My urge to protect Gem rose again, fighting against the desire to hit this man before he could grant pain. Gem patted my arm, keeping me inline before answering for both of us. “It’s definitely been a night we won’t forget.”
The man laughed, his blue eyes switching from me to Gemma, his stare calculating and shrewd.
I didn’t like him.
I wanted to strike him.
I wanted to ensure he was more afraid of me than I was of him. To let him know that I might’ve once been a toy for men to use but not anymore. I wouldn’t let anyone fuck me that way again.
My breathing sped up.
Gemma wedged her ass harder on my thigh, bringing me back to her.
I inhaled, doing my best to stay calm as the doctor grabbed a spare chair from the corner of the room, brought it closer to us, and sat down. Resting the screen-notepad thing on his lap, he crossed his legs. “Okay, start from the beginning. How are you feeling?”
Gemma fidgeted on my lap, but she still didn’t try to move.
I was grateful for that.
Having her weight on me kept me conscious and present. It made me stay with her instead of spiraling into the mess of memories, worries, and violence inside me.
My nostrils flared as Gemma said, “The beginning isn’t really important. What is important is we were in a house fire. We tried to put it out but were unsuccessful.” Her tone turned sophisticated and informative, capable and strong.
I fell a little more in love with her.
“We both might have smoke inhalation, and I have a few bruises from my career as a professional climber.” The ease in which she explained all the injuries I’d given her—willingly and unwillingly—blew my mind.
It made me doubt, just for a second, that she wasn’t still playing a game to win my heart. She seemed a proficient liar. But then her hand reached for mine and her eyes trapped me, and my heart finally took a deep breath.
She was with me.
She was mine.
It didn’t matter that all of this was shit-fucking scary. I’d once been ripped from this world and placed in a forest, and now I’d been dragged back just as brutally.
I belonged here, not in the wilderness.
I could be normal.
It would take a long time for me to be comfortable around people. To willingly talk and not want to give into the murderous rage to hurt before being hurt, but for now, I had Gemma.
She’d protect others from me, so I didn’t do something dangerous.
She would keep me sane.
I let my mind go quiet as her comforting voice told the doctor a story that took part truths, part lies, and made such a convincing tale, I began to believe it myself.
“I’m Gemma Ashford, and this is Kassen Sands.” Her hand squeezed mine. “We met in the national park. He, eh...he was hiking while I was looking for rock formations to climb. We joined up to, um, travel together, but he slipped off a cliff.” Her eyes flickered to mine before going back to the doctor to spin more of her fiction. “We found an abandoned house, and I, eh, treated him from his fall. He had a bad concussion. Still does. I did what I could to help, but that was a good month ago now, and he still blacks out, has occasional hallucinations, and suffers from short-term memory loss.”
The doctor looked up, his head cocked. “So, you were climbing and you...” He looked at me. “You were hiking?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I, eh...like birds.”
“Birds?” He frowned, making me fear I’d said something wrong. That I’d given away something I shouldn’t.
Fuck.
My heart pounded faster, hissing with the need to protect myself before it was too late. My hands balled.
Gem stiffened in my arms, no doubt feeling my rapidly rising pulse.
Placing a gentle hand on my shoulder, she inhaled quickly. “Actually...” She rubbed her mouth with her free hand before pinning the doctor with a determined glower. “That’s a lie.”
I jerked. “What? No, it’s—”
“Kassen isn’t his real name.”
“Gemma—”
“He was abducted when he was a child.”
“What the hell are you—”
“The house that caught fire belonged to a faction of people who terrorized and molested boys and girls. It’s been going on for decades.”
“Shut up,” I snarled. “He doesn’t need to know—”
“The fire wasn’t an accident.” Gemma totally ignored me. “And the other kids who were trapped were taken over eleven years ago to different locations.”
“Gemma, what the fuck—?”
She shook her head and held my livid stare. “I’m sorry, Kas, but I want you well. I’m sick of trying to cure you on my own. Call me selfish for wanting you healthy. Call me stupid for telling a complete stranger about your past. But I’m not going to lie because it’ll be detrimental to your treatment. You deserve to be happy, Kas.” Her eyes glossed with tears. “I love you. Please trust me when I say...telling people is the right thing to do.”