Love and Decay, Kane's Law (3 page)

So I took this chance, knowing the payoff
would be big. And if I didn’t claim her, someone else would.

The safety of her gun clicked into place and
she dropped the weapon. Her hands fell to her sides where they hung
empty and unsure. Her shoulders sagged immediately. I could feel
the defenselessness cover her body like a shroud.

A punch of guilt in the gut surprised me. But
I put myself in her shoes and knew without a second’s hesitation
that I would loathe the powerlessness of not having a weapon. With
a gun at my head and danger all around me, I would be just as
dejected. I looked down at her confused. I rarely experienced
remorse, if at all. And never empathy.

Indecision washed over me. I shouldn’t be
feeling anything but triumph. I’d not only gotten what I wanted,
but there had been no casualties and everything had gone smoothly
according to plan. Besides, this girl could easily harm me, or even
kill me. And I wanted to appease her? Make her happy?

I did. I could admit that to myself.

I wanted to do anything to erase her
disappointment and failure- even at the expense of my own safety.
The foreign feelings churned in my stomach. I knew what I had to
do, what I needed to do, but I couldn’t stop the aggressive
feelings of sympathy and concern.

I lifted my eyes just in time to catch her
friend watching me carefully. His aim never wavered; if anything,
his expression had grown even more determined. Had my thoughts been
so transparent? He looked easily ready to kill me.

I took his stance and rigid body as a threat.
He could pull the trigger before Creed or Austen had the chance to
put him down. Would he risk his own life to save her? How close
were they? Were these feelings mutual between them?

White, hot Anger unfurled inside of me and I
had just decided to give the signal to Creed to end his life when
Reagan spoke again. Her throaty voice drifted over my body like a
sedative and I relaxed immediately. “I trust you,” she told
him.

Jealousy came next while Vaughan stood up and
forced his body to stand down. He disarmed his gun and let it hang
limply from his finger while I decided whether or not I was still
going to kill him. She only trusted him because she knew him, I
told myself. She would trust me, too.

She would learn to trust me soon.

Before the day was out.

And that became the most important thing to
me. She could be instantly attracted to me, or not; she could feel
safe around me, or not. But the most important thing was that she
trusted me. Once I earned her faith and conviction, the rest would
come naturally.

“There’s a good girl,” I murmured into her
ear, keeping her close for as long as I could justify.

Creed and Austen took care of her friend and
I nearly winced again as those pangs of guilt battered me for a
second time. I knew I would have to put the cuffs on her too, but I
hated the thought of forcing her into discomfort. Not to mention,
physically restraining her would no doubt push my efforts to get
her to trust me back… way back.

Finally, I convinced my bewitched body to
separate from hers. I snagged her small backpack as I stepped away,
pulling it easily from her shoulders. I let my fingers trail down
her spine, linger on her lower back and imagine what waited for me
beneath her thin t-shirt. Smooth, hot skin… a body that would mold
to mine, fill my hands and erase the pain and regret from the last
two years… a body that would take me to a different plane of
existence, rescue me from my grim reality and bring me
salvation…

“Touch me again and I will murder you,” she
promised.

And she was absolutely serious.

Probably, best I listen. Trust, after all,
was my end game.

Still, I couldn’t stop the amused chuckle
that rumbled in my chest. How long had it been since I laughed at
something, since I found something actually funny?

Too long.

Her muscles tensed again, but it was
different this time. She had been rigid in my arms while my fingers
grazed her skin, but that had been fear that stiffened her body.
This new tension was born from the urge to punch something. She
didn’t cower in fear of me, she wanted to fight me.

I tucked my gun into the waistband of my
pants and tossed the heavy pack to Creed while Austen finished
detaining Vaughan. I grinned at her back, keeping my amusement
silent so I didn’t incite her wrath again.
Little
firecracker.
I couldn’t exactly take her warning seriously
though, so I reached for her dangling hands and drew them carefully
behind her back. I bent them into the right angles while she worked
with me compliantly. As soon as the cuffs were clicked into place
she began pulling on them, as if she didn’t believe I would really
confine her. She would rub her wrists raw if she kept that up.

“Walk,” I told her simply.

She didn’t move and either did her friend. I
put my hands on her shoulders, enjoying the way my long fingers and
wide palms concealed her delicate shoulders. I let the heat of me
sink into her skin and remind her of my strength and control. I
gave her the lightest push, encouraging her to walk and warned,
“Walk or I’ll carry you.”

She immediately started moving. Her friend
was next to her in a moment. He kept wary eyes on me, watching as
though I would throw her down on the forest floor and rape her at
any given moment. The asshole saw way too much.

Even though I would never rape a woman, never
take from her body if she were reluctant or refusing, I did own her
in a physical way now. But I wouldn’t steal from her. I would wait
for her to give me what I wanted; I would be patient until it was
what we both wanted. I would protect her until then, take care of
her, earn her grace and her desire. I didn’t like his judgment or
his unnecessary concern. Rape, sexual assault, whatever a man stole
from an unwilling woman was disgustingly cowardly. I was neither a
coward nor completely immoral. I was the good guy here.

Reagan and her friend walked close together
in front of me. Their handcuffs made them bump and brush against
each other with every step. Jealousy burned through me so strong
and consuming I thought I would choke on it. I gave Creed a silent
command which he followed immediately. He tripped Vaughan without
any hesitation, sending the prisoner crashing to the rough ground.
He tried to keep his face out of the muddy earth, but with hands
tied behind his back, there was little he could do to protect
himself from the fall.

Reagan stopped instantly to wait for him. She
hunched over and bent her knees at first, trying to figure out a
way to help him, no doubt. Her concern for him grated against every
nerve ending my body.

Unable to stop myself, I pressed my hand on
the center of her back and demanded, “Keep moving.”

