the room without Randall finding out until it was too late.

“Oh, Katie, it will be so sweet to have you break for me. We need to get you out of this chair so we can move onto plan B.”

Oh, no! Zack needed to act now if she had any chance left to survive this. With her ribs most certainly broken and a lung that seemed to be wheezing more than breathing, Katie tried to keep her eyes on Randall so he didn’t see beyond her to the rescue party outside the front doors.

“When I sink my cock into you, you’ll know who owns you, and it won’t be that prick boyfriend of yours. You freakin’ slut! How could you be with that weak bastard instead of coming back to me?”

“What are you talking about? I won’t go back to you, ever! Get that through your thick head right now. You are a sick bastard who just wanted to hurt me. You don’t love, you cause pain. I am glad to be rid of you and be with Zack! I love him and he loves me, like nothing I have ever witnessed. I never knew a love like that existed until he showed me, and he continues to show me every single day.”

“We’ll see how he feels after I destroy you, body and soul.”

Just as she’d suspected—he intended to inflict a lot more on her than the pain he had already caused. Thank God Zack was outside; otherwise, she wouldn’t have had the nerve to keep going.

Removing her restraints so he could pull her from the chair, Randall grabbed Katie’s arm, dragging her away toward the back room. Her one eye was so swollen closed she could barely open it, and her other eye was covered in blood from the wound on her head, but she was so desperate to be free that she wiped her head across the sleeve of her shirt and blinked several times to try and clear her vision. Seeing the exact moment she could remove his grip on her arm gave her the courage she needed to not fall into a heap on the floor.

 

***

 

Zack saw her from the window, and by God, she was a sight, even in this condition. Her hair was practically red as the blood smeared into the strands. Even from this distance he could see her face swollen to almost double its normal size. How she was conscious, he had no idea. The pain must have been surreal. It took every ounce of his restraint to not run in there and kill the man when he hit her again. She’d seen him, he knew, because she was stalling the best she could as his team got into position, surrounding the building and immediate area.

Randall kept pulling Katie, and if Zack was going to get her out, now was the time. Screaming for Zack at the top of her lungs, Randall didn’t see it coming when the windows smashed as the security personnel made their way inside. Zack rushed through the door, anxious to get to Katie and away from that monster.

Katie pushed at Randall, trying to break free, but his grip just tightened.

“Get off me! Get off me!”

She kept saying it over and over as he continued to drag her toward the rear door that led to the boat launch.

“Time to go!” was all he said as he kept on with his relentless pull.

“No! Zack!”

Zack ran with everything he had to reach her, knowing that if they reached the boat, she would be lost to him forever. There was no way he could let that happen.

Randall turned just as Zack caught up to them. Pulling on his shirt, Zack was able to get a better hold of the man as he fell back, causing him to release Katie’s arm in the process.

Just as she turned to run in the opposite direction, Justin was there to pick her up instead. Not knowing the extent of her injuries, he was sure that after several hours alone with Randall, they would be more severe than he could imagine.

As she and Justin met Matt outside, police officers made their way in to detain Randall. Zack came out through the door the police entered. He looked so relieved to see her that he nearly collapsed on the spot, at her feet.

“You okay, Katie?”

Ignoring Zack, Matt touched Katie’s cheek so she could feel him next to her.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

His brave survivor was stronger than any monster she came across.

“Katie, I…”

What? Was he sorry he’d poked Randall, provoking him to take her hostage?

“We’ll talk later, Zack. Right now, I’d like to go to the hospital, if you don’t mind.”

With that, she was gone.

Justin knew she’d be in pretty bad condition when they found her, so he had an ambulance waiting just outside when they rescued her. Her coolness toward Zack nearly broke his heart when the man looked so forlorn watching them leave.

“Okay.”

It was all Zack said as he debated whether or not he should even meet her there. He was certain she’d hate him now for all she’d gone through, but he knew he couldn’t stay away from her, even if he tried. And he had no intentions of trying.

 

***

 

Katie carefully sipped on some water.

“So, what happened to Randall?”

Justin had thought it best she stay in the hospital until her injuries healed a bit more. Zack had stayed by her side not saying a word the entire time, which was so unlike him it made her very nervous and fidgety.

