I focused my gaze on her and took a deep breath. “I'm thinking about my son.”
Her face softened. “How old is he?”
“Two months,” I said, staring at my hands.
“Wow, just a baby then,” she said, speaking slowly. “Where's the mother?”
“Gone,” I said.
Thinking about Crystal and the way she'd dropped Jack off with me like that – and wondering if Killian had put her up to it – filled with me rage. But, I knew it was an impotent rage. I had no one to direct it at. I clenched my eyes shut and tried not to think about it.
“I'm the only one he has,” I said softly.
“Being a single dad is tough,” she said. “My dad couldn't handle it.”
“Mine either,” I said, a dry chuckle escaped my lips. “That's why my brothers turned out the way they did. I mean, I had no desire to be a dad myself, but since I am – I feel like I have a responsibility to that kid. A responsibility to make sure he doesn't turn out like the rest of my fucked up family. I need to protect him from all this bullshit, and yet, here I am – in the middle of it.”
“You'd do anything for your little boy, wouldn't you?” she asked me.
Her voice cracked a bit, causing me to open my eyes and looked at her. Tears welled up in those beautiful, innocent brown eyes of hers and it pulled at my heart. They were tears for my son. How could she care about a child she didn't even know? Especially the child of a man who was technically holding her hostage.
“I would. I can't explain it, but I would,” I said.
In my heart, I knew it to be true. The bond between father and son was a strong one already. I'd never really thought about or wanted to be a father, but I was one. I could either be the best father I possibly could or be like my old man – and that was an easy decision for me to make.
“Then I'll do what I can to help you get him back,” she said. “But promise me that you'll at least try to come up with a plan that doesn't leave me dead in a ditch somewhere? Please?”
She wiped at her eyes, and a small smile crossed her face. It was meant as a joke, I had no doubt, but the truth in her words was still stark. For the first time since we met though, she was smiling, and that look caused me to smile too.
“I promise,” I said, and I had no desire to break that promise either.
CHAPTER SIX
KARA
I stared up at the ceiling that night, feeling lost and utterly alone. I was no longer tied down or confined, but I was still in a prison just the same. Whether Declan believed it or not, I was still trapped. I tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
There was the hum of the television in the other room. Not that the cabin had cable or anything fancy like that. Judging by the sound, I figured it was probably PBS or something. Background noise, I assumed. Every once in a while, there'd be footsteps as he walked through the house. Back and forth. Pacing. Like me, Declan was struggling to sleep, but likely for very different reasons.
Finally, I'd had enough. I climbed out of the bed and threw my pants back on. The floor creaked beneath my feet as I stepped to the door. I held my breath for some reason as I tu
rned the knob and peered out. I saw the front room was lit with the eerie blue glow of an old school television.
Padding softly, I walked down the hallway and found Declan sitting on the couch, shirtless. He stared at the TV blankly, seeing, but not really seeing it. The program he had on showed a herd of elephants walking through the savannah in Africa.
He didn't notice me standing there watching him. I stood there for a little while, watching him as he kept his eyes fixed on the screen, almost robotically bringing the bottle of beer in his hand to his lips, and taking a sip. He just did that over, and over, and over... it was almost like watching an animatronic figure at Disneyland or something. Of course, this would have to be the shittiest Disneyland in the world.
Finally, he caught a glimpse of me from the corner of his eye, and he turned his head, the animatronic spell broken.
“Not thinking about escaping, are ya?” he asked me. “Because if so, I should probably tell you now, that I don't sleep much.”
“No, I'm not thinking about escaping. I just can't sleep either. I don't do so well in strange places,” I said. I pointed at the beer in his hand. “Think I can have one?”
“It's old and shitty, but help yourself,” he said. “There's some in the fridge.”
I walked into the kitchen, and that's when I noticed that the place had been set up with some food and drinks already. Almost like someone, at some point, had stayed there or planned on staying there. Opening the fridge, I found the shitty beer along with some condiments. Typical bachelor pad. Who was the bachelor though?
I grabbed a beer and went back into the living room. Declan was stretched out on the loveseat, leaving the other couch for me. Popping open the bottle, I flopped down on the couch and took a sip, and grimaced.