In Chains (11 page)

He shakes his head. “I didn’t have a chip. They put that in when they sold me.”

I’m startled by my phone’s ring tone. Simon’s number shows on my caller ID. Answering it, I put my finger to my lips to warn Kayden to keep quiet. Simon tells me he’s coming home early because he has to go back to work this evening; they’re having a conference call with some clients in the US. “Bad news. My brother will be here in fifteen minutes, but the good news is he’ll be out tonight.”

“So I can see you tonight?”

“Definitely. I’ll come and find you when he’s gone,” I hold his hand as we walk back towards the house. “Maybe we can see your friends again and have some more hooch. Maybe Clay will get to like me the more he sees me.”

He smiles. “Yeah we can do that but don’t hold your breath on Clay.”

I give him a quick kiss goodbye at the door but he follows me inside. “I’ve gotta clean in here and do the laundry,” he says. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.” I’m about to reply when I hear the front door opening.

Kayden is putting clothes into the washing machine as Simon comes into the kitchen. I busy myself making a pot of coffee. I don’t want Simon to think I’ve been talking to Kayden; I couldn’t bear it if he got hurt again because of me.

Simon kisses me on the cheek and sits down at the table. He’s giving Kayden a filthy look but Kayden can’t see it because he has his back to Simon, he’s putting soap powder in the machine. “Did the slave give you any trouble Savannah?” I shake my head. I hate the way he’s talking about Kayden as if he’s not even here.

I pour out two mugs of coffee and sit at the table with him. “How was work this morning?” I ask.

“Same as usual.”

Taking a sip of his coffee he glances over at Kayden. “This floor needs cleaning slave.”

Kayden nods and mumbles, “Yes Sir.” He starts filling a bucket with hot water and pours in some detergent.

“How long are you going to be out for tonight?” I ask.

“I probably won’t be home till after midnight.”

Kayden is on his hands and knees, wiping a cloth over the floor. His butt looks sexy in those jeans. I look away before Simon notices me ogling. “How’s Christina doing?”

“She’s fine. I’m meeting her for a meal tomorrow night. You’re welcome to come along. She likes you.” You could’ve fooled me. She always seems to enjoy putting me down. I’ll pass on the meal, I don’t enjoy her company and it’s another opportunity to spend time with Kayden. Okay, I think I’m officially addicted to the man. He must be cleaning somewhere behind me because I can’t see him anymore.

I almost drop my coffee when I feel his lips on my ankle. He’s kissing his way up my leg. I look across at Simon to see if he’s noticed but I guess Kayden must be hidden by the table because Simon is calmly sipping his coffee. I try desperately not to giggle as Kayden runs his tongue down my leg. Suddenly his body jerks and his head smashes into the table, knocking Simon’s mug over. Simon leaps up from his seat as hot coffee spills onto his legs. “Shit,” Kayden mutters.

I’m worried that Kayden may have hurt his head and that Simon may have been scalded. Simon storms over to where Kayden still kneels. His eyes are blazing and his face is red. “Get up,” he screams at Kayden.

Kayden stands and flinches as Simon hurls his coffee mug at him. It narrowly misses his head and shatters to pieces as it hits the kitchen cabinets. “I’m sorry Sir.”

“Clean this mess up. Now.”

“Yes Sir.”

Simon stomps upstairs, to change clothes I assume. Kayden is mopping up the spilt coffee. Opening the kitchen cupboards I find a dustpan and brush and sweep up the broken crockery. “Kayden, what happened?”

“I got fucking shocked. Shitty timing.”

Listening out for Simon, I check Kayden’s head for lumps. “You’ve got a bump coming here,” I gently rub my fingers around the swelling that’s forming on top of his head.

Hearing Simon coming downstairs I quickly scoot back to the kitchen chair. He slings his coffee stained shirt and trousers at Kayden. “Get them washed.”

“Yes Sir.”

Simon takes a can of tomato soup from the cupboard, opens it and pours the contents over the floor. “And you haven’t cleaned the floor properly. Do it again.”

