Captured

Chapter 28

I took a shaky step forward, my eyes locked on Kanes for a moment before my gaze dropped to his feet where the dog lay, whimpering in pain.

I ran to him, dropping to my knees and staring at the deep gash through my teary eyes. I ripped off my sodden jacket and pressed it to the wound to try and stop the bleeding, causing the wind to slam against my bare skin.

I couldn't stop crying as I sat beside him, cradling his head on my lap as the rain pelted down on us. "Katherine," Kane muttered.

"They're gone," I whispered, not daring to look up at him as my tears fell. "I thought I knew where they would be but they've gone."

He was silent for a moment and I kept my gaze pinned on the dog as I ran my hands over its fur while the other nuzzled against my side. "I'm sorry," Kane finally said and I scoffed. Of course he wasn't. This was what he wanted. Me to have no other choice other than to go back to him. "Really," he argued, "I'm sorry."

I ignored him, continuing to cry softly. My hands had started to go numb and were covered in the sticky red blood oozing from dogs wound. My damp cheeks stung from the biting wind and my chest ached with grief.

"Kath," he called after a few moments, staring at me sitting in the pouring rain, "please come back with me. It's not safe here."

I shook my head. "Back to my cell?" I grumbled, still not looking up at him.

"No," he stated immediately and I saw him crouch beside me in my peripheral vision, "no, back to the apartment."

"I'm sorry," he continued when I didn't answer him, taking me by surprise, "I shouldn't have said all that, I was angry."

All I could do was shake my head. I couldn't care less about his excuses and apologies. "I was thinking about my leadership," he went on, regardless of my indifference. "The rest of the girls leaving made me look bad," he hissed, anger lacing his tone, "that shouldn't have happened with me in charge and now there are men questioning my ability to lead."

Still I didn't respond. I didn't care. "But while I was looking for you, I realised that being in charge isn't the most important thing to me. Being a father is. I want to know my child Katherine and I was angry to find the others had left but if you'd have gone with them, I would've been heartbroken."

His words managed to pierce straight through my chest and I forced myself to look up at him and read the vulnerability in his eyes. "I know you didn't stay for me," he said, his features soft for the first time since I'd laid eyes on him, "but I should've thanked you regardless. I'm sorry that instead, I lost my temper."

I didn't say anything, I just stared back at him, trying to imagine Kane, the person, rather than Kane, the man, or Kane, the leader. I tried to picture the kid that wanted to grow up to be a doctor because he wanted to help people. I tried to see the older brother that would do anything to protect his little brother, the village kid that tried to save as many people as he could when the world was falling apart, the baby that his mother brought into the world and the man who would soon be a father.

I tried to picture him holding our child, loving and protecting them from the rest of the world. I ached for it. The safety and security of a family. But I knew that image was too good to be true.

"Please come back Kath, it's not safe out here. The smell of blood will attract predators," he said, gesturing to the red liquid pooling beneath my fingertips. "And he needs to be treated. Let's get him back and I can give him stitches."

"He can't walk," I muttered, looking down into he soft brown eyes of the dog.

"I'll carry him," Kane said.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What about you?" I asked softly, biting my lip. "I shot you."

Something flashed in his eyes for a moment before he shook his head. "I'm fine, I removed the bullet and stitched the wound before I left to look for you," he explained. He looked between the dog on my lap and me for a moment before shrugging off his thick jacket, leaving him in a t-shirt. "Here," he said, holding it out to me. I shook my head and he raised an eyebrow. "You'll freeze," he said, pushing it towards me.

"Thank you," I muttered before pulling it over me, feeling a little relief when it blocked the icy wind from hitting my bare skin.

He nodded and moved to lift the dog, gently pulling him into his arms. When he held him securely, he waited for me to wobble to my own feet, feeling weak and drained of energy. "Are you okay?" He asked and I nodded before following him through the forest, the other dog at my side.