Her stomach churning, she licked her lips and whispered, “I’m okay.”
Her words sounded weird to her own ears. It had been so long since she’d said anything, but she was safe here. He wouldn’t smack her for speaking. Wouldn’t punish her for talking back or begging for food.
And for just a second, his eyes lit with the same happiness and joy she’d seen earlier.
She’d done that. Two simple words had made that happen. Almost immediately the light in his eyes dimmed once more, but she’d seen it. And being able to do that for him was heady. As if she alone had the power to make him forget whatever was weighing on his soul.
Then Kalee mentally shook her head. She was being stupid. There was no way she had that kind of power over this man. She was nothing to him. Just another damsel in distress.
He didn’t acknowledge her words. Didn’t make a big deal of her having spoken. He couldn’t know that those were the first words she’d said in a very long time, but somehow she had a feeling he realized anyway.
“I’m going to step outside. Take your time. If you need anything, just knock on the door or something. I’ll be right here.” Then he turned and left the room.
The second he was gone, the room seemed to drop a few degrees. Kalee shivered under the sheet. She looked down at herself and realized that she hadn’t been scared to be naked with only a sheet to cover herself in front of Phantom. He’d seen her naked in the shower, but hadn’t taken advantage. Hadn’t touched her inappropriately.
But suddenly being naked was intolerable. She threw the sheet back and slowly stood. The room tilted for a second, but Kalee ignored it. She needed to get dressed. Cover herself up.
Phantom had gotten her a pair of leggings with an elastic waist. They were a little loose on her, but weren’t going to fall down around her ankles when she walked. He’d also included a utilitarian pair of panties and a cotton workout bra. She almost cried again when she finally managed to get it on. It had been so long since she’d worn a bra. The rebels had cut hers off back at the orphanage. It felt as if she had a set of armor on. Silly, but true.
She pulled on the bright yellow T-shirt and smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever. Yellow wasn’t exactly her color, not with her red hair, but wearing something other than the somber black she’d had on for months felt amazing.
Curious as to what Phantom had in his overnight bag, Kalee sat on the bed as she rummaged through his shaving kit. Small scissors, liquid soap, deodorant, toothpaste, a toothbrush, dental floss, a small tube of antifungal lotion, a safety pin, aspirin, a couple of condoms, Q-tips, fingernail clippers, and a tampon.
A tampon? She had no idea why a man like Phantom would be carrying that around, but she mentally shrugged and grabbed the soap. She sniffed it and smiled. Pine. She hadn’t pegged Phantom to be a man who wanted to smell like a tree, but she couldn’t deny it worked for him.
She’d just finished inspecting his stuff when Phantom knocked, then stuck his head inside. Seeing her sitting on the bed fully dressed, he reentered the room.
The relief Kalee felt at seeing him was almost overwhelming. To try to mask it, she held up the tampon and furrowed her brows at him in question.
Phantom didn’t laugh, but she saw his lips quirk upward. “They’re good to plug up a bullet hole. You know, to stop the bleeding.”
Instead of shying away from the mental image, Kalee welcomed it. She couldn’t really imagine anyone walking around with a tampon string hanging out of their arm to plug up a bullet hole, but she couldn’t deny that it would be an effective bandage in the short run. She smiled at him.
Phantom closed his eyes for a second. Then pinned her in place when he opened them again and said, “God, you have no idea what that smile means to me. You all done here?”
Kalee blinked. One second he was gentle and the next he was all business. She nodded.
Phantom spoke as he zipped up his bag. “I didn’t think you’d want your old clothes, so I threw them out. I should’ve gotten you a toothbrush, but didn’t think about it. I’d let you use mine, but…” He paused and shuddered. “Sorry, I have my limits on sharing. Deodorant, fine. Toothpaste, fine. But toothbrush? Gross.”
Kalee couldn’t stop herself from smiling again.
She knew Phantom saw it, because his own lips quirked upward.
He stood and shrugged on his backpack. Then asked, “How about we get the fuck out of this country. Yeah?”
Kalee nodded enthusiastically. She had no bags. Nothing to take with her, but it didn’t matter. Hopefully in a few hours, she’d be very far away from here. What had started as a fun adventure with the Peace Corps had turned into absolute hell.
She had no idea what the next hours, days, or weeks would bring. But as she’d learned to do over the last several months, she’d take things one day at a time.
Chapter Three
Phantom leaned back in the seat in first class and tried to relax. All in all, everything had gone very smoothly. He’d gotten them something to eat on the way to the embassy, and had almost lost his shit at how Kalee had practically inhaled the bread and mystery meat. She’d even turned her body so she was blocking him from snatching it out of her hands as she ate.
It infuriated him. Not her actions; those he understood. She was merely protecting her food. It was a very primitive reaction. And it proved exactly how much she’d had to fight to stay alive.
One more black mark on his soul.
Vowing to ply her with so much food, she’d never be able to eat it all in a hundred years, Phantom had forced himself to stay calm and continue on with their morning as planned.
They’d arrived at the American Embassy and the employees actually had a temporary replacement of Kalee’s passport ready to go when they got there.
He’d purchased two first-class tickets early that morning, while Kalee had been sleeping, and now they were on their way to Hawaii. He breathed a sigh of relief for the first time.
He’d done it.
Found Kalee. Righted the wrong he’d done to her all those months ago.
It had almost killed him when he’d heard her crying in the bathroom. He hadn’t thought about it, had just burst in ready to fucking kill someone if they’d lain a hand on her, and found her crouched on the floor of the shower.
Not thinking about how she might react to being touched while she was naked, he’d wrapped a towel around her and brought her back to the room. Thank God she hadn’t freaked out.
Phantom couldn’t deny that he’d loved feeling her arms around him. There was nothing sexual about it, but it felt good deep down inside to be able to soothe her.
Every tear that fell from her eyes felt as if they were branded on his soul. He’d caused them. Caused all the hurt she’d gone through. It tore at him, but he wouldn’t shy away from it. He had to atone.
As he studied her in the seat next to him, Phantom had to admit that he’d messed up in picking the bright yellow shirt; it made the bruises on her body stand out more. But the color had been so happy-looking, and his choices so limited, that he hadn’t been able to resist.
Phantom thought back to the two words she’d spoken to him earlier. I’m okay.
She wasn’t okay, but damn if she wasn’t doing her best to make that statement true. Phantom was in awe of her. Every minute he spent with Kalee, he wanted to get to know her more.