Chapter 8
Kathryn
I was proud of how much I accomplished during the afternoon at work, especially considering the day I’d had so far. But it seemed like running into Samantha and hopefully knocking her ego down a couple of notches invigorated me as much as the food had.
I got hungry and made a quick trip to the cafeteria, but after that I didn’t take a single break until there was a knock on my open door. Merrill, one of my coworkers, smiled at me as I looked up, a bit bleary eyed from staring at the computer. “Hey, Kathryn, we’re headed out for happy hour. Care to join us? Or does this patient advocate project have you tied up late?”
I glanced at the clock and was shocked to realize it was already 5:15. I’d finished everything on my schedule for the day and had dived into tomorrow’s pile of work. It was easy to shut down and head home, but I didn’t get up instantly. While I wasn’t going to work late, I didn’t particularly care to join the crew at happy hour.
“Thanks for the invitation,” I said with an apologetic smile. “But I do have a little more work to do. And I think I’m coming down with something. I haven’t felt the best lately, so I think I’m going to get something hefty in vitamin C on the way home and curl up with soup and hot tea.”
“Okay.” She looked disappointed. “Well, feel better.”
She walked away, and I waited long enough to give her and her crew time to herd out the door. Then, I shut down and quickly made my way to a different exit. I had other ideas of how I was going to spend the next few hours, and the first thing I wanted to do was stop at the boutique Crystal managed and find something unique and maybe a little expensive. It could be something as simple as a bracelet or pair of earrings. The idea was to treat myself after being screwed over by yet another man and facing down a demon of a woman, all without giving up on life in general.
I strode confidently down the street, taking a couple of unusual turns, since I’d taken a different door than I was used to and had to veer slightly off the typical path to get to the store. When I walked in, Crystal had just finished with a customer and bounced up and down to see me. “This is a nice surprise!” she said, hugging me in delight. “You look way better than you have for days.”
“I actually ate half my lunch and then an entire plate from the cafeteria this afternoon,” I told her proudly.
“Good for you! What are you doing here, anyway?”
I shrugged. “Some women have a bad breakup and go get their hair cut or styled differently. Unless I go pixie, I can’t get much shorter. And others go out and have a one night stand. The last thing I need is another bad decision when it comes to men. So, I’m going to buy something for myself. I thought, what better place to find something that would make me feel like a million dollars than your boutique?”
“Now you’re speaking my language, sister!” We shopped together, and after chatting about nothing in particular, I admitted to her that I’d had a confrontation with Samantha.
Her eyes grew wide. “How did you even end up in the same vicinity as that woman?”
I told her about lunch and what was said, and then I averted my eyes as I told her, “I corrected her assumption that you were the mistress.”
Crystal gasped. “No way! Now, why did you go and do that?”
“She’s dangerous, Crystal, and I don’t want something to happen to you because I was too naïve and deep in denial to see through all the lies. Don’t worry about it, though. She won’t follow through on her threats. She’s a coward at heart, all bluster and no action. Besides, we know too much for her to risk it.” She didn’t look convinced and gave me a skeptical frown, but I shot her a smile of reassurance. “Trust me, okay? Now, how much are those earrings?”
I ended up buying a pair of large silver hoops with turquoise sculpted into butterflies decorating them. It was completely outside my normal fashion sense, but that was exactly what I needed to give me a boost. I said goodbye to Crystal, who told me the evening clerk had bailed and she was going to have to close. That meant she wouldn’t be home until close to ten, and I reminded her to be careful walking home.
Since I was already on the path, I stopped in the park and grabbed an ice cream cone. Sure, it reminded me of the bliss of ignorance I’d had when I’d first met Zane here – under the guise that his name was Alexander and he was nothing more than a bartender and promotional manager. But the point was to remember that I was a grown woman in control of my own life and my own happiness. I didn’t need a man to be happy, or even to buy me ice cream and take me on a stroll through the park. I could do that all on my own.
I ate it as slowly as I could, considering that it started melting instantly in the warm evening air, and though I still envied the families who played together here, I wasn’t as despondent as I would have been a few days ago. I’d said my piece to Samantha, and if I ever saw Zane again – which I was under no delusion would happen – I would do the same with him.
That decision was the first step to moving on. Or at least, that’s what I told myself. I still missed him, and I admittedly wasn’t sure any man I met going forward could perform as well in the bedroom. Zane really had the upper hand there. But I wasn’t going to compare everyone to him—that wasn’t what love was about.
