Bound To Love by Sally Clements Read Free Book Online

this morning.’
    But I’d like him to be .
    Where had that come from? Tiredness must be playing tricks with her head. There was a thin smear of blood on the cold tile floor. The cuts on her bare feet stung.
    When she spoke, it was a feeble croak. ‘Jake needs medical attention. His wrists … ’
    ‘I need a phone first,’ Jake said. ‘To call the police.’
    ‘I’ll call Philip Jones.’ Daniel reached for his cell phone. ‘Last year, I had a problem with a stalker. Philip was the Detective Inspector in charge of the investigation, and we’ve become friends. I’ll call him now, tell him what’s going on. Do you have the GPS coordinates for where they were holding you?’
    Jake nodded. ‘In the chopper.’
    Daniel grabbed the torch on his way out of the door, closely followed by Jake.
    ‘I’m sorry I believed Mum.’
    Skye put her arm around Tempest’s shoulders. Reassurance and love bled from the contact, and Tempest soaked it up like cotton wool soaking up blood. Drama with Mum was the last thing on her mind. She had the love of her sister. That was enough for now. Skye, however, hadn’t finished.
    ‘I know now isn’t the time, but I’m annoyed with her.’ Her voice sharpened, and her arm squeezed tighter. ‘You’re my sister and I love you. How dare she make those assumptions about you? You’ve done nothing to deserve them.’
    Tempest’s heart swelled. Skye was always on her side. Like their father had been. Tears pricked behind her eyelids. The adrenalin rush now completely depleted, her body sagged, like a rag doll’s. She mustered every atom of strength she had, and forced out an answer.
    ‘I appreciate the thought, Skye, but it’s my fight. I’m just choosing my moment, that’s all. And right now I need a shower.’
    Her shirt, covered in the red clay of the cave, clung damply to her chest. She sniffed. The horrible smell was definitely her. The cuts on her feet stung, and flicks of blood and dirt covered the floor.
    Skye glanced down with a gasp. ‘Oh, Tee. Your poor feet.’
    Skye pulled clean clothes from the laundry basket, forehead pleating as her white teeth worried her lip.
    ‘Come on, I’ll help.’ She helped Tempest up carefully. ‘When you’re out of the shower, put on these fluffy bed socks and come back down. I’ll bandage your feet in the kitchen.’
    Tempest arched her back under the pounding water. A trickle of black slithered down her body, then swirled around her feet. She rubbed a handful of shampoo into her hair, feeling the ache of a bruise under her hairline. There was one on her hip too. She smoothed her fingers over the greenish-black marks. The sound of the falling water soothed her, like a sudden deluge on a summer day. She breathed in the warm steam. The water was doing its magic, bringing her back to life. Her stomach growled, and she climbed out and wrapped herself in one of Skye’s huge, fluffy, white bath sheets. When she’d dressed in the warm sweats Skye had provided, she brushed her hair and dabbed it with a towel.
    She sniffed. The delicious scent of warm bread and one of Skye’s notorious casseroles came wafting up from downstairs. Her mouth watered.
    ‘You look better.’ Skye pulled out a chair, and helped Tempest onto it. ‘So, how did you get involved in all this? The last I heard you were on your way to the train.’
    ‘I was.’ Skye wasn’t going to like this part. Tempest rubbed the ache blooming at her temples. ‘But then I saw them push Jake into a van.’
    Skye’s eyes widened, and her mouth fell open into a perfect O.
    ‘I attacked the attacker.’
    Even to Tempest’s ears, it sounded ridiculous. Her mouth twisted in a wry grin. Skye jumped up and planted her hands on her hips. She swallowed, her gaze darting from side to side. Struggling for words. Momentarily speechless.
    ‘You could have been seriously hurt, Tee. Even killed. ’ Skye’s voice rose to a crescendo. ‘Damn it! You should think before you jump