Page 36 of Keeping Kasey (Love and Blood #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Logan

Kasey doesn’t say a single word to me.

I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve gagged her with Lover Boy’s life, after all.

Still, it’s odd seeing her so… compliant.

The only words she’s spoken were to my soldiers for an update on Lover Boy—which I allowed them to give her. When they left the hospital, he was getting a blood transfusion, and the doctors were still deciding whether or not to take the bullet out.

Kasey still holds her head high and squares her shoulders, but there’s no fire in her eyes.

She didn’t protest when I ushered her out of her apartment, when I ignored every empty seat on the plane and took the one next to her, or when I ordered her to eat a dinner I knew she wouldn’t like—pasta with mushrooms, supplied by a flight attendant.

I’ve finally tamed her.

And it isn’t half as satisfying as it should be.

When I first saw Kasey, the fury that’s been simmering in my veins for months was suddenly boiling over with the desperate need to destroy her. Black rage blinded me to anything that wasn’t her fear and submission.

But now I have it, and the hollowness is no less consuming than it’s been for four months.

When the plane lands, Kasey wordlessly follows me to the waiting car.

I throw her bags into the back seat of my Rolls-Royce, forcing her to take the passenger seat, though I’m sure she’d prefer to be far from me.

We drive in suffocating silence.

Kasey wears the same blank expression she’s worn for hours as she stares out the window. As we get closer, she must recognize the streets because she sinks back into her seat. Her chest rises and falls in quick breaths, her eyes flickering from the road to me.

“What?”

She only offers a silent shake of her head, and that pisses me off more than her fight.

“ What ?” I repeat with a bite.

“You said you had a cell for me,” she whispers.

“I do,” I say as I turn onto the driveway to the manor. “And I’ll take you there the second you give me a reason to.”

I expect her silence this time, but I’m still pissed off by it.

I park the car and haul her suitcases from the back seat.

She looks at the manor like it’s a war zone—and I suppose for her, it is.

“Go,” I order, and she swallows before forcing one foot in front of the other.

The doors open as we reach it, and my brothers stand at the entrance, expressionless. Damon takes in the mute girl at my side, but James only watches me. The slightest narrowing of his eyes answers my question.

He’s still mad.

I didn’t tell anyone where I was going. Even the soldiers I took were only told to get on the plane.

All my brothers know is what I told them via text while we sat on the runway for hours.

James: Where are you?

James: Why aren’t you answering your phone?

James: If you’re not dead in a ditch, I’m going to kill you.

Logan: I have her.

James: Who?

Logan: Kasey.

James: What do you mean you “have her?”

Logan: She’s sitting beside me on our plane, ready to give us everything we want.

James: I have a million questions.

Logan: We’ll be back at the manor late tonight. We can talk then.

James: Is she coming back as a guest or hostage?

I left his last message unanswered, but it only takes one look at her to know the answer.

Kasey stops when we enter the foyer, looking to me for instructions.

My brothers share a look that I ignore.

I’m about to nod to the steps, but the sound of paws against hardwood echoes through the house, stealing her attention. When Kane comes running into the room, Kasey falls to her knees to greet the eager dog.

She murmurs barely audible praises, and his tail hits the floor so hard it must hurt, but he doesn’t seem to mind. After several seconds, she kisses his head and stands.

With one hand still petting the dog, she returns her gaze to me.

“Your old room,” I tell her.

Head held high, Kasey ascends the steps, with Kane staying dutifully at her side. She doesn’t look like someone being held against her will—she looks regal.

Kasey is every bit as beautiful as the day she left.

And I hate her for it.

I follow her with the bags, and my brothers watch from where they remain in the foyer.

When we reach the door, Kasey pushes it open, but she doesn’t step inside.

I already know her hesitation has nothing to do with defiance, but rather the state of the room.

It’s exactly how she left it.

Decorative pillows lie haphazardly on the floor, two drawers are halfway shut on the dresser, and her excessive hair products cover the bathroom counter.

Her clothes still hang in the closet, and a pile of dirty laundry sits in a hamper by the door.

The comforter is piled at the bottom of the bed, and the sheets are pulled so far to one side that they brush the floor—just how she left it.

How we left it.

The only change to this room is the matted dog hair-covered circle on the bed that Kane goes to now.

Every so often, Kane sits at the door and whines until one of us lets him in. He spends hours sitting on the bed like he’s waiting for his owner to return.

Kasey takes a shaky breath before finally stepping inside.

I put the bags down and block the doorway with my body. She barely left this room when she was a welcome guest. I doubt she has much interest in roaming the manor now.

But since I don’t put anything past her, I say, “Under no circumstances are you allowed out of this room without my permission.”

She stiffens but doesn’t turn even as she nods.

