Chapter Four

Kane stood outside of The Coffee Palace watching her leave. For some reason that look of recognition seemed to stick out to him the most. He wasn’t sure where she would have seen him before or why he wouldn’t have remembered her right away. She was a beautiful woman and definitely one that he wouldn’t mind having in his bed. Granted he didn’t get much of a look at her because the clothing she wore seemed to hide her figure rather than accentuate it. He let out a frustrated sigh and walked back into the restaurant to go speak to Mary. 

“Kane.” Mary said, raising a brow at him. 

“I swear to God, Mary, I had no idea either one of them were here.” Kane said, holding his hands up in surrender as his furious sister stood there with her arms crossed. 

“I’m only going to say this once, Kane. Keep your dumb bitches on a fucking leash. I don’t need those stupid sluts running around and causing trouble for my livelihood because you can’t keep it in your pants.” She growled. 

Kane sighed in defeat. It was moments like these where she reminded him of his mother.  Mary was not the type of person you wanted to cross, that much was obvious since Kane had been teaching her everything he could to help her protect herself. She was a woman that would either shoot or kick your ass first and ask questions later. He was very proud that she had turned into the no nonsense type instead of the kind that would let people run over her. It was a constant worry of his growing up. She had already been tough growing up so that helped. Sometimes you were made for it or you weren’t. Sometimes life put you through hell, which reminded him of the whole reason why he had even stopped in to begin with. 

“Mary, I really did have a reason for stopping in here. I swear it wasn’t to cause trouble.” Kane began. “I need to know what you knew about that girl I met a few years ago.” 

“What girl, Kane?” She asked, while wiping down the counters. 

“Three years ago, I helped someone escape from this compound.” He began. 

“Look, I know that you’re worried about me getting mixed up with someone that could get me hurt but that was a special case.” Mary whispered so others couldn’t hear. 

“What do you mean?” Kane asked, frowning. 

“You remember that girl that I used to hang out with?” Mary began. 

“The one that mom and dad loved. She would come and help out at the restaurant.” Kane said, nodding his head. 

“Yeah. Her. A woman came in here with her daughter about a month or two before that place went up in flames.” She whispered. “When she came in I thought she was just another customer but then she handed me something.”

“What did she give you?” Kane asked. 

“She gave me  something that she used to wear all the time.” Mary said, leading the way back to her office. 

Mary took a deep breath and unlocked the door. To this day she had kept it safe. She went to her safe and unlocked it. Inside the safe was  something small, so tiny and insignificant that most people wouldn’t even look twice at it but to Margo it had meant the world. With a shaking hand Mary reached inside it and palmed the small item. The aged wood was still smooth and detailed. 

“I’ve had this since the woman brought it to me.” Mary said, turning around to face Kane with tears in her eyes. 

In the palm of her hand lay a small hand carved wooden horse. Kane’s eyes widened when he saw it. He took in every little detail of the familiar carving. His breath caught in his throat and he swallowed against the emotion he was feeling. 

“Would you like it back?” Mary whispered as a single tear trailed down her cheek. 

“How did she get this?” Kane asked. 

“She said that she knew where Margo was being held… I didn’t believe her at first. I thought it was a cruel joke until she produced this.” Mary whispered. “She said that she had come across her a while back and they were working on getting her out. They only had a short window of opportunity and then it would be too late. She said that Margo had told her where to get it and to bring it here.”

With shaking hands Kane reached out and plucked the tiny figurine from his sister’s hand. He remembered every detail he had carved with painstaking concentration. His hand shook as he held it for the first time in years. It was supposed to have been a christmas present for Margo but he ended up giving it to her early just before he had shipped out. He blinked back the tears at the memory of her tear stained face. He had always known that she had a little crush on him but because he was six years older than her he had never seen her as anything more than a sister. 

“That means that I looked her in the fucking eyes and didn’t even realize it was her…” Kane whispered. 

