Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any of the CI characters!

Sanctuary

By Trureflection

Chapter 2- I Belong To You

Summary- Kathryn finds herself face to face with someone from her past.

AN: I'm soooo sorry I've been gone for so long! But I'll try to update as much as possible before I start up school..

As the meeting ended and everyone filed out, I eyed him carefully as he made his way over to me. The door shut as he sat down in front of me.

"Vincent I thought you were dead." It was all I could manage to get out. A smile formed on his handsome face as he chuckled.

"Oh, you didn't think you'd get off that easy. I thought you were smarter than that Kathryn." I sat back in the leather chair when a sinister grin formed on his face and he stood over me.

I stood up as well, refusing to give in to fear as I had before in the past. His hand caressed the side of my face as he stepped closer to me. As his other hand went up my skirt, I jumped and almost fell back in the chair behind me. I held my breath as he stepped closer to me.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore. I am a grown woman now and you need to get the fuck away from me." I got a safe distance away from him before I started to breathe again.

I could feel my heartbeat increase and I knew he could tell I was scared. The bastard had gotten quite good at reading my fear, given that he was the cause of it.

"Oh Kathryn, you've grown to be a rather..hmm.. sexy looking woman." He leered at me as I looked away from him. I tried to focus on something other than him in my face and the fear I was struggling to get control of.

After living two years in fear of this man, I just couldn't seem to kick the feeling every time I was near him. This is definitely a BIG problem. When I saw a perverse smile form on his lips I had the feeling that he had been planning this very moment.

Vincent stepped away from me when his secretary walked into the room. "Mr. Spence, your wife is on line 1. She says it's important." He waved the young woman away and once again we were left alone.

"Well, now that our companies are merging, I guess you're stuck with me until the fashion show at the end of the year. I expect there are some questions to which you would want answers. We have lunch tomorrow so I'll see you then. Have a nice day Kathryn." He gave me a superior grin as he backed out of the room.

When the door closed behind him, I gripped a nearby chair to keep balance. Suddenly, my legs felt like they were going to give out and I fell into the chair beside me. My chest heaved violently as I tried to catch my breath. A tear slid down my cheek as I tried to figure out what exactly just happened.

A few minutes later, I walked out the front door of Spence Enterprises and into the limo waiting at the curb. I immediately pulled out my cell phone and dialed Annette's desk number.

"Hello?" I breathed a sigh of relief as Annette's voice picked up.

"Annette. It's Kathryn. I really need to talk to you."

"Where do you wanna meet me?"

"Umm.. how about at the café around the corner? I think it's called.." I tried in vain to try and remember the name, but my mind was so cluttered that I forgot.

"Bertucci's? Damn, it must have been a rough day. I'll be there in a few. Bye."

I hung up and put down the petition between the driver and me.

Kathryn hurriedly stepped out of the limo and rushed into the crowded restaurant. Her heart was still pounding as she rushed over to the table Annette was sitting at.

Annette looked up at her friend with a concerned face as she waited for Kathryn to sit down. "What's wrong Kathryn? You sounded horrible on the phone."

Kathryn took a deep breath and looked back up at her friend. Her lip quivered as she said uneasily " I just had an encounter with my dead uncle. Annette… he's not dead."

Annette's mouth dropped open in shock as she tried to process what Kathryn had just told her. The only thing that she could say was "I don't understand."

Kathryn was about to further explain but was interrupted when the waitress came to take their orders.

After ordering their food and giving the waitress the menus, they were alone again. "Annette, he faked his death and obviously came here and started his business. He knew it was my company he was merging with and he deliberately didn't meet with me until the deal was closed."

Annette looked at her friend sadly as she realized how much of a problem this was for Kathryn. "What are you going to do? You can't just pull out."

Kathryn scoffed as a mug of coffee was put in front of her. "I know that Annette. I just have to find a way to get through this. I guess if that means hiring bodyguards to watch me twenty four hours a day then so be it. All I know is that I can't be alone with him again, especially after what happened today."

Annette's face crinkled in confusion. "Wait.. You were alone with him? What exactly happened?"

"After the meeting was over, we were left alone to talk. The way he was looking at me, it scared the shit out of me. I know that he's been planning this since the day I left." Kathryn absently tapped of the side of the mug.

Annette watched her as she stared out the window as the cars drove by. "Do you think he's going to cause any trouble?"

Kathryn chuckled bitterly as she tore her eyes away from the scenery and towards Annette.

"Without a doubt."

The Next Day

Kathryn walked into the crowded café and looked around nervously. Her heart was pounding so loud that she was surprised the couple passing her weren't able to hear it.

She spotted her uncle in the corner table at the very end of the restaurant and took deep breaths as she slowly walked over. Vincent looked up at she sat in the chair across from him.

"If it isn't the infamous Kathryn Valmont!" Vincent spat out sarcastically. His lips curved into a sardonic smile.

