Torn

Chapter 16

"Is she alright?"

"She looks pale…"

I opened my eyes as Taker gently wiped blood from my forehead. My hair was wet and there was a bitter taste of salt in my mouth. Hunter and Jeff stood at my bedside while Brock stood over by my window.

"You guys are waking her up…go wait for me downstairs." Taker said as he dipped the rag into a bowl of water. The guys left quietly, shutting the door behind them as they left.

I took a deep breath as he laid the rag on my wound again, this time letting it rest there for a moment. Thinking he was really mad at me, I opened my mouth to explain myself but he pressed his finger to my lips.

"You need to rest little one. You're head has taken a good knock." He said before removing the rag and then opening up a bandage.

"Sami….what happened to Sami?" I asked.

His face went blank before he placed the bandage on my head. "She's alive…but paying a good price for kidnapping you."

I chuckled, "You call that kidnapping?"

"Sure. I know you were trying to talk her out of it." He said.

"How?"

He smirked and then stood up, "You're too afraid of me to run on your own."

I shook my head, "I don't understand how you could know that."

He wiped off his hands on a towel and looked over his shoulder at me, "You're young Katrina. Young girls like you fear striking out on your own…you need a little peer pressure in order to go through with anything. On top of that…you haven't tried to escape within the last three months that you've been here."

"Is that why you're replacing Sara with me?" I asked as a tear fell from my eye.

"Yes…and no." he said before coming back to my side. "You're an interesting young woman…and very different from girls that I'm used to….you'll keep me interested."

"Until you're ready to get rid of me," I cried.  "She told me you had Sara killed."

He shook his head, "I'm a dangerous man Kat, that's true.  However I didnt kill Sara... to be honest I haven't seen her since i brought you here."

"I see." I whispered as a feeling of drowsiness swept over me.

"Get some sleep. I'll be back to check on you in a little while." He said.

I nodded and pulled the blankets up over my chest.

"Oh yeah…and I love your hair…although you might have to get it redone thanks to the water you were in." he said before leaving the room. I smiled to myself knowing he would love my hair. I mean how hard could it be to figure him out?

Over the next few days I began to feel a lot better although my mind wondered what happened to Sami. I wanted to ask Taker so bad, but it seemed as if I was finally getting on his good side and I didn't want to mess it up. One day I decided to take a walk around his ranch. It was hot outside but very windy so I wore a pair of shorts that had rhinestones on the pockets and a black beater that hugged my curves.

I straightened my hair and put on a little make-up before heading out there for my walk. I thought about my uncle and wondered what he was doing now that I was gone. How was he holding up? Did he stop fighting? I would never know the answers to those questions now that I was Taker's newest member. I still wasn't sure how I felt about that title since he still treated me like a prisoner. Maybe one day I could learn to see him as more than just my new master but I highly doubted it.

I was walking towards his garage and had to stop myself upon seeing Hunter, Jeff, and Brock all working on their bikes…without their shirts on. My cheeks began go burn almost instantly. I was about to turn around and leave but Jeff spotted me.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to step out of the house for once." He said.

The guys all turned and looked at me, Brock a little harder than the others. "Hey there Katrina."

"Hi guys." I said.

Brock wiped off his hands and glanced at the others, "Awe, I think the little one is still afraid of us."

"Oh man, I'm hurt." Hunter said as he approached me, "Listen we know we've been jerks to you but the boss told us we should ease up on you."

I folded my arms, "And what does he mean by ease up?"

"He means we should start over…" Jeff said as he held out his hand, "Hi…I'm Jeff."

I smiled a little and shook his hand. "I'm Kat."

"Of course you know I'm Brock, and that's-"

"-Hunter," I finished for him. "It's a pleasure to meet you guys."

"No, no, the pleasure is all ours." Hunter said as he kissed my hand.

I giggled before Hunter was suddenly struck over the head by a glove. When they all turned around Taker was stepping out of the garage, wearing only his jeans and a pair of black boots. I had seen him without a shirt before, but this time…there was something almost attractive about him. The sun glisened off of every muscle which were dripping in sweat. I felt my heart beat start to quicken, pushing blood through every part of my being. My body was comming to life before my very eyes.

"Didn't I tell you to keep your damn lips off of her?" he asked Hunter.

"I was only making her feel comfortable around us boss." Hunter said.

Taker gritted his teeth and approached me, "Yeah? Well if you haven't noticed the three of you are standing around half naked…she already feels overwhelmed by that."

"What do you mean?" I asked as he grabbed my hand and walked me towards the house, "I-I was ok."

He chuckled, "No I don't think so….you've never seen a naked man before…it was written all over your face."

My eyes widened. "I have to!"

"Your uncle doesn't count Katrina. It's different when you see a man who isn't related to you." He explained before stopping at the porch. "Head inside and start some lunch, we'll be inside soon."

I nodded and started walking up the steps. "Hey Taker?"

"what?" he asked.

I smiled at him as the wind blew through my hair, "Go easy on them…I don't think they were trying to mark their territory on me."

He smirked, "You know me so well already. Stick around kitten…you might learn more than you bargained for."

I giggled and headed inside to start lunch. It was then that it occurred to me that he actually was a funny guy. What else could hs be hiding under that tough exterior?