Let Me Go (7 page)

Mason stood up slowly, a menacing scowl on
his face. “You are right. I wasn’t the type of man to do something
like this before, but I also didn’t need to,” he said slowly
through clenched teeth. “I had a wonderful life. I had prestige; I
had power; I had money; I had a great job that I was good at and I
loved; I had family and friends, and you can believe I was never at
a loss for female company. Then one day, you decide I am a
character in your revenge scheme. All of a sudden, I am labeled a
monster. I wind up in jail for five years of my life. And do you
know what happens in prison? It’s not pretty, I can tell you that.
And now, you conveniently don’t remember any of it when I am
finally getting my revenge. And you want to pretend we are friends.
And you want to get to know me now? Now, I am nothing. Now, I
barely have any friends, I have crappy little jobs and this,” he
said as he waved his hand around his place. “You took it all away
and you want to get to know me now? You might have cleaned up and
gotten your act together, but you broke down mine. We. Are. Not.
Friends. We will never be, so get that through your head.”

He stood, huffing, anger rolling off
him.

“I…I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything that
happened to you. I’m sorry for whatever you had to go through. I’m
sorry for you losing it all. I understand why you did all this. I
really do, but I swear it wasn’t me. I swear to you, Mason, it
wasn’t me. I’ll help you. God, I’ll help you find the person
responsible for all this. We’ll do it together, but it wasn’t me.
You have to let me go.” Kat felt the tears coming. She actually
felt bad for this guy. It wasn’t just a moment like she had
earlier. Whatever happened to him really messed him up. And she
knew what he implied had happened to him in jail. She saw enough
movies to know what happened. The words had just slipped out, but
she actually meant what she said. If he let her go, she’d help him
find the person responsible. She wasn’t sure she could actually
help with any type of revenge, she just couldn’t see herself doing
that, but she would help him find the real person. He just had to
let her go. She squeezed her eyes shut to keep from crying. She
wanted to, she wanted to let the tears flow for Mason and for
herself, but the part that had been telling her not to cry won out.
She simply stared at him, waiting for a reply. They stood like that
for minutes, but neither of them said a word. Finally he simply
walked away. Slow, deliberate steps that let her know this
conversation was over and he didn’t believe her. He wasn’t going to
let her go. He closed his door behind him and Kat knew she just
lost that battle. Mason wasn’t going to let her in.

*****

He almost believed her. He almost thought
she was telling the truth. The pain in her voice was real. The way
she said she was sorry, he knew she meant it. And maybe she truly
was sorry; maybe she really did regret everything she had done to
him. People change; he did. But that didn’t matter now. He knew
what he had been told. He knew what he had seen. Kat was definitely
the druggie that told him he would pay, he couldn’t forget that.
Kat was definitely the woman who accused him of rape, he saw that
too. And Katherine “Kat” Gingham was the woman on file, facts
didn’t lie. He actually had to remind himself of all these things
as he stared at her stricken face. Something about her was getting
to him. She was getting under his skin and making him forget for
brief moments what all this was all about. He wondered about their
future, for a moment, if only they didn’t share a sordid past. Then
he remembered who she was and his anger flared back up. They did
have a past and that had dictated his future.

Chapter 10

As exhausted as
she was, Kat had a hard time falling asleep. She kept thinking
about how she had almost gotten through to Mason. She also kept
thinking about what she had learned about him and his past. She
only had bits and pieces, but she was figuring some things out. He
used to be some kind of powerful man with some title – he had
hinted as much. Someone did something to him that caused him to end
up in prison, where he lost everything. And as much as this truly
was punishment, he hadn’t laid a finger on her, so she actually
believed him. Now all she needed to figure out was what happened
that sent him to jail. But, more importantly, the big mystery was
how the hell she was connected. Or really, why he thought she was
behind it all. For a moment before she finally drifted off to
sleep, she wondered if she was responsible somehow and had
forgotten.
Was it possible that something horrible had happened
and her subconscious chose to block it out?
That wasn’t unheard
of, but realistically, she couldn’t think of any missing pieces of
her life. No, whoever did a number on Mason clearly framed her as
well. She just didn’t understand who would do that to her and more
importantly, why.

