She would be strong for Avery.
Chapter 38
The next day, Kate was sprawled across the concrete floor, scraping the cement with a twig that had somehow made its way into her cell. The melodic sound of the lock unlatching and the door opening had her springing to her feet. Nick entered and shut the door behind him.
“Hey, beautiful,” Nick greeted in a mechanical tone just before removing his helmet. He set it on the floor and approached Kate against the back wall. His words caused her cheeks to blush and a shy smile to part her lips.
“Hi, handsome.” Kate slid her hands up Nick’s chest and around the back of his neck, pulling his lips to hers.
Nick’s eyes softened as he gazed at her, though Kate caught a glimpse of something unsettling, and she wondered what he was forced to spend his days doing just to keep his cover. What horrible things did Nick have to do because of her?
The cell door started to open, and Kate’s eyes widened. Before she knew what was happening, Nick turned her around and squashed her face against the concrete wall. He gripped a handful of her hair and pulled back enough to thrust her faceupward without causing any pain. As Nick pinned her body to the wall with his own, he planted kisses on her neck, moving up toward her ear.
Travis’s smug chuckle erupted from the doorway behind them.
“Damn, you guys started the party without me. They say sharing is caring, Alex,” Travis said.
“If you step one foot into this room, I’ll replace your eyeballs with your fucking testicles,” Nick replied through clenched teeth.
Kate’s lips curled up into a smirk as she stifled a laugh.
“Yeah, okay. That’s fine. Plenty of lovin’ next door.” Travis shut the door, and his footsteps led away from Kate’s cell.
Nick craned his neck to ensure the room was empty, then released his hold on Kate and turned her around.
“Sorry. I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Nick asked, straightening out the mess he had made of Kate’s hair.
“No.” Kate smiled up at him, touching her palm to Nick’s face. “Thank you.”
“For?” Nick gave her a quizzical look, and Kate felt bewildered that he did not know.
“For…everything,” Kate breathed as she moved toward his lips.
When the cell door next to Kate’s opened, every muscle in her body tensed. Heavy steps thundered into the room.
“Please, no,” Avery whimpered from the other side of the room.
“I love it when you play hard to get, sweet thing,” Travis retorted.
Nick’s lips twisted into a disgusted expression. His eyes pierced Kate with misdirected hatred. As they listened to Travis grab Avery and start to undress her, Nick squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. He rolled his neck around his shoulders, his joints cracking and relieving built-up pressure. Then, he openedhis eyes and kissed Kate’s forehead. Nick picked up his voice-altering helmet and secured it around his head.
“Do not leave this room,” Nick ordered as he opened Kate’s cell door and rounded the corner. Seconds passed before he peeked his head around the corner to glance at Kate. “Do not leave this room,please.” The door closed, and Nick was gone. Kate pressed against the wall, her ear butting up to the icy plaster as she listened through to Avery’s room.
Nick pushed Avery’s cell door open, catching an eyeful of Travis’s hands groping her naked body.
“Hey, you’ve got your plaything. Leave me alone with mine,” Travis said in a voice Nick was sure he intended to sound domineering. To him, it sounded like a child not wanting to share their toy. Nick said nothing as he approached Travis, gripped him by the throat, and ripped him away from the girl.
Once free of Travis’s grasp, Avery shuffled to the edge of the room, pulling her clothes over her body.
With a hand clutched around Travis’s throat, Nick slammed him into the wall.
“Please, man. I’ll leave her alone. I’ll do whatever you want!” Travis pleaded, and his wide, fearful eyes landed on Avery. Nick slammed him against the wall again, knocking the breath from his lungs.
“Keep your filthy fucking eyes off of her.” Nick struck Travis with a ferocious left fist, his knuckles connecting and sending several teeth flying.
“How come you get to do whatever the fuck you want one room over but I can’t do the same in here?” Travis cried. Nick relaxed the fist itching to launch another attack into Travis’s face.
“You know what? Since you only have a few minutes left to live, I’ll tell you a secret. Alex is dead. After he told me where you all brought my girl, I killed him. Dumped his body in thewoods somewhere. It was easy enough to throw on a mask and pretend to be him. Now, I was trying really hard to mind my own business, protect my girl, and do what I came here to do. But that girl right there—”