“Yes Sir.”

While Kayden cleans the floor for the second time, Simon is busy emptying the cupboards of tins and jars. He throws a tin of ham at Kayden and it hits him on the head. He’s now got a cut on his forehead and it’s bleeding. “Pick that up,” Simon shouts at him.

I’ve had enough. “Simon, stop it. It was an accident; he didn’t mean to do it.”

Simon glares at me. “An accident? What was it doing under the table, looking up your dress?”

He opens a can of spaghetti and throws the contents over the kitchen cupboards. Tomato sauce oozes down the cupboard doors and strings of spaghetti dangle from the handles. “Clean this up,” Simon barks his order at Kayden.

Kayden sighs. “Yes Sir.”

“Simon this is ridiculous. You’re making a mess.”

“Carry on Savannah. The more you complain, the more mess I’m going to make.” He splatters every available surface with soup, spaghetti, cream, milk, anything that he can make a mess with. The floor, the windows, the table, the chairs, the doors, even the curtains, no surface escapes his attention. He has Kayden cleaning up after him the entire afternoon.

He’s getting ready to go back to work and Kayden still hasn’t finished cleaning up. “This kitchen had better be spotless by the time I get back,” he says. “If I find any mess you’re going to get the strap and I promise I’ll shred every inch of skin on your back.”

“Yes Sir.”

Finally, Simon leaves. “If I ever have the stupid idea to kiss your legs when I’m under the table again, kick me in the face will you,” Kayden says.

“Aww no I can’t do that.”

“I’m tired. My knees and my back ache,” he says. Throwing my arms around him I glance up and see a few strands of spaghetti hanging from the lampshade. I can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. “It’s not funny,” he says. Then he begins laughing too. “Ahh maybe it is.”

“I’ll help you finish cleaning this up, then we can go meet your friends. I’m sure you need a drink after this.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Savannah

Kayden carries me across the fields. We’ve kissed and caressed and got his four shocks over and done with. I wrap my arms and legs around him in a feeble effort to warm up his chilled body. “How’s your head?” I ask, my cheek pressed against his stubbly one.

“It’s still on my shoulders,” he giggles.

When we reach the farm his friends have a large fire lit once again. I see the orange flames flickering as we approach and can hear the crackle and pops from the logs. Kayden puts me down and I head over to the fire, seeking its warmth. Kaci and Clay are huddled together, wrapped in a blanket. Trent is tossing logs onto the fire. They look up at us, Kaci and Trent smiling a greeting. Clay says hi to Kayden but he ignores me. I don’t know why it bothers me but it does. I want him to like me, or at least realise that I’m nothing like the people who have abused them. I guess it’s going to take time.

“Hey man,” Kayden says to Clay. “Can I speak to you alone for a minute?”

The two of them walk off towards the caravan and sit down on the step. I wonder what Kayden wants to talk to him about but they’re too far away for me to hear what they’re saying.

“So, you haven’t dumped him yet,” says Kaci, glaring at me.

“I’m not going to dump him.”

“He may not be human but he’s still got a heart. Don’t break it,” she snaps.

“I’m not going to and he’s as human as I am, you all are.”

Trent hands me a mug of hooch and I take it gratefully. It seems Trent and Kayden are the only two who like me. I glance around, trying to avoid Kaci’s glare. It’s dark but my eyes make out a wooden structure identical to the one I saw on Simon’s land earlier. I didn’t notice it last time I was here; I guess I was preoccupied with other things. “What is that?” I ask to no-one in particular. “My brother has one of those on his farm.”

“It’s a whipping post,” says Trent. “See the ropes? They tie your wrists to it when they beat you. That way they ain’t gotta worry about you trying to run and they can get to your body easier coz you can’t curl up into a ball.”

My head snaps towards him. “They don’t use it, do they?”

“Well, not on you they don’t,” Kaci sneers.