When she finally fell asleep, she dreamed of
the night Mason had taken her. She had thought it was a dream, a
vague apparition of “the one” with the most amazing green eyes. But
now she knew better. And even though she subconsciously knew what
night she was reliving in her mind, she felt safe as he carried her
away. She couldn’t remember much more of the dream, of the memory,
but she figured that probably had to do with him drugging her. And
when she woke up, it hadn’t felt like a nightmare. It had just felt
like another dream. She really did feel bad for the guy underneath
the harsh demeanor, and that was clearly leaking into her
subconscious, but it didn’t mean she owed him anything. Nope, she
was still going to get under his skin and get herself out.

That day had progressed much like the
others. She worked her ass off being the good little maid and still
remained pleasant, but Mason didn’t say a word. Even at dinner,
when she tried to ask him again what he did and how he was, he just
ignored her. At least he didn’t lash out at her. But part of her
wished he had. He locked himself in his room again that night and
Kat felt hopeless for the first time in the few days she had been
there.

The following day, Kat set his breakfast
down as usual. “Good morning.”

He still didn’t speak to her, he didn’t
respond. If he was going to be like this, she was going to have a
hard time finding out more about him. She had to figure out a way
to get him to open up.

“What did I do?”

He looked up at her sharply, but there was
confusion in his eyes.

“You say I got revenge on you and that I’m
responsible for you being locked up. I know it wasn’t me, but let’s
say it was and I can’t remember for some reason. What did I do?”
Still, he didn’t say anything, but there was something in his eyes.
She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it seemed to be a mixture of
confusion, fury and maybe even a bit of awe. So she continued.
“Look, I already told you I had nothing to do with it, but you
obviously don’t or won’t believe me. So let’s pretend it was me and
I can’t remember. I am asking you to help me remember. Maybe that
will fill in some missing pieces, at least for me.”

“Oh, you’re good. You’re a piece of work,
you know that. You tell me you aren’t responsible and you plead
with your big hazel eyes. Quite the little actress. But you forget
one thing. I was there. I know it was you. I saw you with my own
eyes, even though you avoided me like a coward. And here you are,
almost making me believe you. If I was anyone else, I would
probably be questioning my own sanity. I was an upstanding member
of society and they believed a druggie whore over me! You won the
court over back then and you think you can win me over now?” He was
seething, she could tell.

“I’ve never done drugs in my life, unless
you count me trying pot once in high school thanks to my foster
brother!” She was seething too, but didn’t get a chance to say much
more before Mason grabbed her arm and started to drag her. “What
the hell?” she yelled as he tightened his grip on her arm and
pulled her toward the bathroom.

“You need to cool off,” he gritted through
his teeth when they stood in front of the shower.
Oh, hell,
no,
she thought to herself as she realized what he planned to
do. Kat started squirming, trying to get away, but he just held
tighter as he turned on the shower and then shoved her under the
freezing cold spray, clothes and all. She flailed and shouted
obscenities, trying desperately to escape his vice grip.

“Clearly, I’m too nice to you sometimes. It
makes you forget your place. The sooner you cool down that
attitude, the sooner I turn off the water.” That finally got her
attention. She hated him in that moment; she also feared him. He
was as hot and as cold as the shower she was standing under. He
could snap on a dime, but the softer side sometimes made her forget
that she was a prisoner. The cold water sobered her thoughts and
allowed her to study him. He was breathing hard as if he had
undergone some strenuous activity, but she knew it was from the
anger. She needed to get her own emotions under control and
convince him she wasn’t the person he was talking about.

“I’m sorry,” she stated, even though she
wasn’t sure she was really sorry. She just wanted out of the
shower.

“Good,” he answered sternly, but he loosened
his grip of her. She turned off the water herself and then stumbled
out, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself. He stared at
her and she couldn’t read his expression. She took the opportunity
to try to appeal to him.

