Where Secrets Lie

Kara woke up the following morning on a hospital bed. A bit of hope surged through her, but a quick look around the room told her that she was not, in fact, in a hospital. Although she was hooked up to an IV pump and now wore a cotton, hospital gown.

"How many damn rooms does this place have?" she muttered.

As she struggled to sit up, she spotted Logan sitting in a chair at her bedside. "What are you doing here? Come to finish off what your friend started?" she asked. Her voice was quite brave, despite her weakened condition.

He looked back at her with indifference. "Alyssa stayed by your bed all night. She wouldn't agree to leave your side unless I took her place."

Kara wasn't sure if he was genuinely being kind, or it was some kind of show to garner her sister's affections. "I'm glad she is getting some rest. She will need it if she's going to serve you and do well in school." She paused and looked up at him. "She does still plan on attending school doesn't she?"

"Yes," Logan nodded, "of course."

Kara eyed the striking young man sitting beside her. She wondered just how close of a bond he actually had with her sister. Yes, he was beautiful; she couldn't deny that, but he was so pompous and took himself far too seriously. She didn't understand Alyssa's infatuation with him. Then again, he was nowhere near as bad as Michael, so perhaps she was judging him too harshly.

Thinking about the yellow-haired God reminded her of the night before, and she had to speak to him. She looked down at her IV and began removing it.

"I'm going to see Michael."

"I would advise against that."

"I don't care what you advise." She jumped out of the bed and headed for the door. She expected Logan to grab her or try to stop her, but he didn't; however, he did follow behind her, curiously. She exited the room without looking back at him and marched down the halls toward Michael's room.

Suddenly, she felt as if she were in a cliche high school movie because every servant she passed pointed and giggled at her. A cool breeze on her backside explained their amusement.

"Shit, I'm wearing a hospital gown," she said and tried to bring the fabric together to hide her nakedness.

When she arrived at Michael's door, she gave it a rapid knock with her free hand. She flew in with a fury when it finally opened. Logan trailed behind her as if watching a soap opera.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?" she screamed, the indignity of her current attire only fueling her flames. "Do you really think that tricking people into becoming your servants and then feeding on them like common livestock is ok? If you needed blood from me, couldn't it have been done in a more humane way? One in which we would have been able to keep our dignity?"

Michael's gray eyes were bright and wide. His eyebrows feigned surprise, but then he began to snicker. "Funny that you speak of dignity when half of the people at Caswell Mansion have had the pleasure of viewing your pleasantly shaped behind this morning."

Her face grew red hot.

"I am pleased to see that you are awake though, despite your mood. I was going to take Kate to the office today, but I would much rather enjoy the pleasure of your company." He walked to his closet and started browsing through his collection of lavish business suits. "I think we should wear red today. What do you think, Logan?"

"I think Kara would be ravishing in red," Logan responded, cutting his eyes toward Kara mischievously.

Kara was incredulous. They spoke to her as if she were a pet, deciding what she should wear. Her co-workers were far from classy, but they would never speak to her like that. Even the drunken, inappropriate ramblings of a fellow officer after hours was nothing compared to this.

"Did you hear anything I just said? I'm not going anywhere with you."

Michael turned away from his closet. He lowered his voice as he spoke and spoke to her as if she were a child. "Kara, we had a deal, did we not? Your sister sleeps safely under our roof because we allow it. In return, the only thing you need to do is cater to my every whim. I thought I made that perfectly clear."

Just as she feared, she knew all along the things they were capable of. She knew Michael understood her need to serve him was only to protect her sister, and now he was going to use that against her. If she didn't do as he said...would he really kill Alyssa?