“Be ready at seven tomorrow morning and not a second later. James will be up soon to take Kane.”

She whips around at that, and the look of dejection doesn’t feel as gratifying as it did earlier. “Take him?”

“He stays with James now,” I tell her.

She’s not going to like that one bit.

Kasey swallows, and her hands—which have been in tight fists since walking in here—go limp at her side.

“Okay,” she whispers.

Okay?

Okay?

She’s giving me exactly what I wanted—her full submission without resistance.

So, why am I still so angry?

I leave, slamming the door behind me.

My brothers are already in my office by the time I get there.

“Who was that?” Damon asks from where he stands by the window. “Because it wasn’t Kasey.”

“New and improved,” I say, closing the door and locking it behind me, though I’m certain she won’t leave her room.

“More like a shell,” he says.

Her expression, so hopeless and cold, is a fixed image in my brain.

“What did you do to her?” James asks.

I sit behind my desk. “I showed her what happens to traitors of this family.”

“How did you even find her?” Damon points between him and James. “And why didn’t you tell us?”

Digging into my pocket, I toss the note onto my desk. James takes it, and Damon steps up behind him to read it.

Kasey Miller.

522 Fireside Street, Apt. D

Payson, AZ.

She developed software to get you what you need.

And if the note itself wasn’t strange enough, it’s printed on the most peculiar paper. It has a swirling cream, gray, and red pattern and a smooth but slightly raised texture.

“It was on my windshield when I left the Amatos last night,” I tell them.

“This is problematic,” James says, and he’s right.

The note presents a lot of issues in itself.

First, someone knows there’s a list to be recovered, and they must have an interest in its recovery to give us this tip. They also knew where Kasey was, which means they were either watching her or stumbled across her.

Neither is reassuring.

If this were simply someone wanting to help the family, they would’ve revealed who they were.

But they didn’t—which means they have their own motives.

Who would know about the list and where Kasey’s been, and why only reveal it now?

Someone’s been watching her, and if she wasn’t able to pick up on it, it means they’re damn good at staying hidden.

“I have no idea who left it, but we need to start looking into it immediately,” I tell them.

“That still doesn’t explain why you didn’t tell us,” James says, tossing the note onto my desk. “Or what you did to her.”

“I wanted to handle the situation myself,” I answer in a clipped tone that dares him to push me.

Today is not the day.

“And I shot her boyfriend,” I add.

“You what ?”

“In the leg, he’s fine. Ryan is staying with him until further notice.”

“And you’re blackmailing her with his life,” Damon finishes.

“She got too comfortable last time. She needed a reminder of what we’re capable of.”

James shakes his head. “And what exactly is the plan this time?”

“She created recovery software to get the list back,” I tell them. “She’s still working on it, but when it’s done, she’ll get us the list back.”

It’s Damon who asks, “Then what?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes,” James answers.

I stand, squaring up to both of my brothers. “Stop beating around the bush. If you have something to say—say it.”

“You’re in over your head,” James snaps.

James never snaps.

“Did you ask her about the attack? About what Brandon wanted?” he asks. “Did you figure out why she deleted the list?”

“We’re interrogating her first thing in the morning. She’ll give us whatever answers we want, but it won’t change anything.”

“Maybe not,” James says. “But you’re too invested in this to think clearly.”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“Am I? You went behind my back to find her— again . Then the most spiteful person I’ve ever met walks in here as a zombie, and you haven’t even gathered more information about what actually happened. Your judgment is clouded because you’re not just mad about what she did to the family.”

“Watch it.”

James acknowledges my warning by dropping the frustration in his tone. “Let me lead the interrogation tomorrow.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because she isn’t afraid of you. She’s afraid of me .”

“That’s the problem.”

“No, it’s not,” I shoot back. “It’s how I’m ensuring we get the traitors out of our family once and for all—which is my only priority.

Kasey deserves to be rotting in a cell, and instead, she’s in a damn suite upstairs with her dog—I’ve been more than generous.

So what if she’s a zombie? I’m doing what’s best for this family, and if you have a problem with that, feel free to get the hell out. ”

Neither of my brothers says a word, and while I know they don’t agree with how I’m handling the situation, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, I’m the boss of this family.

It’s my call to make, and they can either fall in line or step aside.

“What’s the plan?” James asks, and though I can feel his reluctance, I know he has my back.

“We’ll start easy. Bring her in here and see what she answers. If she gives us any issues, we take her to the base and do it the hard way.”

“And the boyfriend?” Damon asks.

“Ryan is rigging the security cameras to give us a live feed. Should be a lovely motivation for her.”

My brothers nod, neither of them particularly pleased with me.

But it doesn’t matter.

“I’ll bring her in here at nine,” I tell them as I walk to the door. Before I walk out, I look at James and add, “Let her keep Kane tonight.”