“I did?” I began then, “wait, how do you know he did?”
Her soft laugh surrounded me in its warmth. “You remember when we were kids and Mom insisted we learn martial arts to protect ourselves?”
“And I couldn’t even lift my arms for days after one session.” Staring at my chipped pinky nail, I laughed too, recalling those days I’d moan before eventually dragging my feet to the training sessions then literally fall asleep later while brushing my teeth.
“What did I promise you, Ishika?”
I lifted my eyes to meet hers. “You’ll push me to try my best, but you’ll never let any harm come to me, no matter what.”
“And?”
“You’ll watch from afar while I try to defend myself and step in to help only if you see me failing.”
I recalled that day two boys bullied me during recess. Dia found me crying in the bathroom and after school she cornered both boys. By the time she finished with them, they were licking her shoes in front of a crowd of students.
We made the pact that afternoon.
“When you resisted, he got a little rough.” She touched her throat indicating the mark on mine. “Then you somehow forgot the training you had and you tried to use the SING method instead. You remember that one?”
“Yeah.” I loved the movie Miss Congeniality since the first time I watched it, more so Sandra Bullock’s self-defensetechnique as her talent at the pageant show. “That isn’t supposed to work in real life. The variables are too many for the technique to be that accurate.” I grinned.
“Judging by the way he limped afterward, I’d say blunt force trauma to his cock.” She wiggled her brows.
Although I laughed, I quickly sobered. “Why can’t I remember anything?”
“Because his goons, standing outside the bathroom door, rushed in when they heard Ajay scream. At his request, they held you while he sedated you with enough ketamine to knock you out and–”
“Cause short term memory loss,” I finished for her.
“Yep. Those assholes caused the bruises.” She pointed to my arms. “When they helped you to the car after proclaiming to other patrons that you were too drunk to walk.”
“Bastards,” I mumbled, miffed. “And this?” I held out the bunched negligee in my hand.
“Wouldn’t be surprised if his mother helped,” she snorted. “He’s apparently a mama’s boy.”
Slowly shaking my head, I paced the dark brown carpet for a bit then stopped in the middle of the room. “I need to get out of here.”
“What about Kai?” Her question had me looking at her, concern deepening my frown. “You know they’ll kill him before they let him go.”
She was right. They would rather see me broken that letting me off the hook. “Help me get him out.”
Straightening, she slipped her hands into her pants pockets and rocked back on her heels. “Kai doesn’t believe you’re his sister–”
“But the DNA test will prove I am,” I argued, flustered because we had yet to get that test done and they hadn’t allowed me to as promised.
“You’ve met Kai a few times now, has he made any indication of wanting to come back home with you?” She had a point. “Anything drastic and you risk alienating what little leeway you gained. Besides, he won’t come quietly. Even if we kidnap him, he’ll either hate us more, or try to kill us. He’s been brainwashed since he was a baby, Ish. He sees these people as his family and they’re all he’s ever known for the last twenty-three years. All they offered him was love, there’s no reason for him to hate them.”
I hated that she was right. Defeat brought tears, making me angrier. “So what do I do?”
She shrugged. “Let it all play out, slowly and methodically. Earn his trust. Convince him that your lack of memory has a reason and find out what it is.”
“What about Remo, he can help me get Kai out?”
Dia laughed. “You’re not thinking clearly, sis. Ajay hates Remo and he’s already filled Kai with that hatred. You’ll spawn a war between your brother and the man we fuck. Do you honestly want to say goodbye to his incontestable appetite for pussy? Anyone else fucked you to pass out point?” She sighed. “Right now, Remo is standing down because of Kai, otherwise he’d rain war on these people, one they won’t survive.”
Despite my anger, her bluntness made me smile. She never beat around the bush. “So you want me to just go downstairs and pretend last night never happened?”
“That would be the logical choice right now.”
