Caught in the crossfire

15

Taking a walk to clear her head was a good idea... in theory. In reality, it only gave Kay time alone with her thoughts.  And the image of those stormy eyes smoldering down at her... the feel of his warm body on top of hers... she had been aware of every inch of his body pressing into hers. Very. Aware. And now she could not help but keep replaying it all over and again in her head. What am I thinking?! She shook her head, patting her rosy cheeks. Focus. Get your mind out of the gutter! But it was no use.

She wandered for some time without a thought as to where she was or where she was going. So absorbed in her own mind was she that she failed to notice the presence sneaking up behind her until it was too late! One arm snaked around her body, pinning her, while the other hand pressed a cloth to her face.

———

"She's awake" Kay heard as her consciousness began to return.

She was laying down on something soft in a dimly lit room. Rolling her head to the side she jolted upright, ready to fight, as her eyes landed on the two strangers before her. One of them she recognized as the man from the mall.

"Easy!" He soothed, his hands extended in a reassuring manner. "It's ok. You're safe now. We're not going to hurt you."

"Who are you and what do you want??And what do you mean safe?? Safe from what?" She asked suspiciously.

"Please," he said, gesturing for her to sit on the mattress behind where she now stood. Slowly he lowered himself onto a stool facing her. "My name is Artemis Holter, this is my son Chase, and I am your uncle."

For a moment Kay's heart stopped. "W-What?" She blinked rapidly.

"I know," he began gently, "that this may be hard to believe. Please, allow me to explain."

Kay nodded warily and slowly lowered herself down onto the mattress to sit, her watchful gaze never leaving the two men.

"Nineteen years ago my sister, your mother, called me for help. She was a strong and independent woman - more than capable of looking out for herself - so I was shocked to say the least. That is, until I found out about you. You see the family trade has been passed down for generations, unfortunately it has earned us some formidable enemies. And for someone as talented and skilled as Dianna... this was especially the case."

"She had become the target of one of these enemies. Normally, she would have welcomed the challenge but when she found out she was pregnant, naturally, everything changed. You became her number one priority."

He paused for a moment then with a faraway, mournful look. "She called me up, asking if she could stay with me and your Aunt Lei. For your protection, no one was to know about you apart from your parents, Lei, and myself. Because we knew she was already being tracked we made arrangements for the two of us to meet at a secure location from which I would escort her home. She would spend the rest of her pregnancy safely in my home where Lei and I would be able to look after her and help out when you were born. I waited but... she never came."

"As I began to worry about the delay in her arrival I received news of your fathers death." He continued shakily "I... I knew then that something was terribly wrong... Beginning where they'd found your father I started my search. I enlisted the help of all of my contacts, all of our friends and allies and finally caught wind of her trail but..." he choked "we were too late."

Again he took a moment to gather himself before continuing. "There wasn't much left of her when we got there. I searched but finding no trace of you I had to assume you were dead too..."

"But then I saw you," He sighed, straitening himself up, "at the mall and you look so much like Dianna. In that instant I could have sworn you were her. So I started doing some digging."

"It wasn't easy," he affirmed, "but finally I was able to get the answers I needed."

"And what did you find?" Asked Kay her own voice now trembling too "how can you be so sure that I'm-" she choked.

Smiling tenderly, he resumed his story. "I began by identifying you. You know, even your name seemed to indicate that I was right. Your mother always liked the idea of family names and your two grandmothers were Ann Marie Rudra and Moriah Kay Holter. So you having both of their names - Kay Marie - made sense. I then traced you back to the children's home in Jonesville. I had a bit of a set-back there since it closed a few years after your adoption but I was eventually able to track down the woman who had brought you there. She was employed there for some time, but of course you already knew that."

"Yes," nodded Kay, "Mrs. Humplebee"

"That's right," he smiled, "lovely lady. It took us some convincing to get her to talk though. Apparently Dianna had made quite an impression and had made her and her sister, who was the midwife who delivered you, promise not to tell anyone because she feared for your life."

"Mrs Humplebee was able to identify your mother as the woman in this picture..." reaching into the inner breast pocket of his coat he produced an old worn out photo which he offered to Kay. "She also said that your mother left you with two things. A scrap of paper with your name and a ring, threaded on a chain."

Looking down at the photograph Kay sucked in a sharp breath. The woman laughing up at her, sandwiched between two men, looked just. Like. Her.

"This is.." she faltered.

"Yes." He smiled encouragingly. "May I? Come and sit with you?" He asked.

Slowly she nodded in reply. Moving to sit beside her he began pointing "Your mother, obviously. Your father Damion. And that's me."

"Tell me Kay, do you still have that ring?" Asked Artemis.

"Yes. Of course. It's not with me at the moment though. Why?" She replied.

"That's quite alright." He said "Its just my final piece of evidence you see. Mrs Humplebee wasn't able to remember exactly what it looked like but as I recall... it was a fairly delicate piece. Pure silver... with a sort of twisted metal look - which always reminded me of leaves - leading up to the purest of diamonds encompassed by a border of delicate rose petals. Inside is the inscription 'amor aeter-'"

"Amor aeternus" she breathed, still staring at the picture that was now quivering in her hands.

"That's Latin for 'love eternal'... it was a family heirloom of your father's and Dianna always wore it on a chain about her neck." He concluded.

After a moment of silence Artemis took Kay's trembling hands in his own. "I know... that this is a lot to take in my dear. Do you need a moment to yourself?"

Wetting her lips and swallowing hard she nodded, unable to trust her voice just then.

"Alright," he said understandingly "Chase and I will just be outside if you need anything. And Kay, your mother loved you. Very much... I'm sure she'd have wanted you to know that."

With that, Artemis and Chase, who'd been sitting quietly to the side, got up and slipped out the door.

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Hey! Surprise! The man from the mall isn't a bad guy!... or is he? <dramatic pause> Anywho, what do you think? Vote, comment, and as always, thanks for reading! :D

Also! Shout out to @WinningStream for the awesome new cover!