Love's Arithmetic

XIV: Bewilderment

The moment the words were out of her mouth, Caer knew she had screwed up. She had opened herself up to a whole lot of crap that she didn't need. Not that he would even want to kiss her. He wouldn't even want to look at her if she wasn't his kidnap victim. Her hair was everywhere and frizzy, of that she had no doubt.


Humiliated at what she had said, Caer hung her head and tried to hide her embarrassment. Why had she done such a thing? She was attracted to him, but he was dangerous, and he had kidnapped her! What would he say? She couldn't imagine what he would say and she wished she could take everything back. Why, oh WHY, do I have to have such a loose tongue! She cried internally. Every single stupid little thought that goes through my head has to come out my mouth!


She risked a glance at his face. Astonishment showed there along with something else, something she couldn't quite identify...He opened his mouth as if to speak. Here it comes, he's going to rub my humiliation in my face....


The door to the room slammed open. It was the big man that had grabbed her in Sylvia's apartment. "Boss, "He said barely sparing her a glance, "We've got a problem." Bigfoot's face was ashen, he looked as though he were sick, ready to vomit on the carpet, something had upset him that much.


Garrett immediately got up and left her slamming the door behind him, leaving her alone and grateful that he hadn't had the chance to say anything.





Nearly three hours later Caer was still sitting on the big waterbed wondering what she would have been doing on a normal day. She would have that bag of Smarties that she kept hidden from Urma on her lap after taking shower. She'd still be wrapped in her towel, tucked tightly between her breasts. Her book, Crime and Punishment would be tossed off to the side as she tapped away at her computer doing something completely useless while she contemplated what to do for the day.


She had always considered writing a book, something inspirational that would change people's lives, make a difference in the world, or at least make a difference in a couple of lives. Caer resolved at that moment, that if she ever managed to get out of this place, whether by her kidnappers design or by her own, she would write that book. She would do everything that she had always wanted to do. Instead of just sitting in her apartment doing nothing.


Her life list that was sitting in the bathroom drawer would finally get something's checked off it. Every time she had gone to the bathroom, sitting on the toilet she had made some major decisions. One of them had been that she would do a list of things before she died. Every time she thought of something new she would write it on the list. For some reason, she had never completed anything on the list. It was not for lack of funding, she had plenty of money, possibly because she lacked a bit of adventure.


The last large endeavor she had executed was living in New York. Since then, she had lost her dreams of adventure and crazy sex with random strangers on beautiful white sandy beaches. What had happened to the dreams of her teen years, the dreams of the love affairs with exotic men, the dangerous quality of uncovering smuggling rings, the desire to become a modern day Nancy Drew? Instead she had been matching people up with their soul mates and never doing anything for herself.


Here she had asked a kidnapper, a dangerous stranger she would have had no problem with if she had encountered him in every day life, if he would kiss her and she had balked! She was a silly woman who had let go of who she was because she had gotten comfortable.





Garrett was still trying to come to terms with the news. It was an awful blow, and it ruined a lot of their plans. Everything had seemed to be going really well until things began unraveling thread, by thread. Now he was dying to get his hands on the little chit that had ruined everything horribly and painfully.


Feeling as though he had gained sufficient control of his emotions, Garrett left the room and the members of his team, striding bolding down the hall to the last room on the right. It didn't matter what kind of mood he had been in before, he was now livid. Almost as livid as when he had discovered Toby...but not nearly as murderous.


When he reached the room he unlocked the door, and threw it open so it slammed against the wall. The woman looked up at him from her perch on the bed, those pitiful raccoon eyes serving to make him all the more angry. "Who the hell are you really?" He roared. The woman flinched at his voice, but as it sunk in what he meant he heard an almost inaudible, "Shit!"