Kathryn squinted her eyes as he started to laugh. "What the fuck do you want from me Uncle Vincent? I believe you had enough fun torturing me when I was a child. An innocent child might I add."

He reached out to grab Kathryn's hand but she recoiled from his touch. "Don't you dare touch me! How dare you even try to come near me after all the fucking shit I went through living in your house."

"Don't try to sound grateful Kathryn. Callie and I took in your selfish ass. Be happy you had somewhere to go at all."

"At least your pesky little step brother was dead so we didn't have to deal with his bullshit along with yours. What was his name again? Oh yeah, Sebastian. God he was a pain in the ass, even worse than you."

"Keep Sebastian's name out of your mouth I don't even like the sound of it coming from you. This has nothing to do with him, it has to do with you and me."

Vincent smiled as he looked past her. "So the ice queen does have a soft spot huh? I knew you always had feeling for that little twit. It's a good thing he died. I can't believe we even put up with your bullshit. We should've shipped your high maintenance behind off to some boarding school."

"That would've been better than being raped every night and abused! God! Do you even know what you've done to me! You ruined my childhood and you sit here and call me ungrateful? I've had enough of this!" Kathryn stood up and got very close to his face staring daggers, her voice low and dangerous.

"If you come near me when business isn't involved, I'll give you what you deserve. If you even think of coming to bother me and somehow you get by my bodyguards, I'll kill you and I won't even hesitate to plea self defense. Do I make myself clear uncle?"

Vincent gave her a blank look before sitting back and giving her his usual arrogant grin. "Of course sweetheart. If that's what makes you happy."

Kathryn looked at him disgusted by him. "You're despicable and I hate you. One of these days you'll get yours, and when that day comes I'll be watching with a grin and be dancing on your grave as soon as you're put in the dirt."

With that Kathryn grabbed her purse and walked quickly to the front of the restaurant. She looked back at him to see him blow her a kiss. As soon as she got out the front door and into the black limo waiting, Kathryn started to hyperventilate and tried to catch her breath. She looked down at her hands to see them trembling.

A Week Later

Kathryn packed her things into her briefcase as she was getting ready to leave the office early. She hummed softly as she walked up to Annette's desk.

Annette curiously looked up at her from the computer sitting in front of her. "What's got you in such a good mood today? And why are you leaving so early?"

Kathryn smiled down at Annette and replied. "Well, Brendan called me and wants to take me out to lunch. After being apart from him for so long I guess I kind of miss him. And plus, being with him will take my mind off of the crisis at hand."

Annette looked back down at the computer and continued typing as Kathryn sauntered out of the office and into the awaiting elevator.

Kathryn smiled as the elevator doors opened and she saw Brendan come into view. After he returned from his trip, he had promised to take Kathryn out to lunch.

Brendan had just left a meeting and most of the board members filed into the elevator Kathryn was exiting. He walked up to her and gave her a soft kiss.

"I just have to get a few things from my office. How was your day baby?" He smiled at Kathryn as they walked up to the elevator.

Kathryn cringed at the nickname. It was too cutsy and she didn't like it. She gave him a tight smile as she lied "It was fine."

Brendan sensed her hesitation and lightly rubbed her back. "Kathryn what's wrong?"

As they walked side by side to Brendan's office, he suddenly stopped. She looked at him in confusion. "I want you to meet my new boss. He just got promoted. You remember the guy I was talking about before right?"

Kathryn nodded as they walked up to a large set of doors. Brendan knocked before opening the door. He grabbed Kathryn's hand as they walked in. The office was immaculate and had a great view of the city. His boss had his back to the two of them as he finished a telephone conversation. His voice was low and husky as his laughter echoed throughout the room.

Kathryn had excused herself to go to the ladies room and left Brendan to wait on his own. After a few minutes and the man hung up, Brendan cleared his throat. The large leather chair spun around and a man in his early twenties smiled at him. "Brendan. What can I do for you?"

Brendan returned the smile before answering. "My girlfriend is here and I wanted you to meet her. She just excused herself to go to the bathroom a few minutes ago, so she should be coming back any minute."

They went on to talk about business as they waited. Finally, the door opened and in walked Kathryn. She was holding a cup of coffee that the secretary had handed her on her way back. She was closing the door behind her when she came face to face with the both of them.

"Kathryn, this is my boss; Ryan Merrelle." Brendan smiled at her as he made the introductions.

Suddenly, her breath caught in her throat and the cup of coffee dropped from her hand and onto the hardwood floor.

Kathryn's POV

"Kathryn, this is my boss; Ryan Merrelle."

As I stared into his eyes, I suddenly lost my breath and the cup dropped from my hand onto the hardwood floor. Coffee went everywhere and I think Brendan was the only one who noticed. He mumbled something about going to get some paper towels and was gone.

I couldn't get any words out as I tried to process the fact that my dead brother was standing right in front of me, apparently not dead. His look of surprise gave way to his trademark smile. "Kathryn. Nice to see you again."

To Be Continued..