The Rogue and His Hunter Mate

Chapter 4- Stay Away From Him!

Khanna POV

Ever since I saw the man yesterday, I cannot get him out of my head. I have asked Bradley and the two men his name, but they refuse to tell me anything. I have also been forbidden from seeing him again.

I decided that night at dinner that I will go and visit the man. I think that he is being held in the basement room, and as I know the guards' schedule, then it should be easy for me to sneak out and down into the basement hallway.

I am currently sitting in the dining hall. I have my own little table in the corner near the trash bin. Aren’t I lucky? I think to myself.

I wish that I could run away, but I remember one man did a few years back, and when Bradley and his henchmen caught him, well, let’s just say he was glad when they dealt the final blow. Bradley said that it was to set an example, but I thought that we should be free to go if we wanted to.

At first, I was grateful to have a home, but over the years, I have come to resent my life. Everyone my age is going to school and experiencing life. But here I am, being tormented and turned into a weapon. Slowly, the love in Bradley’s eyes disappeared until there is nothing in them now when he looks at me. At first, I thought it was something that I had done, but after spending months thinking about it, I realized that he never really loved me.

The realization hurt me a lot. The only person that I had in my life like a father to me does not love me. But then I used that hurt and anger and channeled it in the gym.

“I want you to stay away from that man, Khanna!” Bradley says to me, drawing me from my thoughts and to the present. I look around and see that everyone is looking at me. I then dip my head and look back at my plate.

“What man?” I ask innocently.

“Don’t play innocent with me. I know you want to go and help him, but he cannot be helped while he is here. I am telling you once and once only: leave well enough alone and stay away from him if you know what’s good for you,” Bradley says loudly before turning around and walking away from me.

I look up from my food and see that everyone has stopped what they are doing and is looking at me.

“She just got told.” One person said.

“Why would he talk to her?”

“She is stupid.”

“What is with her?”

“Why won’t she just leave?” one man close to me whispers.

“You know she can’t. She’ll be killed,” another whispers to the man.

“Like I said, why won’t she just leave?”

I don’t even want to listen to any more. I just throw the majority of my food in the bin and leave the dining room, and as soon as I do, conversations start up again.

It is like that every time they are reminded of my presence. It is as if I am a mere nuisance to them rather than a person. And it hurts, but nothing I ever do makes them change their mind. In their eyes, I’m just the unwanted runt, unwanted by my parents and unwanted by them.

I head up to my room and decide to watch some TV and read a bit to pass the time until I can leave my room and head down to see the man.

I wait until 11:45 p.m. before making my way out of my room and down to the basement hallway where the room is located. I hide behind a corner a few meters from the entrance to the hallway and wait for the guards to change. The changeover happens every four hours, and the next one is due to occur at midnight, in exactly five minutes.

When I see the guards leave, there is a window of about a minute within which to enter the basement hallway and make it into the room before I am discovered by the new guards. It also means that I have to stay hidden in the room for four hours.

I slip in the door just as it is about to close and then run so fast down the corridor, past so many doors, until I make it to the door. I then turn the handle, and I am surprised to find the door unlocked.

I slip in and close the door quietly, just as I hear the voices from the new guards making their way down the corridor. I quickly hide under the bed, and wait until the door opens and then closes again, the guards checking on the person within the room.

I scramble up from under the bed and turn on the bedside light. I then come face-to-face with the man from earlier.

OMG! Never have I seen such a handsome man in my life. He is not conventionally handsome; you can see that he has had a hard life, but he has also tried to keep some semblance of normality. My heart goes out to him, but it also won’t stop fluttering.

A part of me wants to run away as he looks dangerous, but another part of me wants to be by his side forever and be with him. But then my heart breaks as I know that can never be. I can never run off with him as he does not know me nor will he ever. Bradley will make sure of that. For some reason, he is determined to keep us apart, but I don’t know why.

I look at the man sleeping soundly. I have no idea if he has woken yet or if his head injury is more serious than first thought. I decide then to change the bandage, which I do gently so as to not wake him.

Once I have changed his bandage, I sit on the only chair in the room and look at the man. Just being near him helps me to calm down and brings back the feelings of security and feelings of hope for a good future. Why, I do not know, nor do I understand, and I have no one to ask. Every time I touched him, I felt sparks. They were subtle, and if I had not been heightened to my feelings because of the man in front of me, then I never would have noticed. The sparks felt weird but pleasant at the same time, almost as if I was meant to be with him.

I stay there for a few hours, deep in my thoughts and just watching the man sleep until my watch beeps, letting me know that it is 4 a.m. and the change of guards will be happening again.

Just before I leave the room, I walk over and brush some hair out of his face which had fallen when he turned over. The sparks came back, and this time he sighed in contentment. He actually smiled, and it takes my breath away. His black hair was silky smooth, and his smile was dazzling. I just wished he would open his eyes, but I don’t have time to stay without being caught, so I quickly withdraw my hand and go to the door.

I sneak back out and up to my room, where I finally fall asleep before my alarm is due to go off again at 7 a.m. to start training.

The day is just as brutal as all the other days, but I know that being this tired is worth it because I got to see the man again. At first, I thought of heeding Bradley’s words and not visiting the man again. I mean, I don’t know him, and I only wanted to make sure he was okay.

But as the day drags on, I find the pain in my chest gets harder and harder to ignore until I decide to go and visit him again. Then the pain almost disappears.

I keep visiting the man for the next two nights, but on the final night, I am called to Bradley’s office. Just as I am about to make it to my bedroom door, two guards step out of the shadows and grab my arms, roughly marching me down the hallway.

At first, I try to fight them, but their grips just tighten. Then I see that Bradley’s door is open and the light is on. They walk me in and sit me on the only chair in front of Bradley. When I look up, I am met with a very red-faced and angry Bradley.

I had forgotten about the CCTV cameras.

I had forgotten that they were linked to Bradley’s computer.

I had disobeyed him.

I was in serious trouble.