Venomous King (Venom #2)

5. Kai

Chapter five

Kai

“We seek the truth and will endure the consequences.” Charles Seymour

I allow my eyes to search along the sandy beach, as I make the two-mile trek again, up and down its picturesque shore. It’s the third time I’m completing the long walk in my search for my beautiful rose, and anxiety is riding me hard at the thought of not finding her. Where the hell is she? Have I made a mistake, and she’s not here?

After two horrendous and panic-inducing days of traveling, during which I flew across the country from New York to Arizona, and then got on another plane to the Midwest, only to have to beg one of my very confused college buddies to meet me out of state, and lend me his vehicle, so I could make the remainder of the journey back to Oregon undetected. I haven’t slept more than four hours in three days, my body and mind are exhausted, and I’m questioning my sanity. I’m still not completely convinced that I didn’t imagine that phone call, but if there is even the slightest chance that any of this is real, I must get to Isabella.

I drove directly to the only beach in my hometown, without even giving my parents the heads up that I was back, for fear that they, too, were under observation. This is where Isabella will be waiting for me, if I have not entirely lost my mind, and conjured up my dead ex-girlfriend calling me. Except there’s no dark-haired, petite beauty to be found.

The beach is barely inhabited, as it’s out of season. The brisk wind causes my hair to tangle in my face as I brush it back with agitation, and keep searching for an apparition. Only the very brave are in the cold water, and only a few people are strolling with their dogs along the pale sand. Panic and desperation are warring inside of me. The need to scream her name is a vicious entity inside of me, threatening to strangle me. I hold myself back, not daring to place her in even more danger with my stupidity. I have no idea if I’m being watched, despite all my precautions.

As I approach the beach area’s center, where small shops are just steps from the sandy shore, a small woman with a short, blonde pixie haircut stands at the shore, with a takeaway cup firmly gripped in her hands, and catches my attention. Even from a distance, I can see her small, rounded stomach protruding from her petite frame in her tight clothing. A sense of longing fills me; I had one day hoped to see Isabella, rounded with my child swelling in her belly.

Maybe that could still happen. Perhaps we are receiving a second chance at a life together, a life far away from her glittering family responsibilities, and her family’s demanding matriarch. She will never abandon them, my mind snarks back, but I know something has changed. She reached out to me, not them.

I squash down the feelings inhabiting me, forcing my eyes away from the woman, and keep searching for my missing heiress. As I go to pass the woman, she suddenly turns in my direction, her hand up by her eyes, blocking out the sunshine. All the hairs on my body stand on end with a strange sensation, and my feet abruptly halt. Get it together, idiot. You’re going to freak out this pregnant stranger.

I force my feet to take a step in the direction of the shops, and a small voice calls out to me.

“Kai!” She stands still, her hand dropping from her face, and the wind picks up and blows her short, straight platinum locks all around her head, causing a halo effect. My feet suddenly feel like they are made of lead, and I can’t take a single step. My heart pounds tempestuously in my chest, and the tempo of my blood races in my ears, drowning out the sounds of the Pacific Ocean. What. The. Fuck.

The stranger takes a hesitant step towards me, and then another, until only a few mere feet divide us. My eyes scan her from the top of her dainty, blonde head, down her slim profile, over the round curve of her pregnant stomach, and then to her sneaker-covered feet. My breath is trapped in my lungs, the sensation of being crushed by a searing weight filling me, and I can’t seem to get enough air. This is not real, this can’t be fucking real.

There’s a look of fear and trepidation on her features; ones that are so dear to me, yet somehow, at this moment, seem foreign. She’s my Isabella, but at the same time, a complete stranger, a pregnant stranger. My mouth opens and then closes, and no sound escapes as my hands clench at my sides, in an attempt not to reach for her.

I watch with avid suspense and curiosity, as she squares her shoulders and holds her head high. The hand not holding the cup fists at her side, and the one holding the cup tightens, until I’m afraid she will crush the contents with her slim, delicate fingers.

My eyes catalog all the new details; her dark, long, wavy hair is gone, replaced by blonde, straight, barely there locks. The stunning sapphire blue eyes I dream about nightly have been replaced with brown contacts. She’s sporting a small diamond piercing in her nostril, and a golden, tanned hue has replaced her pale, luminous skin. Even her facial features and posture seem different; my timid and indecisive Isabella has been replaced with someone who looks years older, and is ready to go to war to defend herself. Despite all the changes, she still looks enchanting and beautiful, as if she’s glowing.

The most notable change, and the one that has me ready to release the contents of my stomach, is the round protrusion from her lower abdomen. The one that indicates she’s with child, a child that is not fucking mine. “Thank you for coming.” Her words are uttered in a confident tone, and as much as I want to look at her expression, I can’t pry my eyes away from her stomach.

