Chapter 61

Outside, the walls and ceiling were painted white, and that gave the illusion of a never-ending corridor. "Do you know where you're going? " I enquired, taking in the beads of sweat on Kaden's forehead and trying to ignore the way his scars strained against his muscles.

"Back the way I came." Kaden clenched his jaw and didn't meet my eyes, confirming that he didn't know how we were getting out of here. He didn't want to admit it, fearful that he would make me worried.

"Okay," I whispered softly, before he grabbed the top of my arm and yanked me behind a pillar.

He placed a finger over my lips. "Someone's coming," he hissed into my ear. He pressed his body against mine and tried to hide both our bodies behind the thin pillar. I looked worriedly at where the overhead light cast shadows of our bodies on the floor. I could feel the uneven rise and fall of Kaden's chest, and I found that my breathing pattern was altering itself to match his. I could tell, from the way he cocked his head to the side, that he was straining to hear what was being said around us. I could hear bits and pieces of conversation. It was nothing definite, but I was able to get the gist of the matter. They knew we were missing, and the entire FBI team was looking for us. I waited until I couldn't hear anything anymore, before turning to face Kaden. I was surprised to see that his eyes were boring into mine and he watched me with a grave intensity.

"I can't breathe when you're smouldering me with your eyes," I confessed.

"What makes you think it's any easier for me?" he questioned, titling his head to the side and dipping it slightly, so that he was at eye level with me. "Being close to you affects me in a way that shouldn't be possible, and I fucking hate it. I hate that you have so much control over me and that I can't walk away from you; because you'll just find some way to get yourself in trouble and I'll have to be the one to save your ass time and time again." His tone was harsh, his eyes wild and his body tense, caging me in.

"Will you walk away from me once all this is over?" Tears pooled in my eyes, but I quickly blinked them away. His words hurt me, more than I wanted to admit. "I'm sorry that I'm such a hazard. I'll try harder not to drag you into any of my problems." It wasn't fair on him. Ryan was my boyfriend. I should have asked him for help, not Kaden.

"I wish I had it in me to walk away from you." Kaden cupped my cheek and his voice immediately softened. I gasped when I realised that he was crying. I hadn't noticed it sooner, because the blood caked on his face was hard to look past, but standing close to him, I could see his eyes glistened. He was doing a pretty good job of holding it in and I wondered how long he had been feeling this pain. Since you left him for Ryan, my subconscious reminded me.

Without warning Kaden crushed his lips to mine. His lip was cut badly, and I tasted the salty tang of blood on my tongue, but the taste of blood was quickly diluted by the taste of the kiss. His tongue tried to pry my lips open and I stubbornly refused to comply. I wanted to push him away, but I chose not to. I wanted to believe that I tolerated the kiss because I was afraid of aggravating his gaping wounds, but I knew that wasn't true. I was afraid of him leaving me. Was it selfish that I still wanted to keep him around? I felt his tongue stroke mine and it became clear that I wasn't thinking with my brain. Once again my heart reacted to him and overpowered my brain.

"We should get going," he said, as he pulled away from me. I expected to see a victorious smirk on his face, but was surprised to see a glum look. His eyes were hooded, -barely open,- and the corners of his mouth curled downwards.

"Yeah," I rasped, not wanting him to know that I needed a couple of minutes to recover from his heated kiss.

"Making out while we have a bunch of FBI agents on our tail probably isn't a good idea." I couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but I mutely nodded my head in reply. "So, stop distracting me and let's get out of here?" He gestured to the path ahead with one of his hands. "Preferably now."

I missed the sweet Kaden who would fight anyone to keep me safe, and I hated, well disliked, this insulting Kaden who said he hated me and then kissed me with the same breath. I took a step forward. I was too hasty in this action, and it caused my thigh to throb more than it already did. I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood, and limped forward, not looking back to see if Kaden had noticed my pain.

Suddenly I felt an arm wrap around my waist and another under my knees. I was airborne for a couple of seconds, before my body settled against a warm, rock-hard chest.

"Don't be stubborn," Kaden ordered, when I opened my mouth to protest. "It'll be quicker if I carry you anyway. You walk slowly normally- it's a million times worse with an injured leg.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and placed my head on his shoulder, and without realising what I was doing I placed a whisper of a kiss on his collarbone.

***

"Put her down!" We had been wandering aimlessly around the compound trying to find a way out. To be honest I had expected to be caught a lot sooner than we were.

Kaden clutched me to his chest. "Over my dead body." He spun around and came face to face with my mother...I mean Angela Foster...Sierra Markus, whatever her name was.

Her hair hung limply over her shoulders, and it was horribly tangled, a contrast to her usually neat hairstyles. Her clothes were torn and almost non-existent. She was so thin that it looked like her goal was to disappear into thin air. Both her cheeks were bruised with hues of yellow and green and her eyes were surrounded by purplish hollows. When she opened her mouth, I saw that there were big black gaps where her teeth used to be.

"Oh, it's just you." Kaden's voice was mixed with surprised relief and recognition, as he made his way towards her. We were both bare foot, which made me wonder why our footsteps echoed in a foreboding way.

