Page 36 of Hideaway

“I’ve never seen Ashford lose control. He’s always so collected. So calculating. I wonder if there will be any pieces of you left to dispose of after he’s finished punishing you for your betrayal?”Jace continued tauntingly.

The frost of fear delved into Kara’s veins, her heart momentarily forgetting its purpose as Jace’s words twisted through her thoughts like a knife.“How did you even find me?”Kara asked bitterly.

“You’re not very hard to guess, Kara. This is the first place we looked.”

“We?”she asked, her voice alight with a small spark of hope. If Jace wasn’t alone, maybe she could appeal to his companion for safety.

“Me and Declan. Someone had to drive back the damn Audi you stole. The kid left with the car as soon as we got here.”Jace leaned in closer until his nose nearly brushed hers.“So you can wipe that fucking smile off your face. You won’t be taking advantage of that idiot’s weakness again. You’ve no car and no escape. You’re coming with me.”Jace brushed past her and moved toward the doors that barred Kara from freedom.“I’d appreciate it if I didn’t have to use force,”he called back to her.

Immobile, Kara clung to her spot by the wall. Thoughts of Cade’s anger and retribution left her terrified, and she lacked the will to walk willingly to her doom. Jace turned to face her with a mischievous glint in his eye.

“Actually, that’s not true at all. I would like nothing more than for you to make me drag you out of this place by your hair, kicking and screaming. Ashford asked me not to touch you, but not if it interfered with his most important command:bring the bitch back. So what’s it gonna be, Kara? Do you want to come quietly, or do you want to make my day?”

Kara bit her lip anxiously as she contemplated Jace’s ultimatum. Regardless of her decision, she knew the ultimate outcome would result in her being dragged back to face whatever hell was in store for her at Ashford Manor. The best she could hope for was depriving Jace of the satisfaction of taking her by force. She knew the sick fuck loved the fight; he had told her as much when she became very well-acquainted with the back of his hand the last time they enjoyed each other’s company in the library. For him, she would swallow her anger and pride and walk out of that building with all of the composure and sickly sweet submission she could muster.“I’m ready to go now,”Kara announced primly, pushing past Jace and leading the way out of the library.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Jace’s face as he moved to follow Kara. He had expected fire and fury. A shrieking, clawing beast that he was ordained to subdue. Kara’s usual stubbornness set his blood singing with violence. But the calm obedience with which she returned to captivity left him reeling. His whole body ached with the sudden loss of a fight, his veins coursing with unnecessary adrenaline. Kara fucking Caine had unceremoniously killed his buzz, and he was fucking pissed.

Kara kept walking without a second glance at Jace. She wasn’t aware of his personal choice of vehicle, but she didn’t need to ask. She simply walked toward the most conspicuously out of place car in the library parking lot and waited expectantly by the passenger side door. Jace unlocked the red Porsche with an annoyed grunt that suggested she was taking all of the fun out of his grand mission of acquisition. Good. Because she had every intention of behaving like the perfect little captive for the duration of their trip back to the manor.

They both got in the car, the area feeling rather cramped as mutual feelings of anger and annoyance filled the space between them. Repelled by the closeness of Jace’s presence, Kara moved away as far as she physically could in the closed confines, resting against the window as she bid farewell to the familiar sites of campus. The heavy musk of Jace’s cologne pervaded the air, drawing forth grim memories of the last time he had been far too close for comfort. She rolled down the window, beckoning the fresh air to save her from suffocation and ruminations. The start of the ignition brought with it blaring, distasteful music that committed atrocities against her eardrums. The sheer aggression of the song seemed to suit Jace’s overall characteristics perfectly. Noticing her irritation, Jace turned the music up. Rolling her eyes, Kara braced herself for what was sure to be the longest car ride of her life.

“You ran, but you didn’t try to hide,”Jace commented aloud, breaking the silence of the past thirty minutes in the car.“You actually escaped. You could have gone anywhere. You could have disappeared, gone somewhere we couldn’t have found you, at least not right away. Instead, you went to the first place you knew we would look. Why?”

“Why do you care?”Kara asked defensively, keenly aware of quite how asinine her actions sounded when spoken aloud.