“I’m telling you, Mason,” she said, her tone
softening. Saying his name got his attention. “That wasn’t me.
Believe it or not, which I know you won’t, but that doesn’t change
things. Look, I’m not even fighting you on being stuck here, well,
kidnapped is more like it, but I’m doing everything you ask and I’m
being nice about it too, but you have to give me something too.
Pretend for just a minute that you believe me and this is all some
big misunderstanding. Whoever put you in prison – what did they
do?”

“They didn’t do anything. It was you, and
like with my name, you’ll either know when you remember or I decide
to tell you. For now, you can live with your guilt, and I sincerely
hope you are reformed enough to have it.” He turned to leave. “You
might want to work on your acting skills just a bit more,” he
sneered. “A little bit more and I might actually believe you don’t
remember what you did to me.” With that, he left for the day.

*****

“Yo, Mason, you coming over or what?” Benny
asked over the phone.

“Nope, working today.”

“So then what’s bothering you now?” That’s
why they got along so well, Benny knew this version of Mason better
than his old friends.

“I think I might actually believe she
doesn’t remember what the fuck she did.”

“Who? Kitty Kat? Shit, boy, if I had her in
my house prancing around in that little outfit I told you to get,
I’d sure wish I believed she didn’t remember fucking up my life as
well. In fact, I’d wish I didn’t remember either. But seriously,
what’s eating you?”

“Every opportunity she has, she drills it
into me that it wasn’t her and as much as I know it was, I see it
in her eyes that she really believes that herself.”

“So what does that mean?”

“I don’t know. I mean, there have been cases
where constant drug use alters your memory or even perception of
reality. Maybe she really doesn’t remember that she accused me of
raping her.”

“Let’s say she doesn’t. Then what? That
doesn’t change what she did, right?”

“No, but it sure as hell makes it harder for
me to hate her now. And she’s cleaned up. She’s actually a pleasant
person now, even a little feisty.”

“I bet she’s good in bed,” Benny
snorted.

“Damn, Benny, be serious for a sec.”

“I am being serious.” And Mason knew he
probably was. “All right, Mason, how about we get the guys
together. We’ll come over and I’ll feel her out. You know I can
tell in about two seconds flat if a bitch is lying. But let’s say
you are right and she doesn’t remember anything. Then what? You let
her go?”

“No,” he replied firmly. “Her memory doesn’t
change the past. She deserves to be punished. I…crap, I don’t know
why it matters. But shit, it just does. I want to know if she
remembers.”

“All right, this weekend then.”

“Yeah.”

And really, why it mattered whether she
remembered or not shouldn’t be of any consequence to Mason, but it
was. And he had no clue why. He was glad he had Benny. This weekend
he would find out whether she was telling the truth.

Chapter 11

Kat and Mason
kept up their cat and mouse game the rest of the week. She cleaned
and cleaned some more and rearranged and organized every part of
his house more times than she could count. He never acknowledged
her work, but at least he never told her to redo anything…at least
not yet.

Friday night rolled around and no break.
Saturday rolled around, and although Mason was home more than the
rest of the week, he still avoided her. When he came home from one
of his outings, she realized he had gone grocery shopping. She kept
up her pleasantries and asserted her innocence and even stood up to
him a few times, but it always ended the same. He would get in her
face, talk back, and in the end, never believed her.

Sunday morning came and he finally spoke
first. “My buddies are coming over to watch the game.” Which game
didn’t matter to her, but something about seeing more people than
Mason’s angry face got her insides a little tingly. He must have
noticed it on her face because he proceed to explain, “They all
know about our little arrangement, so don’t even bother trying to
get any of them to bust you out of here. They will laugh in your
face. I expect you to be on your best behavior, and of course, you
will serve us. Finish cleaning and then prepare for my friends. Put
out chips, dip, beer, the works. Whatever you think a bunch of guys
would like. I trust you are competent enough to figure that out.”
He was goading her. He may not know her well enough, but he knew
she wasn’t incompetent.
Ugh!
And she still hadn’t learned
anything else about him.