Read Online Capturing Kate by Alexis Alvarez - Free Book Online Page B

you’d—” She broke off, feeling cold.
    “Kate?” He was on his feet. “You’re pale. Sit down.” He put her in a chair. “Breathe. What happened?”
    “I was joking but it wasn’t a joke. It was the same thing I said in the coffee shop.” She sucked in air but the air was thin and pale, devoid of oxygen, and she sucked harder, faster.
    “You’re okay. I’m not going to hurt you. This is going to be fine.”
    “No! It’s not! That man was going to kill me! I believed it. I believed it, Sloan. It was real. To me, it was real. ” Now the air was gone. She was in a vacuum, her lungs were dry, flat. The world spun. Panic surged, as strong as that moment when the trunk slammed, and the sound reverberated in her chest, echoing in her brain, shots of a gun. She sank down into the chair, unable to hear for the crashing in her ears.
    “No. Deep breaths. Slow.” He put a hand on her knee, one on her chest. “In and out. Yeah. Slowly. Look at my eyes. You can trust me.”
    She raised her gaze and he was there, waiting, his eyes even, steady. “Yeah, Katie, just keep looking. Breathe in, out. I’m going to take care of you now. It’s all right.”
    He murmured to her, as though he were enticing a squirrel, calming a wild horse, talking down a tornado, until she felt the panic retreat, a tide going back out, although it lurked there, ready to advance again on its own celestial timetable, a pull over which she had no control.
    When she finally found air, she touched his cheek, found that supportive, put her other hand on his face, too. “Sloan.” She leaned in. “I need. I—” She shook her head, and there it was again, pushing away the concern like a curtain: His passion, his need. He wanted her, too, she knew it. His hand, high on her abdomen, fingers pressing her chest between her breasts, was burning into her. He leaned in for a second, but then he pulled away.
    “Drink some water. It was a panic attack.” He handed her a bottle.
    She stopped spinning. “That came out of nowhere. I—God. I hope that doesn’t happen again.”
    “It will happen again, and again. I’m sorry.” His words were clipped. “This kind of trauma won’t fade fast, Kate. Things I say or do are going to trigger it, and we’ll deal as best we can.” He looked almost angry.
    She wiped her eyes. “I can tell it won’t fade quickly.” She sighed. “I don’t know what to do.”
    “Once we get out of here, you’re going to find a therapist,” he said, and it didn’t sound like a suggestion.
    “But right now?”
    “You’re going to sit there and relax,” he ordered, “and drink that water. I’m going to set up a secure hack-proof connection to my team and figure out what we need to do next.”
    “I don’t think drinking water is enough to keep my mind occupied.” She tried a small smile. “Do you happen to have the full box set of Game of Thrones in here somewhere, and a big-screen TV?”
    He laughed, the tension draining from his eyes. “Sure. Right behind the Jacuzzi and the trampoline. Go crazy.”
    She giggled, relieved to break the anxiety. “Maybe I’ll write.” She got up, legs only a little shaky, and retrieved the notebook and pen. “Clear my head. This can be my journal.”
    She sat back down, opened to the first page. “Thoughts from Captivity. Diary of a Prisoner. Day Two.”
    He jerked his head up, his face taut. “Kate, I—”
    “I’m joking.” Her voice was sharp. “Okay?”
    “I told you this is temporary.”
    “Yes, I know you did.” She shook her head. “Let me deal in my own way.”
    “Fine.” He swallowed.
    “Fine.”
    She didn’t know what to write, so she doodled; swirling lines and flowers merged together in graffiti of blue. She drew a heart and another one, then a third, upside down. Hearts. Follow your heart. Ella! She gasped, thinking of that piece of paper and her own heart pounded. Sloan looked over, expressive, and she shook her head. “Just thinking.”
    “All