She listened. She started walking again while
Vaughan struggled to his knees. We plodded our way through the
forest, toward home. Slowly at first, with her ear turned towards
Vaughan. Once she felt satisfied that her friend was safe and
standing, she picked up her pace.

Creed and Austen kept Vaughan detained long
enough for us to get decently ahead of them, exactly as I wanted
it.

“That was on purpose,” she accused me. “To
separate us.”

There was no point in lying to her. “To
separate you.”

She glanced over at me then. The first time
she would see me and so I schooled my features to look casual and
careless. I kept my eyes forward as if wary of threats or intent on
our destination and let her look her fill. I knew I was
good-looking; I didn’t need another person to pander to nonexistent
insecurities with bullshit. I knew exactly how I looked and
precisely how women perceived me.

Even if Reagan didn’t trust me yet, I knew
how she would see me.

And that it would work to my advantage- that
it was Step One in my ultimate plan.

My body vibrated with something powerful
while I kept my eyes forward. Her eyes slid to me several times as
she split her attention between me and the forest floor. She had to
pay attention with her arms bound like that, but I could sense her
curiosity and her peeked interest. She didn’t try to hide her
surprise when her eyes fell on my face or her open admiration as
they traveled over my body.

She seemed to stumble through several
different thought patterns. Her expressions flickered quickly as
they moved with her thoughts until they finally landed on cold
indifference. Her eyes narrowed, her lush mouth pursed, her arms
stiffened again, pulling every muscle into coiled readiness.

“Where are you taking us?” she asked
evenly.

“To town,” I answered. This was a test. I
wanted to know if she knew there was a town out here, or if she was
as unsuspecting as her friends had been. Sure they’d realized they
were caught easily enough, but they’d seemed utterly surprised to
get caught in the first place.

She took a deep breath and nodded. She’d
heard of us. Whether they’d been coming here directly, or run into
Miller during his pathetic escape attempt, she’d heard of us.

Interesting.

“You look… well-fed,” she all but accused
me.

I hid my shock at her willingness to talk.
Maybe this would be easier than I thought. She seemed… difficult.
Not just because she let off this independent-woman vibe, but
because so far, she’d challenged me at every opportunity.
Conversation was good though and I gave her answers easily. These
were building blocks to my end game.

Besides there was no reason to lie to her. I
held
her
in captivity-
I
had the power,
I
had
the authority.

“I am,” I confirmed.

“How?” she demanded. “How are you
well-fed?”

We exited the forest and onto the edge of the
school grounds. The town was surrounded by thick woodland and we’d
always been isolated from larger civilization. One highway split
the town down the middle and then smaller streets connected Main
Street to the quaint neighborhoods that branched out from the
central hub. This was small town living at its finest.

Reagan drank in every single sight that
stretched out in front of her. She took it all in with highly
intelligent eyes, intent on memorizing every finer detail. No
doubt, she was mapping out an escape plan, something I couldn’t let
her get away with.

Hoping to jostle her attention, I said, “We
eat our prisoners.”

It worked. She jumped at my words and then
her brows snapped down over her dark eyes. She let my words bounce
around in her head, trying to decide if I was serious or not. I hid
another grin while she struggled to feel fear or confusion.

“Don’t worry, darlin’,” Creed called out from
behind us. He sounded like an ignorant hillbilly with his thick
drawl and I wanted to turn around and shoot him in the gut- let him
bleed out all over the football field he once set all his useless
high school hopes and dreams on. How would that be for irony? “I
never heard not one of Kane’s prisoners complain!”

I wanted to groan at his ignorance and how
he’d so easily set me back miles with Reagan. He’d back-fired my
plan and made her more uncomfortable than ever.

Although, it was true. Just because I hadn’t
felt the desire to bring a girl home to share my house with, didn’t
mean there hadn’t been plenty to fill space and warm my bed in the
meantime. I’d just always tired of them before- handed them over to
other, greedier men.

“Oh, god,” Reagan groaned and her face paled
at the insinuation that her precious virtue was in danger.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably but didn’t
try to explain. An apology would only weaken my image of authority
and to open that particular discussion would tarnish any hope I had
that she could trust me.

At least she could be sure we didn’t actually
eat our prisoners.

We fell into uneasy silence as we marched
across the still wet grass. The early morning sun was warming, but
not fast enough to dry the dew scattered across the fresh spring
grass. I breathed in the clean air and felt more alive than I had
in two long years.

I’d always loved this town and this field
more than anything else. Growing up, I’d had my time in the
spotlight as a football star; I’d paid my dues as the responsible,
mostly good son of one of the town’s most respected families and
dated enough of the girls to earn an only-slightly tarnished
reputation.

When civilization fell, my father had been
the most prepared and most qualified man to step up and take
charge. In a way, I’d always been prepared to step up with him.
He’d raised us right, teaching us the important necessities that
went into surviving in a time without anything, instilling in us
the values and basic instincts that would keep us alive during a
future when you could trust no one. He made sure we were
competitive enough to want to always be the best and have the
best.

Falling in line with his goals and
expectations had been easy for me. Partly, because I’d always been
that son to him, and also because I could see it was the only way.
He was going to keep us alive- keep a lot of people alive. If I
listened and helped him carry this thing out we could save a huge
portion of the remaining humanity.

What I didn’t realize would accompany my
obedience and loyalty though, was loneliness. While I held such a
strong position of authority and command, I couldn’t allow myself
to get close to anyone else. Other soldiers would seek to exploit a
friendship with me or manipulate me in order to fulfill their greed
and selfish desires. My siblings had turned out to be more than
disappointments and any real relationship with them had been
severed back at the beginning. And women, while enjoyable for a
time, tended to drive me crazy after a while.