Compassion, respect, admiration…as well as determination and caution.
He leaned toward her, and Kalee couldn’t help but jerk back as his mouth neared hers. She’d gone from relief that he was there to pure terror in a heartbeat. If he thought she was going to let him kiss her, he was wrong.
“Easy,” he whispered, pulling back. He moved so he was still hovering over her, but was no longer touching her anywhere. His voice was so low she had to strain to hear it. “I was just going to speak into your ear.”
Kalee nodded, still not moving an inch. She wasn’t sure if she believed him or not. Too many times one of the rebels had pretended to be nice to her, only to turn on her when she let her guard down.
“We need to get out of here. Do what I say, when I say. Got it?”
Kalee didn’t immediately agree. She didn’t know this man. Had no idea if he was really a member of the US Navy. He wasn’t wearing anything close to a uniform. He could be anyone.
As if he could read the doubt in her eyes, the man said, “I’m a Navy SEAL. I can prove it, but I’d prefer to do that after we’re out of here and on our way to Hawaii.”
A SEAL made sense. Kalee knew her dad had connections in the government, and it would be like him to send in a Navy SEAL team to rescue her. Though, she hadn’t seen anyone but this man. Maybe the others were outside.
She wasn’t one hundred percent sure he was telling the truth, but at this point, she literally had nothing to lose. She nodded.
“Follow me,” the man said.
It went unsaid that she should be quiet. So Kalee sat up and silently got to her feet. She swayed for a moment, but quickly forced her body to cooperate. The last thing she needed was to faint right now. She tried to remember the last time she’d eaten anything, and couldn’t. The rebels weren’t all that concerned about feeding her. Any food they scavenged, they ate as fast as they could. They didn’t worry about stockpiling food or water, simply stole it when and where they could. Which meant Kalee had to steal as well. She hated that. But if she wanted to eat, she didn’t have a choice.
She kept her eyes on the SEAL’s back as he walked silently toward the window. He was huge. Taller than any of the rebels and the locals. He towered over her, but for some reason, that didn’t scare the shit out of her. It comforted her.
Even so, when he reached a hand out for her, Kalee flinched away. He didn’t comment, but she had a feeling he didn’t miss much.
Once upon a time, Kalee didn’t think twice about touching someone else. She was a hugger, loved snuggling with the orphans, and she and Piper sometimes held hands as they walked, just because it felt nice to connect with someone else. But now her skin crawled whenever someone touched her. The rebels had taken that from her too.
The SEAL motioned for her to come closer to the window. She did and stood next to him, looking down. Forcing herself to not lean away from him when he bent down to speak into her ear, Kalee did her best to pay attention to his instructions.
“I need you to get onto my back. I’ll climb down and we’ll get out of here.”
Kalee was shaking her head before he’d even finished. Hold on to him? Plaster herself to his back? She couldn’t do it.
Just then, one of the rebels who was tasked with guarding her overnight mumbled something. Kalee turned her head to see him turn over. She held her breath until he settled down once more.
She looked back at the SEAL, expecting him to be impatient and irritated. At the very least, she expected him to be looking at the rebel, but instead his eyes were trained on her. For a second, she thought he was the most incompetent Navy SEAL ever. Had he even heard the man move?
But then she glanced down and saw a wicked-looking knife in his hand.
He’d heard the man, and had been ready to act, but he was patient and calm under pressure. There was no guarantee he could kill the man before he alerted the other rebels. And if that happened, the chance of them escaping would be slim to none.
But he hadn’t needed to act, and while he was ready to, his attention remained on her. He didn’t tell her to hurry up, or impatiently pull her toward him to force her to do what he said. He was simply standing there. Waiting for her to decide.
Something deep inside Kalee flickered to life. It had been a very long time since she’d been treated like anything other than a stupid woman good for nothing but following orders. No one had asked her opinion or cared what she was thinking.
But this man was giving her something she hadn’t had in months—a choice.
She nodded her head at him once.
His eyes lit up with approval, and he turned his back to her and crouched.
Kalee took a deep breath. She didn’t want to touch him. Didn’t want to be touched. She had no idea how he was going to get out that window with her, but she didn’t question him. He’d come for her when she’d thought everyone had forgotten she existed.
Awkwardly, she put her hands on his shoulders, wincing when any motion made her clothes rustle almost obscenely loud.
“Hold on,” the man said in a toneless whisper that Kalee almost didn’t hear. He didn’t grab her, didn’t put his hands on her ass to hoist her up his back. He simply waited until she’d gotten a sure grip on him before moving.
Kalee did her best not to strangle him. She tightened her knees around his waist and held on as he threw one leg over the windowsill. Closing her eyes, Kalee held her breath as he quickly and efficiently climbed down the side of the house using what looked like a flimsy vine. She’d seen those vines countless times, but had never even considered that they might be strong enough to hold her. If she had, she might’ve tried escaping before now.
Who was she kidding? No, she wouldn’t’ve. She might’ve wanted to, but she was too scared of the consequences.
The second his feet were on the ground, the SEAL crouched and Kalee slid off his back in relief.
“Follow me,” the SEAL said, then without another word, turned and headed off without looking to see if she was behind him.
Kalee turned to glance at the dilapidated house she’d been holing up in for the last couple of weeks, then looked at where the Navy SEAL had disappeared.
She was scared to leave, but terrified to stay.
Taking a deep breath, she took a step in the direction the SEAL had gone.
Then another. And another.
With each step, it got easier.
It was almost impossible to believe she was finally leaving her living nightmare behind her. But she knew without a doubt that things wouldn’t be all sunshine and roses back home. She was a different person than she’d been before the rebels had attacked the orphanage.
She had no idea who she was now, or if anyone would like who she’d become. If she would even like herself.
But now wasn’t the time to think about that.
First things first. She had to see if this SEAL was on the up and up and figure out how to get out of the country with no identification, no money, and unsure about what was waiting for her when she arrived back in California.
Chapter Two
Phantom took a chance in turning his back on Kalee and leaving her standing near the house. He needed her to come with him of her own free will. He hadn’t missed how she’d flinched away from his touch. It made him furious, because he knew what it meant.