Chapter Six
The faint click of her heels against polished marble marked Rhia’s progression down one hall and then the next.
She pushed deeper into the belly of Haven, and the centuries seen by the walls like an invisible presence thickened the air with every step.
She tried to steady her racing heart despite the icy premonition that skated the length of her spine as she quickly passed several red doors.
Gold calligraphy bloomed across the heavy wood, but she didn’t take the time to notice the names. From what Maya had told her, each room catered to a sexual preference. The interest and temptation to take a moment to look inside was there, but she tempered her curiosity for another time.
After what felt more like an hour but was probably closer to a minute, Rhia turned to look over her shoulder before continuing. If she followed this corridor to the end it would open up to the private boxes and lead directly to where Sevastyan and the men stood. She turned right down another hallway.
A wall of muscle collided with her nose and a beefy hand clasped her shoulder, while another wrapped around her left biceps.
“Ms. Carmichael.” A rough voice spoke her supposed name, and her gaze climbed the wall until a pair of brown eyes came into focus.
“Good evening.” She stayed in the man’s embrace a little longer than needed despite feeling shakier than a leaf in a hurricane. Rhia slid a calm smile across her lips at Haven’s security detail as she finally pulled back.
Encased in black from head to toe, the ox of a man with a barrel chest and neatly trimmed beard somehow managed to blend into the dark surroundings and she narrowly missed her timely run-in. She popped out a hip and wet her lips, his eye traveling to that point on her face. “If you’ll excuse me, a client has made a special request.” She cranked up her inner sex kitten a couple of notches and hoped her Halle Berry smolder was on point.
Moans split through the momentary silence before Mr. Beef Cake ushered her on with a light swat on the ass.
She reined in the knee-jerk reaction to bury her knee in the jackass’s nuts and hurried past instead.
Cutting his balls off would come later.
That put a spring in her step—and the fact he didn’t notice her swipe his keycard when he got a little handsy. Not all guards were created equal and this one was apparently on the slow side. Suddenly she didn’t feel so bad for the trouble he would no doubt encounter for her sticky fingers.
Seconds later the long passage came to a dark end as the light faded behind her. No longer needing the tray, she discarded the burden on a glossy table holding a large bouquet.
A soft golden glow crept down an adjoined hall as she took a sharp left and found the first of two locked doors. She glanced at her watch. Half an hour was all she had before the men returned to their office for the evening and Indigo would be firmly positioned as the gatekeeper.
Several beeps rang out before the bar turned green and the lock released the latch to a large wooden door that sectioned off the second floor from the third. Once through, Rhia tiptoed up the last set of stairs to another door and held her breath until the lock gave.
On the other side, she quickly accessed the short passage, only to find it empty.
She would give anything for this night to be over.
Counting to ten, she held her breath as one of three doors creaked open. “Come on, Indigo.” She chanted in a barely audible whisper. “Don’t let me down now. We have no choice. You have no choice.”
Her friend was due her nightly ‘break’ any minute. As if on cue a faint feminine voice carried down the hall followed by a deep growl from a man. From this distance, the deeper voice sounded agitated. Indigo answered something with just as much irritation in her tone with a long pause to follow before the door swung fully open to flood the entire dimly lit corridor with light.
Rhia tucked herself around the corner in case they turned their way and flattened her body against the cold stone wall. Why—who knew—because they would have to walk right by her if they opted to take the back way down to the first level.
She leaned to the right enough to see the wispy long blonde hair of Indigo and the man Rhia would know anywhere—Bjorn. Neither Indigo nor Maya were with a man long enough for her to bother getting to know last names, but the man was memorable enough with his braided black hair and giant height.
Muffled footsteps carried away from her as Indigo and her beau opted for the elevator instead of the stairs.
Thank the sweet baby Jesus.
Rhia slowly let out the breath she’d held for what felt like forever.
She eased into the empty hall. After tonight she would have her answers, turn all the evidence she had over to the cops, and she could be gone from this place once and for all. That truth helped ease her rattled nerves. Before pushing her way into the outside office that flanked the kings’ offices, Rhia froze, listening. Nothing came from inside or in either direction.
Rhia sidestepped around Indigo’s large desk which graced the entire middle of the office. The boulder with drawers adorned with a stylish single-bulb lamp served as a breaker between where she stood and the inner office.
It seemed everything in here was made for giants. She leaned back to take in the behemoth of a door that stood wider than she was tall and towered over her by a good three feet.
If she was a praying woman—and she really should be— she should fall to her knees on the spot. Two large crosses graced the double doors. Remnants left over from the ages gone by when nuns walked these halls clutching their rosaries instead of barely-clothed hostesses doing midnight recon missions? Or a deeper meaning for the men who walked with the devil as their sidekick?