“I don’t care. I’m just curious. Why throw away your one chance? Do you enjoy the thrill of danger that much?”

“I didn’t run,”Kara admitted quietly.

“Excuse me?”

“You said I ran, but I didn’t.”

“How else would you define stealing a car and sneaking out of his house without telling anyone where you were going?”

“I needed time to myself. I needed to check on my work. I needed a small taste of freedom, yes. But I wasn’t running. I had every intention of returning tonight after settling things in my office. I hadn’t thought anyone would notice. But, of course, Cade found out and sent in the damn calvary,”Kara finished with a sigh of irritation.

“You promised him you’d stay. And, for some unknown reason, he trusted you.”

“I know,”Kara agreed, guilt settling in heavily as she remembered her pledge to Cade. Why did she feel so devastated for stealing a moment of freedom and breaking a promise to her captor? She was entitled to freedom far more than he was entitled to her trust, and yet, the thought of hurting him made her heart feel like it was being crushed in her chest. Jace looked at her appraisingly, reading her thoughts as though they were written plainly on her face.

“Shit, Ashford really did fuck you up, didn’t he? You didn’t run because you wanted to stay—withhim,”Jace said with a laugh devoid of humor.

Kara sat silently, ignoring his derision. What could she say? The entire situation was precisely as ludicrous as Jace had so eloquently put. She was fucked from the moment she and Cade allowed their relationship to become physical. Crossing the bounds of captive to lover had twisted their relationship into something indescribable, straddling the boundaries of both. She had allowed herself to forget the true role Cade played in her life, and her reckless naivety would come at a price.

Every minute brought them closer to Ashford Manor, closer to the man who would forever steal her freedom. Every second, she tried to make herself hate him, willing away the memories of tender moments shared between them. But try as she might, her heart could not be hardened, her treacherous emotions thrusting her open-armed toward the man holding the keys to her cage rather than beckoning her toward escape.

The gates of Cade’s lair came into view far quicker than anticipated, signaling the time for dreading and delaying the master of the manor’s wrath had come to an end. The first prickles of fear crept across Kara’s skin as she watched the metal bars close behind them, creaking with finality. Cade would be pissed that she had broken her promise. He would be furious that she had run from him. She wasn’t sure how possessive he felt about his cars, but there was a good chance he might be more than peeved about her dabbling in grand theft auto. All in all, Cade had sound reasons to be angry with her, but she had no intention of begging for forgiveness because she took advantage of her one chance at freedom as soon as he had his back turned. She refused to apologize for doing what any self-respecting captive would have done. Whatever issues Cade had with her illicit afternoon activities, he could take them and fuck off.

Kara’s unflinching resolve lasted about as long as the ride up the narrow drive, vanishing as soon as the white stone towers of the manor loomed ominously ahead. Jace opened the car door for her, less out of chivalry and more to force her out of the security of the vehicle to which she was desperately clinging. Without laying a hand on her, he herded Kara toward the double stairway at the entrance of the manor. She climbed the steep steps solemnly, feeling like Hardy’s Tess on her way to the gallows, innocent by virtue if not by deed. Kara stalled by the front of the imperious, carved doors before Jace pushed past her and knocked three times with the ostentatiously formal, golden knocker fashioned into a roaring lion’s head. With little delay, Mrs. Hughes opened the doors, greeting Kara with a pitying smile.

Crossing the threshold, Kara looked upon the prison with which she had become familiar. Though the manor was extravagantly beautiful, she had missed the welcome simplicity of the library. Kara longed for another day spent amid the encompassing smell of books and warm glow of sunlight through open windows rather than the glare of chandeliers and the empty echo of vast halls.

“Ashford said to bring you to him as soon as we arrived,”Jace informed her curtly.

“Given the events of the day, I’m assuming I don’t have a choice in the matter?”Kara asked, feeling the irritation that had been growing during the duration of her ride back with Jace beginning to consume her. If Cade wanted to demand her presence, he had better be prepared to deal with the consequences. Whatever anger he might be feeling, Kara was sure she could match it in full after being dragged back to his house like an escaped convict.

“Boss’s orders,”Jace responded, his lips curling into a smile of cruel amusement.

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