"Hello? Hello?"
"Kate?" Hearing Chase's deep voice, the firm tenderness in it, makes me want to cry again.
"Ye-es," my voice breaks. "Chase, I—"
"What happened?"
I freeze. How do I even start with this? What can I tell him? What am I doing?
I swallow. Hard. "I, uh," my voice is hoarse, barely above a whisper. "I need your help. I—" The words are there in my throat. The true story. What I've gotten myself into. The urge to spit them washes over me. But before I can form them, I have a flash of the sensation of my throat closing. Hand to my throat, I remember the cool resolve in Aiden's eyes. And Derek's . . . creature.
"Kate?" Chase's voice is tight with concern.
"I-I can't believe you called me," I blurt, blinking back tears.
He blows out a breath. "I told you I wouldn't talk to you until you wanted me to."
I nod, can't find words through the self-loathing coating me.
"Kate," he says hesitantly, "how bad is it?"