“The police charged him with kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, and battery. He should go away for a very long time,” Matt said as he made his way into the room, surprising her.

Annie sat next to Zack, vigilantly looking over her daughter. It seemed that the ordeal had stolen her mother’s words, as well, and it was starting to get on her nerves something fierce.

Thinking how much they must all hate her for not following the plan and getting herself captured by a monster, Katie tried for days to keep her head down, but the silence was deafening. She couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m sorry, okay?”

All four faces met hers as tears spilled down her cheek. Seeing their stunned expressions, she continued. “I didn’t think he’d be able get to me with everyone watching. I thought I could take a few minutes to myself before I came up, but he grabbed me from behind with the cloth that had that drug thing on it that makes a person pass out right away.”

“Chloroform,” Justin said.

“Yes, that stuff. I didn’t mean for him to take me. I know we had a plan, and I just messed everything up.”

Zack just watched as each of her family members tried to comfort her, but he was so pissed at himself that he couldn’t let her take the blame for his actions.

“Could we have the room, please?”

Crap, he was going to have to tell her how much she should hate him. He didn’t want to live without her, but letting her go was obviously for the best.

Everyone left the room, just looking back at him without saying anything.

“Zack, I…”

He just sat on the bed next to her and placed his finger over her lips.

“Shush. Katie, this is all my fault. I know you probably hate me for it, but I wish I could have done things differently so you wouldn’t have been taken and hurt so badly.”

She watched as the pain flashed in his eyes.

“I’ll move the boxes back to your place and unpack them for you so you can be home when you get out of here.”

Understanding hit her like a ton of bricks as she realized that he didn’t hate her. He hated himself.

“You don’t want to be together anymore?”

He hung his head, but didn’t say a word. He just held onto her hand as his tears began to fall.

“How? If you hate me because I put you in here, how could we possibly get past that? It’s all my fault that he grabbed you. If I hadn’t…”

He wasn’t sure what to be sorry for, there were so many things he now realized that had put her in harm’s way, and Randall’s path.

“Zack, look at me.”

But he couldn’t bear to see her hate him when he loved her so much.

“Please, Zack, look at me.”

She put her finger under his chin to lift his head, so he could see her before she continued.

When he met her gaze, he didn’t see hate. What he saw instead made his insides tingle.

“I don’t want to go back to the condo. I want to be with you. I love you, and I thought we were supposed to get through this together.”

A tear spilled from the corner of her eye as his continued to fall. Having put her in harm’s way, nearly losing her, and blaming himself for everything had taken a huge toll on his mental well-being.

“You don’t want to leave me?”

“Leave you?” She huffed out her exasperation. “No, I can’t do that. I love you too much. Besides, this isn’t your fault.”

“Oh, but baby, you’re wrong. It’s all my fault.”

Shifting to get a better look at him, she tried to turn her body toward him, but the pain made it nearly impossible.

“See? This is what I’m talking about! You need to rest, not worry about me.”

Livid with himself for letting her move enough to cause herself pain, Zack got up to help her turn a little on the bed.

“Zack, you didn’t do this to me that monster did.”

“Yes, but I put you in his path.”

“No, I put myself in his path years ago. He just didn’t want to let me go.”

“I met him months ago.”

“Which he planned.”

“What?”

Shocked, Zack fell back into the seat next to the bed.

“He planned that. He told me at the marina. It appears he’s known where I was this whole time, and has been messing with my head to punish me. You did nothing wrong. You could never hurt me or put me in the path of a lunatic who nearly killed me.”

“But the plan…”

“Fell apart because of my stupidity. The plan itself was perfect. If I hadn’t taken more time outside than I needed, I wouldn’t have been taken, and we could have saved ourselves all this suffering.”

“Oh, God, Katie, when I realized you were gone, I lost it.”

“I figured you would, and that kept me going. It actually gave me the strength to get back to you.”

“Really? You were more worried about me, when he was…”

He couldn’t say it; it was enough that he would have to live with his mistakes as he watched her heal from them. Even though she didn’t see him as the one that had allowed this to happen, he still did. Her faith in him was something he would spend the rest of his life earning, if she’d let him.

“Zack?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Take me home—to our home. Please?”