But eventually, I grew tired, and I headed home. Just because Crystal wasn’t going to be there and I faced a very lonely evening ahead of me didn’t mean I couldn’t be a big girl and take care of myself. I could find plenty of things to occupy my time. I’d thought about starting a new television series to stream, so I could troll around and look for something different. I could cook myself some dinner, make some coffee, and call my parents. It had been a few days since I’d checked in to see how my father was doing.
And as I considered making that call, I was very glad I hadn’t mentioned Zane to my mother or my father. I didn’t want to explain what had happened. I was still ashamed of myself for seeing a married man. And I even if I didn’t tell them everything, my mother would have brought up the subject and asked where things were going. I would have to either lie and say things were good or tell her that we’d broken up and field questions about why. ‘We were at two different places in our lives’ just didn’t seem like an adequate response under the circumstances.
Suddenly feeling less than excited about coming home to an empty apartment and being there by myself for several hours, I slowed down, but the converted house loomed ahead already. If I crawled it would still take me less than five minutes to get there. I needed coffee. Once I had coffee, I’d feel better.
I reluctantly unlocked the door on the ground floor, climbed the stairs with heavy footfalls, and fumbled with the key in the lock to the apartment. I turned to shut it and lock it, feeling a little paranoid as I thought back to Samantha’s threats, both on Friday night and this afternoon, but a gloved hand covered my mouth as another arm circled my waist.
I was hauled backward against someone as I instinctively tried to scream, but it was muffled by the glove.
A male voice sounded in my ear. “I’m going to take you over to the couch, where I want you to sit down and be quiet.”
Every bit of self-defense I’d learned flew out the window, completely useless as I froze. In the moment, it was almost impossible to function at all, and my brain kept yelling at me that this man was here to rob me. Or rape me. Or both. I fought panic, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I could hear another voice telling me to cooperate. If I just did what I was told, I would at least live through this nightmare.
So I let him walk me to the couch. When he released me and shoved me down on the couch, I tucked my hands under my legs to keep him from seeing how badly they were shaking. I didn’t want to show fear. Fear was a motivator for a lot of criminals.
I took a moment to remember how to breathe and to be thankful that Crystal was working late. Hopefully, whatever this man wanted from me, he would take and be long gone before she came home. At least one of us would escape the attack.
But as I finally got a good look at the guy, I was surprised to see he was wearing a suit. He had on gloves but no mask, and he didn’t move toward me. Rather, he just stood in front of me.
Trembling, I fought for control so I could train my voice not to quaver. When I felt I could speak somewhat rationally, the guy was still standing there, staring at me with a blank look. He wasn’t a particularly frightening guy, and he actually looked a little like a weasel, but under the circumstances, I was still terrified. The fear of not knowing what he would do to me was the worst part, and I asked, “Who are you, and what do you want from me?”
I couldn’t believe it. He smiled at me as if we’d bumped into each other in the grocery store and were about to become the best of friends. “I’m sorry. I should have introduced myself. My name is Mason.”
He held out a hand like he wanted to shake in greeting, and I just looked at it like he was offering me a set of pig testicles. He eventually pulled his hand back, and his smile faltered a little. But he recovered quickly, brushing at the sleeves of his ill-fitting suit.
“As for what I want,” he continued, “I simply want to do the job I’m here to do.”
My blood ran cold in my veins, and before I could stop myself, my morbid curiosity got the best of me. “And just exactly what job would that be?”
Very deliberately, he walked over, picked up one of the chairs from the kitchen table, and brought it back, placing it right in front of me, just a few feet away. He sat down, inspecting his nails like some careless, inattentive executive type. I couldn’t figure him out. He’d broken into my apartment, taken me hostage, and now seemed completely disinterested in me.
But again, he gave that smile, and I assumed he thought it was charismatic rather than goofy, which was a more accurate description. “I’m here to make sure you sit right there on the couch and don’t go anywhere.”
I gaped at him. What on earth was he talking about? My mind reeled. Where would I go, and why would it matter to him? I started to ask, but with all the crazy things that had happened lately, I didn’t think I really wanted to know. I shifted, and his eyes darted to me. “I wouldn’t try to run if I were you.”
I shook my head. “I was just trying to get more comfortable, since it seems you might have me here for a while.”
“Good,” he said, sounding like my mother when she praised one of her students for solving a difficult math problem. “Because I may not be a big guy, but I’m fast, and I’ll take you down before you can get out the door.” He gave the phoniest laugh I’d ever heard. “But by all means, take off your shoes and get comfortable. It’s your house, after all. You should make yourself at home.”