Taken

Chapter 27

RIKKI

October 1, 2013 9:35 a.m.

"Okay, we won, Jeff, now give us our food," I said.

"Yeah, about that, I lied. You don't win anything, except all of you get to stay alive. Now Carlos will escort you back to the bunkhouse," he said.

"What!" I yelled in outrage.

"Rikki, it's okay, we all get to live, so it doesn't even matter. Let's just go back to the bunkhouse," said Adam.

"Let's go, brats," said Carlos as he pushed me.

"Don't touch her!" said Kade angrily.

"I'll do what I want, you little punk.

"You snake!" Kade yelled as he lunged at Carlos, but suddenly Kade cringed in pain.

"Kade, are you all right?" I asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm good. Let's just get back to the bunkhouse," he said as he held his side. I noticed that he was holding the same side that Troy had bashed during the game.

As soon as we got into the bunkhouse, Carlos slammed the wooden door and locked it with a conclusive click. Kelsi and Adam headed over to the bunk. Kade was still holding his side and cringing, so I knew that something had to be wrong. I grabbed Kade's hand and led him into the bathroom.

"Kade, what's the matter," I asked firmly.

"I'm good, my side's just a little sore," Kade replied, trying to sound like he wasn't in pain.

"Kade, don't lie to me," I said, giving him a long, hard stare.

"Rikki, seriously, I'm fine."

"Okay, then let me see your side."

"Fine," Kade said as he took off his shirt with a wince. On Kade's side was a patch of purply-blue skin. It stretched from the top of his ribcage to the bottom.

When I finally came out of my shock, I said, "That does not look fine to me."

"Oh, well would you look at that," said Kade with a laugh. "Ouch!"

"What's wrong, Kade?"

"It hurts to laugh."

"I think Troy bruised your ribs," I said with a frown.

"Well, what am I supposed to do now?" asked Kade with exasperation in his voice.

"Normally, you would ice it, but I don't know if you'll be able to do that here, unless the men suddenly get generous. I guess you'll just have to rest. It might hurt to move certain ways or to breathe or laugh sometimes. You'll just have to be careful," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder.

"Ouch," Kade cried as he jumped back from my hand.

"Oh no, did I hurt you?" I asked frantically.

"No, I'm just kidding," Kade said with one of his amazing smiles.

"If you weren't hurt, I would slug you right now," I said, pretending to be angry.

"No, you wouldn't, you like me too much."

"You little-" I said as I jumped on Kade, knocking him to the ground on his good side.

"Ow, ow, ow," he said, pretending to whimper.

"Oh come on, I know you're faking it," I said with a smile.

From underneath me, Kade said, "You know me too well, Rikki. It's scary how much people can get to know each other after being stuck in the same building together for three weeks."

I put my hand on the side of his face and leaned down to kiss him.

"I feel much better now," said Kade as he pulled me down to kiss him again.

"Kade," I said after our lips had separated. "How are you going to be able to do any of the work the guys are gonna make us to?"

There was a long pause. Kade sighed and finally said, "I don't know, Rikki, I guess I'll have to tell them I can't."

"No!" I exclaimed. "You can't do that, they'll just work you until your dead then!"

"Shh, calm down," Kade murmured. "I'll hide my pain the best that I can."

"I don't want you to get any more hurt than you already are. I can't live without you," I responded quietly as I rolled off of Kade and turned by back to him.

"I won't leave you here alone, Rikki. I'll be careful. I promise," Kade whispered in my ear. I rolled over so I was facing Kade. He put his strong hands on my waist and kissed me softly. "Do you believe me now?"

"Yes, I believe you," I replied as I leaned in to kiss him again.

"Good," he whispered right before our lips met.

"You know, if you really want the men to believe that you're perfectly fine, you'll probably want to keep your shirt on," I joked after our kiss was done.

"Dang, and I wanted to make Troy jealous of my sexy abs. I mean, look at these babies," Kade said as he patted his chiseled six-pack. I just rolled my eyes. "Oh come on, you know you like them."

I rolled over before I huffed, "I guess I can't deny it."

Kade slid up behind me and pushed my hair away from my face. "I knew it," Kade said triumphantly as he began to kiss my neck.

"Kade!" I cried. "Kade, stop that tickles!"

"I won't stop until you admit that you like my abs to my face!" Kade laughed as he started tickling my sides. Suddenly, the door to the bathroom opened and we saw Adam and Kelsi's faces.

"What are you guys doing in here?" asked Adam.

"Um, nothing," Kade and I both replied at the same time as we stood up quickly with our faces turning cherry red.  

"Sure, "nothing"," Kelsi said as she made quotations in the air with her fingers. With that, she and Adam left the bathroom laughing.

I turned to Kade, "Well, I guess we should've known that they would figure out what was happening between us eventually."

"Yeah," Kade replied as he put his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. "Well, I guess this means we don't have to hide it anymore."

"No, I guess not," I said as I went in to give him a kiss, but pulled back at the last moment.

"What was that?" Kade pouted.

"That's what you get for tickling me!" I said as I turned to exit the bathroom. "Oh, and by the way, I really do like your abs. They're a nice addition to the popular-athlete look," I said with a wink as I left the bathroom. Kade paused for a second and smiled before he followed me out the door.