Finally, I force myself to meet her intense gaze, and all I witness staring back at me is defiance. “I can see that you are in shock, and for that, I am sorry, Kai. I never meant to hurt you, and I can tell by your expression that I have.”

I snap out of the shock and fury that fill me, and take a tentative step towards her, and she holds her ground. That in itself stuns the hell out of me. This woman before me may be a stranger now, but she is also still my Isabella. She still called me for help, and no matter what, I will help her. “Isabella, are you safe, baby? Tell me who is hunting you, how did this all fucking happen?”

I reach forward and pull her into my arms, wrapping them tightly around her as I inhale her sweet scent, a subtle hint of roses and vanilla. My heart. My love. Home . That is what Isabella is, and always has been; my home . Mine.

She tries to push away from my grip, but my heart lurches in my chest, and I crush her to me, refusing to allow her to escape my hold. “KAI! Fuck, the hot tea!” She shouts, and finally I allow her to take a step away from me, as she clutches the cup away from her torso, and I immediately notice a wet spot on her shirt. “Fuck, baby! I am so sorry! Shit, are you burnt?”

The doctor in me immediately takes over, and I pull the collar of her shirt away from her chest, so that I can examine the red mark already marring the perfection of her soft, golden skin. Jesus fuck, look at what I have done. Not even in her presence for more than a few minutes, and she’s hurt.

Her hand slaps at my grip on her shirt, and she steps back. “I’m fine.” She takes a deep breath and stares at me, as if she’s trying to come to some decision. “I’m safe for now, as long as you weren’t followed. Answering your other question will require more time, but the short answer is that Diego Cabano is hunting me. He’s the one who abducted me from my sister’s house in Casbury, and he’s the asshole that kept me prisoner in the jungle.”

“To punish your grandmother, I already know that, Isabella. How could Stella have allowed that to happen?”

“No! You’re mistaken there. This was never about Stella. He didn’t kidnap me to ransom me to Stella, or even to punish her. He doesn’t give a shit about her. He took me because, in his psychotic, delusional mind, I belong to him. He believes himself in love with me. He took me to stop me from leaving him. I... I tried breaking up with him, but he didn’t take it… well.”

What. The. Fuck. Is she being fucking serious right now? This psychopath abducted her, and trapped her in the fucking jungle, because she tried to leave him, not because he had a vendetta against Stella Stratford. How pathetic this asshole must be, to have to trap a woman that wants to leave him in a jungle against her will. How could any man hurt a woman he loves? This fucking guy must be utterly insane. My glance goes back to her small protruding stomach, and my own stomach seems to be filled with lead. “Is... is that his child, Isabella? Did he force himself on you?”

Different emotions cross her face: fear, anger, and then, finally, resolve. “This child is mine. Only mine . If you can’t accept that, Kai, then please turn around and pretend that you never heard from me, and that I’m still dead.”

“Only mine ,“ her words play out in my mind as I stare at her. I can see her belief in the truth of her words. Is that her motherly instinct already making an appearance? Just the thought has a pang of regret flowing through me. She’s going to be the mother to that psychopath’s child.

“What am I doing here, Isabella? The reports of your death came months ago; your sister, Mia, confirmed to me that you were dead. Why contact me now? You have obviously been doing a decent job of hiding from everyone, so why risk being found by contacting me?”

Each word that spews from my mouth feels like poison. It doesn’t matter her reasons, my heart begs, but I have to know why she reached out after all this time. She breaks our connection and turns back to the ocean. “I was going to do this alone. A fresh start for me... and my baby. I wanted to let Isabella Stratford, and her world, die in that jungle. I still do, but now I need help, Kai. I can’t do this alone, not if my baby is going to get a chance at a normal life.”

I reach out, grasp her shoulder, and gently turn her toward me, using two fingers to force her chin up, and her to meet my eyes. Eyes that belong to a stranger and yet, also the woman I love. “What changed, my little rose?” I force my voice to a soothing tone, even though every part of me wants to shake her at the moment. Months , I spent months mourning this woman.

“My baby, my daughter... they found something in one of the tests. Kai, there is an abnormality.” Tears fill her eyes, and slide down her cheeks, until the cold wind carries them away.

The reality of her words hits me, as if she had taken a bat to me, hard, brutal, and without warning. She didn’t contact me because she missed, or couldn’t live without me, because she wanted me to help keep her safe from this Diego fucker who is obsessed with her, or because she loves me. “You contacted me because I’m a doctor.”

“Yes.”

One simple word, and it’s like a bomb has gone off in my bruised and aching heart. If she didn’t need a doctor, she would have continued to allow me to believe she was dead, and gone on with her new life. Isabella Stratford never loved me, and I am a fool.