I don’t know why I ever ask to come here. I always hear something that upsets me. I down my hooch in one and ask Trent for a refill. Kayden is still deep in conversation with Clay. I wish he was with me; I need a hug right now. As disturbing as it is, I have to know more. “Did they have one of those at the pound? Is that how Kayden got the scars on his wrists?” I look over at Kaci and Trent’s wrists. Neither of them have scars like Kayden’s.

“No,” says Trent. “They had, probably still have, a rope on a pulley they hung from the ceiling. They kinda hung you up in the air from your arms.”

“Did they do that to you?” I ask Trent.

“A couple of times.”

I glance at Kaci. “And you?” I ask.

“Just once.”

“How come Kayden has scars and you two don’t?”

“Clay has them too,” Kaci says. “It’s just one of the reasons he hates you humans.” She pours a mug of hooch, wraps the blanket tighter around herself and scowls at me. “In obedience class they teach the little slave children what happens to them if they disobey orders, or don’t obey an order properly, or fast enough. They give them a demonstration of the punishment they’ll get. I’ll give you three guesses what two slaves they always chose to demonstrate it on.”

I can feel the blood draining from my face. “Kayden and Clay,” I whisper.

“Give that human a medal,” Kaci says, clapping slowly. “They hung them from the ceiling and whipped them with a leather strap, at least once a week for twelve fucking years, whether they behaved or not, didn’t make no difference.”

“I think the boss didn’t like them,” Trent says. “He always chose them, no one else.”

My eyes fill with tears as I look over at Kayden. He must have finished his conversation with Clay because they’re both heading back over to us. Kayden is grinning but it slips from his face when he sees me. He kneels down in front of me, a concerned look on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“They hung you from the ceiling and whipped you,” I manage to stutter out between sobs.

His mouth falls open. “Who told you about that?” My eyes inadvertently turn to Kaci and I guess Kayden notices because his head snaps towards her. “You’ve got a big mouth Kaci,” he snarls.

I reach for his hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask, wiping the tears from my eyes. “I asked you and you didn’t tell me.”

“Because it’s in the past and you can’t change it.” He pulls me into his arms and gently rocks me back and forth. “That’s why I don’t ask about when your ex hit you. Coz I’d wanna go back in time and beat the crap out of him and I can’t. It would just torture my fucking head, so I don’t ask.”

“I understand that,” I say, sniffing. “But I want to know everything about you. I want to know about your past because it’s made you who you are now.”

“Okay,” he sighs. “But can we talk about nicer things now?” He uses his t-shirt to wipe my eyes and nose and grins at me. “I picked up some tips. I’ll show you later.” His eyes are sparkling at me and he’s roused my curiosity.

“What did you learn?” I can’t help smiling at him; he looks so pleased with himself.

“I’ll show you later,” he says, rubbing his nose against mine.

Damn. I forgot to bring some food for them. I was going to bring the radio too. Checking my watch, I see it’s only seven; I’ve got hours before Simon is due home. “I’m going to the store to get us some food. If anyone else wants to come you’ll need to walk with me to my brother’s farm so I can get my car.”

As we all traipse into the store the alarm goes off. That’s so typical. The stupid things always go off when I’m walking in, never when I’m leaving. An assistant hurries over to us. I’m about to tell her I’ve just come in and I don’t even have any bags for her to search when she points a scanner at the back of Kayden’s neck. It beeps; she looks at it for a moment and then turns to me. “Slave F523GH. Owner a Mr Simon Morrison. Are you related to Mr Morrison Madam? If not, you cannot bring his slave into the store and I will have to notify him that you have possession of it.”

Oh God no. I don’t want Simon to know about this. I pull my driving licence from my jeans pocket and show it to her. “I’m his sister, Savannah Morrison.”

She studies it for a moment, then hands it back to me. “Very well Madam.”

Damn, what about the others. I turn around but they’ve gone, it’s just me and Kayden here. “I told them to go,” says Kayden. “I didn’t want her calling their owner.”

“Where are they?”

“Waiting outside for us.”

“I guess your chip sets off store alarms as well as shocking you at awkward moments. That bloody thing is a pain in the arse.” Kayden just laughs. We grab a basket and fill it with goodies.