“You wouldn’t have, Kane. I barely recognized her myself and she was my best friend.” Mary said, choking on a sob. “I can only imagine what she looked like that night…” 

“It was awful, Mary. Be glad you never had to see her the way I did. It still haunts me to this day.” Kane whispered. “Are you sure you want to give this to me?” 

Mary looked into his silver eyes and nodded. She didn’t trust herself to speak at the moment as she thought back to what Margo had gone through while she was in that place. She wanted to listen to him. She really did but there was a burning question that sat in the back of her mind all this time. 

“When you saw her… where was she?” Mary finally asked. 

“Are you sure you want to know?” Kane asked with eyes pleading, begging her not to ask. 

“She’s my best friend, Kane. I need to know…” Mary sobbed. 

“She was standing outside. She was only wearing a thin button down shirt with a belt around her waist and oversized men’s boots. She had a sheet that was holding something and in her hand was a large tactical hunting knife, the kind that hunters use. It was stained in blood. She had blood spatters all over her.” Kane whispered softly, hating the look of pain on her face. “She was covered in bruises. Some were old and some were new… She was thin. Thinner than normal. She had dark circles under her eyes and her hair was wild and matted. She threatened to kill me.” He chuckled softly. 

The image that he had provided his sister was a softer version of the one that plagued his memories. Still he would give her this much. Anything more and it would have been too much for her to take. He watched as his sister sobbed silently. She shook her head and wiped away her tears. 

“I still can’t believe that it  happened, Kane. Mom and dad were distraught when they heard. She didn’t have very many people that she could have called friend. There was me, Dex, and a few others. That’s all but the town loved her. She was too kind and shy to have to go through anything like that. It never should have happened. It shouldn’t happen to anyone, to be honest. But Margo was so sweet and kind. The whole town still holds a memorial service for her and her family.” Mary said with a sad sigh. 

“Mary, you’re right. She was too kind and nice. She never should have gone through what she did, but what I saw the night she escaped was someone willing to fight to walk free.” Kane said, hoping to ease her sadness. 

“But she never should have had to fight for something that the rest of us take for granted. I hate to imagine what she went through, how she must have suffered. I may not approve of what you do or how you do it but even you have to admit that most people would have broken under those circumstances. It must have broken her in ways that none of us will ever understand.” Mary said angrily. 

“Mary, Margo was your best friend, but even I know that Margo would never break for anyone no matter what they did to her. Margo was kind and very shy but even I Knew that there was a certain strength to her.” Kane said, comforting his sister. “Margo is the kind of person that rises to the occasion and shines so damn brightly everything else pales in comparison.” 

“You don’t think it broke her?” Mary asked hopefully. 

“I know it didn’t. No matter what she went through, Margo kept her wits about her and she planned an escape that would help her get miles away before anyone ever bothered to look for her.” Kane said confidently. 

“I hope so.” Mary whispered. 

“I know she did. Everything that happened that night was her plan. Well, except for me being there. I don’t think she was planning on that. I don’t think she was planning on anyone else being there.” Kane said, knowing Margo was a shrewd and calculating person. “Margo fought for her freedom that night. She fought to walk away from captivity and when I say she fought, she fought. Margo did something that most people wouldn’t have had the balls to do. She killed that night to be free. The Margo we know is still there but she’s allowed her courage to take over instead of being swallowed up by her fear. That’s something that most people couldn’t do.” Kane said, palming the wooden carving. 

“So then  what do we do with this knowledge?” Mary asked in frustration. 

“We take comfort in the fact that she fought back and got free, regardless of how she did it. We take comfort in the fact that she is safe and miles away from this town and the asshole that nearly destroyed her life.” Kane said. 

“So you know who held her captive.” Mary said. 

She knew that she didn’t need to ask. She knew that now he knew where Margo was being held her brother would stop at nothing to bring the asshole that held her captive to his knees. Mary, who wasn’t much for violence, took comfort in the knowledge that Kane would hand out a punishment so violent that no one would recover from it. 

“I fucking know who did it and will end his fucking life with a goddamn smile.” Kane assured his little sister with a sinister smirk. 

“Good.” She said, surprising him.