Bite Marks

Ransom

Eventually Aidan left, and I had to go back to work. I was stuck with a double shift today, so I wouldn't be able to leave until later tonight. Aidan had wanted to do something, but I feigned exhaustion as an excuse. I wasn't sure I could act like I was okay tonight. Seeing Kane here had really shaken me up.

When I finally got off work I really was tired, so I felt better about my excuse to Aidan. That man was a wonder. He had offered to pick me up and drop me off at my apartment, but I had declined since Kelsey said she would give me a lift.

"So what's your secret?" She asked me as we buckled into her car.

"What?"

"Come on you have Aidan wrapped around your finger, and a hot Native American sniffing around too," she looked over at me slyly.

I wanted to laugh. While Kane was incredibly gorgeous, he was also incredibly insane.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I tried to sound teasing, but she must have heard the weariness in my voice because she let it go.

I walked into my apartment ready to collapse and forget about the day, but I decided I needed to do some research. If Kane was going to be stalking me I figured it was best I find out all I could. Ho'nene, as it turned out, was a pretty popular surname for people of Native American decent. The word meant wolf. Oh the irony.

As for Kane specifically, nothing really turned up, just some boring newspaper articles about his family. I found an obituary for his dad. That was pretty sad I guess, but no reason to be a psycho. It seemed that he was the sole beneficiary of his parent's giant estate. I wondered why everything hadn't gone to his mom. I couldn't find anything criminally related, but I wasn't really surprised. Money is power.

I closed my newly purchased laptop, and leaned back against the couch. The only thing that my snooping had done was make me worry more. Kane was so freaking normal it was exasperating. How does someone even keep weirdness of that caliber off the radar. Surely there should have been something! I sighed and pushed off the couch. A hot shower and sleep would do me some good.

The hot water felt wonderful on my skin. I was one of those people who took showers as hot as I could stand. Something about the sting the burning water left on my skin made me feel more clean. My hair was really starting to get long; I was due for a cut soon.

I was drying off when my cell phone rang. I tiptoed into the living room to fish it out of my purse. The screen said Kelsey, which was odd. She didn't normally call this late, being too busy getting Bradley ready for bed.

"Hey, what's up?" I waited to hear Kelsey's chipper voice, but when I heard someone speak my blood turned cold.

"Is this Cassie?" I would have recognized that voice anywhere. Kane. My chest froze in a panic and I couldn't get any air. "Cassie? Are you there?"

"What? Why do you have Kelsey's phone?! Where is she? What did you do to her!?"

I was nearly in tears. I was so scared that my shitty problems had hurt one of the only true friends I had ever had.

"Cassie, baby, calm down. I need you to take a deep breath. I haven't hurt your friend," I ignored the baby, and focused on the fact that he said he hadn't hurt Kelsey. I was waiting for the 'yet'.

"What is going on Kane?" I tried to sound firm but my voice warbled, betraying my fear.

"I though we had killed all the rogues in the area. I don't know why they targeted you Cassie, but they followed you home. I sent over one of my enforcers and he's outside if they show back up, but one of them followed Kelsey home...."