Page 87 of Soaring Free
“I would hope you think it’s the best tracking device,” Liam responds.
“Of course, why would I have hooked you up with it otherwise?”
“And now?” I ask.
“And now, we wait, Theo. I know, this is the hard part, but depending on the size of The Federalist’s networks, it could take a few minutes, it could take an hour. It won’t knock out the networks until it’s spread throughout the entire thing,” Sophia explains.
Sophia’s cup of tea is fully delivered less than five minutes later, and I see the beautiful sight of Savannah’s name popping up on a map, but almost as soon as we see it, it’s offline again. Her tracker was back online for less than four seconds, but it was long enough to give us a precise location. Savannah may not be home before dinner, but the chance we get her back tonight just skyrocketed.
Hang on, Kitten. The Cavalry, The Brigade, and some secret group of badasses are coming. You just need to hang tight for us.
Chapter fifty-six
It’s hard to make a dinner last longer when I have no appetite whatsoever. Although Kyle said we could wait before he claimed me if I was having cramps, then I’m going to put on the performance of a lifetime and do my best to convince him that I have the worst cramps in my entire life. Laboring with multiple failed epidurals? Cakewalk compared to what I’m going to be experiencing here in a few moments, or so I’ll do my best to convince Kyle of that.
“Angel, you really need to eat something. Your system needs to flush everything out from yesterday,” Kyle says as though he wasn’t the one that put the roofie drugs in my system in the first place.
“Yes, you’re right, I’m sorry. The first day of my cycle can just be so draining and the cramping is getting quite uncomfortable.” I wince to try and sell the pain that, in reality, is very minor right now, but it has already been clearly established that we are not operating in the land of truth and facts in this creepy cabin prison.
“Take a few more bites and then I’ll get you more ibuprofen, and we can get you set up with the heating pad over on the couch so you can be more comfortable.”I would be more comfortable very, very far away from here, but that doesn’t seem to be an option he is open to right now.He looks at me with such dark, possessive eyes and my heart rate increases as it dawns on me that he fully believes that I am his.
Was I overly nice to him at some point? Did my typical energy and smiles somehow get mistranslated to be flirtatiousand open to whatever fresh hell this is? It’s clear by what he has explained thus far that he has been obsessively watching and downright stalking me for much longer than I had any clue. Does Shane know that Kyle is obsessed with me? Would Shane have encouraged that kind of behavior? I mean, I don’t think so, but the fact that I even have to ask myself this is ludicrous; I never would have questioned these things of the man I married, but Shane is not that man anymore, so anything could be possible.
The storm outside has rain beating against the windows, and the occasional thunder and lightning seems to be growing more frequent in occurrence. Maybe Mother Nature can do a girl a solid and rip the roof off this place, pluck my captor up into the sky, and give me a shot at getting away. As though she’s open to considering my mental suggestion, the power flickers and goes out for a moment before coming back on. It’s less than five seconds, but that’s five seconds too many.
“Don’t worry, we have a generator that would have kicked in if we really lost power. It’s just a storm,” Kyle coos like anything he could say or do will bring me any comfort whatsoever.
I force myself to eat a few more bites of dinner and take the ibuprofen, even though I don’t really need it. Kyle sets up the heating pad and situates me before going to clean up dinner. But if he’s hoping to win any points for being willing to do the dishes, it’s too bad he is still fucking crazy. Once the kitchen is tidied, Kyle pours himself a finger of whiskey and comes to sit on the couch with me. My stomach clenches as I realize he intends for us to … what? Cuddle? Snuggle? I guess that’s better than whatever he has in mind when he references fully claiming me.
“I know it’s been a lot the last twenty-four hours or so, but we will find a new norm.” Kyle sits and extends an arm around my back, pulling me into him. The touch of his hand on my shoulder makes me want to shudder with disgust, but I’m using every ounce of chill to appear calm and relaxed. “Your shoulders are so tense, Savannah. Do you want me to rub them for you?”
I give him a tight smile. “No, that’s okay; it’s just from the cramps, my entire body gets tight.”
“We will take a nice bath tomorrow, or if this storm passes in time, we can go out to the hot tub off the back deck.” He grins at me before saying, “And don’t worry, I made sure you have some swimsuit options in our closet, but of course, they are completely optional.” As though God himself objects, a loud clap of thunder makes both of us jump and the lights flicker slightly as the lightening follows close behind.
“I don’t like the dark very much. Do you have flashlights or something if the power goes out?” I ask because I really don’t want to be stuck with him, let alone in the dark where I can’t see where he is at all times.
“I know you have a silly little fear of the dark, so I have flashlights, but they likely won’t be necessary. We have that backup generator out on the side of the house. All the smart features of the house are connected to the network, so if the main power goes out, the generator just steps right in and everything should stay running as usual. I wanted us to be completely self-sustaining out here if necessary.”
“And by smart features, you mean the biometric locks?” Also known as the bars to this prison cell.
“Yes, and the heating and cooling systems, entertainment systems, and cameras,” he preens. “They can’t be easily modified, unlike traditional locks. I know the balcony door thing was a bit dramatic when I could’ve just walked in the front door when your security system was down, but I guess there a Shakespearian romantic notion to the whole balcony thing.”
I try and take a deep breath through my nose as I really might puke on this psychopath. “I didn’t realize you were so tech-savvy, Kyle.”
“To be fair, the technical pieces go a bit over my head, but my cousin is a whiz when it comes to this stuff. He has gotten into a pickle or two over the years, and I’ve always bailed him out, so I like to think we have each other’s backs. He handles all the tech, and I handle all the legal stuff. We make a good team.”
His cousin must be how he accessed my home and did whatever he did that pissed Liam off so bad when he was tryingto explain how someone was able to get into my house without showing up on my security system. “Will I get to meet him?” And is crazy a shared family trait or will he see that I need his help?
“I suppose someday.” He runs his finger along my arm and I have to force myself not to pull away from his touch. “You know once, he got a little fixated on this girl and took things to an extreme. He was arrested on some bullshit charges, but when he was out on bail, all the electronic proof of his case disappeared. It’s pretty easy to get a not guilty verdict when there isn’t any evidence to convict,” he says with a wink at me. “But he did help me secure that special edition book for you, so his skills are helpful in a lot of areas.”
The limited run foiled-cover special edition book that I received was from Kyle?! The gift message sends chills scattering down my spine now that I know who sent it:To believing in happily ever after.I do believe in happily ever after—but not with a psychopath. I try to clear my throat but my mouth feels incredibly dry from this conversation. “So, this cousin of yours helped you set up the … interesting tech here?”
“Yeah, I had a few of the overall ideas, but he really knocked it out of the park. It’s all somehow connected to his private satellite network and completely secure. With the jammer he created for me, it allows the signals from certain devices through, although they are cloaked and no one else can register the signal. And just so you know, there isn’t an inch of this house that isn’t covered by a camera, but I was discreet with their placements.”
“Was that really necessary?” I barely squeak out.
“I finally just got you, Savannah. I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”
