That Day by Karen Deen (best novels to read in english txt) 📕

“What the fuck?” I can’t help myself. “No, I need to be with them. They are all I have!” My tears have stopped, and the anger is cutting in now. “Why, why can’t we be together?” My heart is pounding, and I don’t even know where I’m getting the energy from, but the adrenaline is kicking in.

“Because you will put your parents in greater danger if they’re with you. But we need to protect them because they could be used to draw you out of hiding. It’s that simple.”

“Simple? Nothing you just said is fucking simple. Today I went to work, and now I’m losing my whole life. How is that simple?!”

“Jenna.” I hear Mom’s voice, but as I turn to look behind me, everything starts going black.

“No, no, no. Come back. Mom, please come back…”

“Asha. Wake up. You’re dreaming.” The gentle voice breaks into my darkness. “Baby, I’m here, it’s okay. Open your eyes.”

My body shifts as Kurt lifts me up and places me in his lap on the bed, holding me so tightly. I’m not ready to open my eyes yet, resting my head on his shoulder. I’m just concentrating on the beat of his heart thumping beneath me.

I know my cheeks are wet which means I’ve been crying in my sleep again.

Kurt doesn’t say any more, he just sits holding me until I pull myself together.

“I’m sorry,” I can say.

“For what? You didn’t do anything.” His soft voice calms me, as always.

I just sit for a little longer, then finally open my eyes and look up into his.

“Want to talk about it?” he asks.

God, I want so much to say yes. Just once, I want to have someone to share the nightmares with.

I’m about to say no, but I change it at the last minute. I don’t know why, but what it tells me is that I’m almost at my breaking point.

“I wish I could, but I can’t,” I say, feeling so frustrated.

“That’s okay. Maybe one day you can trust me to share.” His eyes tell me how much compassion he is feeling, but I try not to let it overwhelm me.

“Thank you.” Sitting up a little taller, I say, “I’ll go and tidy myself up. I don’t want to embarrass you in front of my friends when they arrive.” Really, it’s more I don’t want to give them any excuses to take me away from Kurt.

“Stop that right now. You could never embarrass me. Ever, do you understand?” His hand cups my cheek, making sure I’m looking right at him.

“Mhmm.” I can’t help but smile up at him. “I’ll just be a minute.” Jumping off his lap and walking into the bathroom, I close the door, sighing. I stand with my hands on the bathroom counter and just look at my reflection, wondering where that young innocent girl went.

Because I don’t even recognize the one standing in front of me now.

After giving me a few moments, Kurt knocks on the door to let me know Davina is here to see me.

And the day just keeps getting better.

I mean, it’s not like she’s here to give me good news, I’m sure.

After going through the pretend greetings with Davina and Scott and watching Kurt glaring at him with fire in his eyes, I excuse us and take them both out onto the deck to talk without Kurt. He doesn’t look happy but doesn’t want to upset me.

“Kurt looks pissed about you being here, Scott,” I quietly say.

“I couldn’t give a fuck, really.” His face shows no emotion at all as he replies.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Asha? That was a bit of scare last night. I need you to be honest with me that nothing else unexpected happened yesterday that you couldn’t say in front of Kurt.” Davina looks stressed. “No weird people you saw, or phone calls, messages of any sort?”

“No, nothing, it’s exactly what I told you all. I just passed out. Why do you think it’s anything different to that?” I’m almost scared to ask.

“Just checking. You know we’re here to make sure you’re safe. And it just seemed a funny coincidence on the same day we were about to have a meeting and you pass out.”

“Do I really want to hear what you need to tell me? Can I just pretend it doesn’t exist, whatever it is?” I give a nervous laugh to try to break the moment.

Not that I’m sure anything would make Scott smile. I’ve never seen anything but a scowl on his face. I’m not sure what it is between him and Kurt, if it’s some man thing. Like the whole alpha dick-off contest where they measure to see who has the biggest dick in the pack. But whatever it is, Kurt doesn’t like him, I can tell, and the feeling is mutual with Scott.

“I wish it was that easy, but it’s not. What I can tell you is we are nearing the end of this part of your journey. A date for the trial was set yesterday for three months from now, and you will be heading to Chicago when it’s time. Jacinta Nordick will be the counselor who will brief you before court and be the one dedicated to you in the legal team.”

“Why Chicago?” I stumble over my words.

Scott butts in. “Because she has multi-state jurisdiction to practice and is helping on this case. Plus, she has high-level clearance, that’s all you need to know,” he replies bluntly like it’s none of my business.

“Three months…” I can’t wrap my head around it. I don’t know what is more frightening. The fact I’m coming out of hiding to face the men who have held my life hostage, or that in three months’ time I’ll have to walk away from Kurt and won’t be able to tell him why.

“What if I’m not ready?” I can barely talk as my mind starts racing.

“Like you get a say in this.” Scott’s sarcasm comes through