"No," I said, digging my nails into his shoulder blades. "She's not my mother." I still wasn't sure if I should trust her; how could I after she had lied to me my whole life.

"What? What're you talking about?" Kaden's eyes travelled between me and her, before his forehead creased in either worry or confusion.

"I'll tell you later," I replied. "Let's just get out of here first." My voice trembled and I was worried that Kaden wouldn't understand my slurred words, but he only sighed and shifted me in his arms. "Please," I pleaded, relief washing over me when he started walking away with me.

"Wait, Sage," she called after me.

Kaden halted, sensing the heartbreak and hurt in her voice. He set me down gently, but still let me lean against him.

"I can help you get out of here," she continued. "Both of you."

Did she recognise Kaden as the guy who had broken into her house a couple of months ago? Was she wondering why I was escaping from the FBI with a thief.? It doesn't matter, I reminded myself. Let her think what she wants.

"You lied to me," I accused, as Kaden scooped me back up. "You don't have to carry me," I yelled at him, anger and frustration causing me to take everything out on someone who was just trying to be helpful.

"Too bad," Kaden replied in a domineering manner, as if he was daring me to challenge him.

I rolled my eyes and realised that arguing with him was futile, so I decided to focus on my so-called mother.

"How much did they tell you?" she asked.

"Everything," I replied simply.

"I didn't tell you the truth because I was afraid of how scornful you'd be towards me afterwards. I loved you from the second I held you in my arms and I know it's selfish, but after that I couldn't give you up. I wanted to keep you with me, to protect you from the world. I couldn't tell you the truth, as much as I wanted to. I knew that you'd run away from me and hate me for ever. I'm so sorry," she grimaced, then exhaled, as if a major weight had been lifted off of her.

"Sorry?" I paused. "Well then I'm sorry that I'll never be able to forgive you." My words surprised me. I had never spoken to my mother with such defiance before.

"We'll have plenty of time to talk about it," Kaden pointed out. "But for now, we need to get out of this hell hole."

What made him think that he had the right to intervene? I was about to say something, but he glared at me, and I thought it better to keep my mouth shut.

***

Angela was carrying a large rifle. She carried it with skill; her index finger on the trigger, applying just enough pressure, so that the gun didn't fire. She seemed ready to shoot at a moment's notice. She looked like she belonged here. She was holding the gun like how she usually held a book; like it was an old friend.

Kaden was still carrying me and I marvelled at the fact that she was letting him. The mother I knew would have ripped me out of the clutches of any man. He was beginning to stagger and he grimaced when he thought I wasn't looking; but I was always looking at him. There was a thick band of sweat that covered his forehead and dribbled down onto his cheeks. He was visibly struggling to carry me. But typical Kaden, he was always putting me before himself.

"Shit," Kaden swore as Alicia's brown head suddenly became visible as she dashed towards us.

"It's okay," my mother told him, calmly. "She's with us."

I shot Kaden a worried look, causing him to put his mouth by my ear and whisper, "If she tries to hurt you, I'll put her out." For some reason his assurance did a poor job of calming me down. But I got the feeling that his intention wasn't to calm, it was more to make it clear that he wasn't going down without a fight. As he straightened his posture, he caught my earlobe between his teeth, and I wondered if he had done so intentionally.

"Did you get the blood samples?" my mother asked Alicia.

Alicia nodded slowly, her eyes watching Kaden in terror. Had she heard what he had whispered in my ear, or was she just intimidated by his appearance? "I went back to get Sage as well, but it seems she did just fine by herself."

"She wasn't alone," Kaden hissed in a low voice. "I was with her. I'll always be with her."

My mother glared at him with bloodshot eyes, but her gaze softened when she saw how he was looking at me. She probably thought we were so in love that we'd be together for the rest of our lives. "All of them?" she asked Alicia, choosing not to address Kaden's comment.

"All of them," Alicia confirmed.

My mother turned towards me with a stoic expression on her face. "Did they take any other samples?" She gestured towards the test tube rack that Alicia's fingers were wrapped around.

I started to shake my head, but then suddenly remembered something. "The doctor," I stated, "he bottled a chunk of my hair."

My mother's face grew visibly paler, and her teeth clenched and unclenched uncontrollably as she turned her stern, calculating expression towards Alicia.

"I didn't know about that," Alicia promised her, but she still shrunk and pressed her body against the wall, preparing herself for either my mother's or Kaden's wrath. "You have to believe me. I think I've earned that much for helping you escape," she mumbled.

"I'll go back and get it," my mother offered. "You get the kids out of here," she commanded Alicia. Alicia opened her mouth to say something but my mother's words sliced through hers. "You know your way around here, make sure my baby gets out safely."

"I will."

My mother turned to me. "I'll meet you outside," she told me, leaving no room for me to argue. She stood on her toes and whispered something into Kaden's ear. I was too tired to care what it was; probably an order to not hurt me or something like that. Whatever it was, it bothered Kaden, because I felt his arms tighten around me and he pressed his lips to the crown of my head, before I fell asleep and allowed blackness to engulf my vision.