Page 39 of Exit Strategy
“Thanks,” I echoed myself again and stared a hair too long at his broad retreating back as he went back out into the music of the night.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, my lip and chin still tingling from that light touch of his.
I went for the steps to the second floor and trailed up them like some Victorian ghost – except wrong setting for that, I think.
I discovered the master suite of the cabin quickly and made an additional discovery of a deep, triangular corner tub – the kind with the jets. After several nights of hard beds and several days of being jostled along poorly maintained highways and roads in Kurt’s stiffly riding truck, a hot bath with those jets sounded like the absoluteheightof luxury.
“Callie?” Kurt called out from the bedroom as I worked to pin up my mass of red mane with whatever I could scrounge. Mostly a pair of hair ties and a few stray Bobbie pins I had found and kept on the hem of my shirt.
“In here,” I called back over the rush of water.
Kurt peeked in the doorway and when he discovered me still clothed, relaxed, and leaned against the frame.
“You hungry, then?” he asked.
“Starving, actually. What did you have in mind?”
“You just leave that to me, eh?” he smiled, and it was such a rare thing when he did. It transformed his entire face. He went from so broody and severe to almost boyishly handsome and I felt butterflies take off in my stomach.
“Okay,” I murmured. “I trust you.”
He paused for a moment after pushing off the doorframe and looked me over. Those three little words held weight, and I think he knew it. The serious look was back on his face as he gave me a single nod, one that said he took grave responsibility. I felt my lips twitch and lift, my heart lightening and letting go some of the burden that weighted it in my breast.
“Thank you,” I said again and the gratitude in those two words went far beyond what it should take for simply scaring up a meal. He nodded again and turned to go. I closed my eyes, listening for a moment to the rush of water from the tap.
Sinking into the hot water up to my chin was pure bliss. Muscles lost tension in places, and it took work to consciously relax for some others, but I managed to a degree.
I shut off the tap and started the jets and sighed in contentment, taking the time to reflect on all the things that had led me to this point.
All the useless academia, the years of building me up, and for what?
For what?
To proverbially fatten me up; make me their prized pig to lead off to auction for the highest bidder. I had no doubt that Arik had paid handsomely for me – a most generous donation to New Eden Centre. Money had to have changed hands somewhere. It was what I had heard, anyway. That was how the August, I mean Emerson, funded his prized “church” and his lavish lifestyle.
New Eden was no better than a cult. I saw that now. And that cult peddled in flesh,myflesh and I had gathered I had fetched a handsome price.
I was little better than a whore. Arik hadn’t been remiss in reminding me of that fact as often as possible, and I couldn’t even say it was to my own benefit. I certainly hadn’t seen any monetary benefit. There was no upside for me.
I dipped my hands in the water and cupped them, bringing them to my face, washing away the day and my tears, scrubbing at imaginary dirt I felt would never come off my skin; mypsyche, no matter how hard or how often I scrubbed.
“Calanthe.” Kurt’s voice was gentle and concerned from the doorway and I jumped with a little shout of startlement.
“Don’t call me that, please… anything but that,” I said, hugging my knees and decidedlynotlooking at him. I didn’t want to fall apart. Iwouldn’tfall apart.
“Hey now, what’s this?” he asked in a hushed tone and came over, sitting on the step leading up into the tub, reaching out a hand and hesitating.
“It’s okay,” I said, and he rested it lightly against my back while I breathed.
“That’s it now,” he encouraged. “Breathe, just breathe.”
“Sorry,” I said with a shaky laugh. “I’m not sure what’s wrong with me.”
“Something’s triggered you, it seems,” he said softly. “Just focus on your breathing. Slow it down, Love. That’s it.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye as he shook his head resolutely.
“None of that, now,” he murmured and took up a washcloth from a basket of them nearby. He rolled up his sleeve and dipped it into the water behind me. I closed my eyes as he ran it across my shoulders, warm rivulets tracing down my back.
