Chapter 15: Brilliantly Insane Ole Maurice

Kano laid back against pillow as Essence snuggled into him. Her back on his chest, she smiled softly as he made shadow puppets on the wall using her fingers. She knew he was trying to calm her, and she sighed at how adorable he was. She whispered, “Why do you have to be so amazing?” He chuckled and kissed her cheek in response. Raising, she turned to him. “No, I really mean it. You’ve been behind these walls for so long, and yet you are truly good. For everything you’ve been through, you’re still good, and I wish there were more people in this world like that. Just like I wish you could see how much those around you need it. People who don’t even know they do… like me.”

Kano stared at her. Her words said so much under them they tore into his heart. He caressed her face, and she leaned in and kissed him. Letting out a small huff, he turned her back around. Essence heard a whisper from him, “I didn’t know I needed you until I saw you charging at me. A woman who can knock an alpha on his ass without super strength is definitely my kind of mate.” She let out a loud laugh, making him feel good. Settling in comfortable silence, he finally heard her speak.

“My father always wanted a boy, but he got me instead. Oh, you should have seen how furious he was about that. He would make my mother dress me in baggy clothes and keep my hair short. I wasn’t allowed to do anything remotely considered girly. It was only the toughest sports. I think he only let me do softball because they were offering a stipend at my school. Of course, I never saw the money. He took the check before I knew it had arrived.”

She bit the side of her lip. “He had a bit of a gambling problem and, if I’m honest, I think some things mentally that went unchecked. He just would say ‘I’m just a little eccentric, don’t need a damn doctor to tell me that.’ The thing is, for all his problems and the way he treated me, he really was brilliant, and if he’d sorted through his issues, we probably would have had more food on the table, and the lights and heat would have stayed on a lot longer.”

Kano wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. Rubbing his head against her hair, he breathed in, his scent mixed with hers. She rubbed his arms. “On my twenty-first birthday, he showed up at my school with this woman. He told me her name was Agatheia Mason, and that he needed me to do something important for him. I should have known when he couldn’t look me in the eye that he’d done something bad.

“Apparently my father had been hired to fix some things around a friend of hers home, and he did such a good job she’d asked him to restore an old music box that was there, too. She showed me a picture. It wasn’t anything fancy. I mean, it was beautiful, but ordinary. I was confused until she said my father had taken it and sold it to pay off some of his debts. The problem wasn’t even the box, it was what was inside. You turn the handle, and at the end of the song, it would open and reveal a rose pendant. It was a family heirloom, and it was worth millions. Of course, my father didn’t know that when he sold it for a hundred bucks, which I found out later.”

She laughed, but Kano could hear her anger. “See? I told you his ass was brilliantly insane; he hadn’t even played the damn thing. So, I was still confused why they were there until she grabbed my arm and demanded I give her the pendant back.” Kano stilled, and she shut her eyes. “He’d lied. He told her I had the pendant, that I’d stolen it from him. I tried to tell her over and over that I was innocent, but she wouldn’t believe me! Then, a car pulled up, and this man stepped out... Johnathan Gaston. As soon as I saw him, I wanted to run away, but my father grabbed my arm and pushed me towards him. He said he’d tried to give me an out, but since I wanted to be a liar, he couldn’t save me. The next thing I knew, I’m thrown in the limo. The doors were locked, and I was taken away.”

Kano caressed her face, and she laid it against his hand. She smiled. “You’re getting pretty good at that,” she said in appreciation, and he nuzzled against her hair again. “Anyway, he took me back to his home, threw me in this room, and refused to let me out until I told him where his rose pendant was. He kept me from eating and drinking. I couldn’t bathe, and I didn’t have a toilet. I guess eventually he got sick of the smell because he finally let me out to bathe… while he watched me.” She looked up at the ceiling. “God, the way those eyes ran over my body, I knew then he would never let me go.”

A low, deadly growl escaped Kano’s mouth, and she turned to see his eyes gold. She moved away, and his eyes paled again. He breathed in deep and extended his hand with an apologetic look. Hesitantly, Essence took it, and he placed hers against his face. He whispered, “I’m sorry.”

She laid back against him. “We don’t have to talk about this, Kano.” He pulled her close, signaling for her to continue. She fought through her nerves, knowing she needed to tell him everything. “When I finished, he grabbed my arm and pulled me into another room. It took me a minute to realize that it was his. After a few moments, he came back with the skimpiest thing I’d ever seen. He threw it at me, took off his clothes, and waited for me to join him in the bed.” Her eyes welled with tears. “You know, there are things we do to survive, but they mess you up in here”—she pointed to her temple, then pointed to her heart—“and here.”

Kano fought to keep his blood from boiling. He didn’t want to scare her again, but he was so furious he could feel his wolf rage against his chest. Essence bit the side of her cheek. “In the morning, I was told I was to cook, clean, wash his clothes, and sleep in his bed at night. He said if I would not give him the pendant, I was going to give him me instead. And you know the crazy part about it all? I didn’t even care. My mom split when I was in middle school, my dad had basically sold me, I didn’t have anyone else, so it didn’t matter anymore.

“A few months pass, and this other man shows up... William Lefou. It was the second time I got that sinking feeling. He never stayed, but slowly but surely, he talked to me. Little things at first, and then he’d find any reason to say something or touch me when Johnathan wasn’t looking. I realized if I get in good with him, then maybe I could escape, ya know? He wasn’t as smart as Johnathan, so I started flirting and being overly kind, and eventually, it worked. He fell in love, and asked me to marry him, and said that he was going to take me away.

“The night we were supposed to sneak away, I heard this commotion, and I ran downstairs. I saw my father standing in the doorway. He took one look at me and burst into tears. He kept saying he was sorry and that he wanted me to come home. He gave Johnathan two hundred dollars, and said it was double what he sold the box for, and that he knew where to find the pendant, and then he pulled it out his pocket.”

She let out a harsh laugh. “He’d never sold it. He had it the entire time. I was worth a hundred dollars, and a stolen pendant that he didn’t even use to pay off anything. I was so angry, and Johnathan just laughed. He snatched the pendant and said, ‘sorry all sales are final.’ William showed up, and that was when I got an idea. I told Johnathan I was going to leave, and marry William and, boom, that’s all it took. He grabbed William, and they started fighting, and my father tried to get me to run with him.”

She paused, and her arms shook violently as she cried. “But I was so mad! I hated him! When I saw Johnathan pull out a gun and point it at William, I pushed my father into him. Johnathan thought my father was trying to attack him, so he fired. Then William pulled out a gun, and I just took off. I heard two shots, but I didn’t look back. I just darted towards the woods, and ran, and ran until I couldn’t anymore. And you know the fucked up part about it? When I found out all of them died, I didn’t bat an eye. Even more fucked up is that if I felt a semblance of something, it would have been towards William’s death at the most.”

Essence sat up and looked him directly in the eyes. “Because for every bit they did to me, at least for a second, he was going to take me away. It may have been to another prison, but at least for a moment, I would have been free. That’s why I can’t stay with you, because you’re so good, Kano. I knew it the moment you asked me to stay. I knew it by the way you look at me, and the way I can’t help but to look at you. God, it makes me wish there was something good in me left. Because for everything you’ve been through, you still make those around you feel like they could be good in this terrible world. You don’t deserve a moment of freedom; you deserve a lifetime, and if I stay, if I love you, then you’ll be stuck with me, and I’m not good, Kano. With me, you’ll just be leaving one prison for another.”