“Of course, baby.”

With that, he left the room to get her released into his care.

 

***

 

After some doing, Zack finally got Katie released. He’d insisted on carrying her out instead of using the wheelchair to take her to the car. She’d just held on for dear life while breathing him in. God, how she’d missed his smell. Pure Zack scent clung to her all the way back to his place, and she loved it.

She couldn’t hide the pain the bumps caused, but she didn’t say anything. He probably knew, though, because with every bump he’d just apologize over and over before slowing down. It took them nearly an hour and a half to get back to his house. It should have been about a twenty-minute ride, but he insisted they take it slow, even as cars honked and people passed by, flicking them off. He didn’t care one bit. All he cared about was getting her home. To their home.

“Zack?”

“Yeah, baby? You need some water? Bathroom? What can I do?”

Shaking her head, she couldn’t believe how caring he was. As soon as they stepped through the door, he declared that her feet weren’t allowed to hit the floor, he simply carried her everywhere she wanted to go, as well as the places he needed to go. Not letting her out of his sight should have irritated the hell out of her, but he made sure he didn’t smother her by keeping some distance when he sat her down somewhere. When he needed to place calls in the office, he brought her there to be in the same room with him, saying he wanted to keep an eye on her, but she knew otherwise. Since the attack, he just couldn’t let her out of his sight. The first few days she thought it was his way of reassuring her she was safe, but now she realized that he’d also just enjoyed being with her.

“I’m going to get up for a walk outside.”

“I don’t think you should. If you want to go outside, I’ll take you.”

Making his way to her side, he prepared to pick her up, but Katie pushed his hands away.

“Zack, I need to get up. You’ve been carrying me for over a week. I feel better, and the doctor said I should move around now and then when I feel up to it.”

“Well, I don’t think you’re up to it. You’re pushing it, and it will set you back in recovering.”

Ignoring his assessment, Katie turned to put her feet on solid ground. She started to get up, but searing pain had her grabbing for the bedside table.

“See? You’re not ready yet! Let me take you.”

Smacking at his hands again, she pushed him away.

“No, I need to do this. Help me if you want, but I’m going to go outside—by myself.”

Dumbfounded, he set out his arm for her to grab ahold of as she moved across the room, slowly making her way toward the back of the house.

“At this rate, I’ll probably get there by Christmas.”

“Take your time. We are in no hurry.”

He was so supportive it had made her cry the first week back home.

“Wait.”

They stopped so she could catch her breath. Remembering a time when things like this little walk were nothing, anger began to take root in her heart.

“I don’t think I can do this!” she burst out so suddenly that he stepped back.

Gathering himself, he refused to pick her up. She needed to do this, he could see that now.

“You are doing this. We’ll do it together.”

He helped her along the way as she clung to his arm. Slowly they kept walking, taking a few breaks every dozen or so steps along the way until they reached the back patio, where he picked her up and placed her on the lounge chair.

“See? You did it.”

“Yeah, I suppose we did.”

She grinned up at him, but then he suddenly went down on one knee. It was so sudden she thought he might have collapsed—until she realized he had a box in his hand.

“Katie, when we met, I knew we’d be together forever. I just felt it. You kept me in the friend zone for more years than I cared to be there, but we learned a great deal about each other in that time. When you tripped over the boxes and cut your arm, that was the best day of my life, because I saw a way to be with you and get out of the friend zone.”

“Great, my pain brought us together.”

“Hush now, let me continue.”

He winked at her and she giggled.

“When you were taken, my world collapsed. I couldn’t sleep, I could barely breathe, and I thought I couldn’t live without you. I knew you were the one from the moment we met, and I was convinced you were when I thought I’d lost you.”

“I’m not sure this is the most romantic of proposals.”

She laughed as he opened the box to reveal the most beautiful pink diamond she’d ever seen.

“It may not be the most romantic proposal, but it is definitely our story. We’ve gotten through every hurdle put in our way-—together. Now I want to make our together permanent. Katelyn, will you marry me?”

Her hands started shaking before she got the words out.

“Yes!”

He slipped the ring onto her finger with a sigh and felt his world right itself once more.

 

Continue the series with Innocent Encounter.

Keep reading for more information.