Desiree
The first thing I did was call Mecca to give her the heads up that someone other than the Vallins had been watching us. She wasn’t surprised, and I was sure I’d heard her cock a gun on the other end of the line before I hung up.
After a long cool shower, I sat in bed with my computer across my lap, failing to get any work done.
It had been four quiet years since I’d had to deal with any sort of threat. I didn’t believe it was a coincidence that this one appeared right after my engagement to Arjen and after the deal he had struck with my father.
Khane was confident in his ability to protect me, and I believed that he would keep me safe.
Fixing his wound was my way of finding out what the hell was going on. Men saw the delicate features of a woman and assumed we couldn’t handle the gory details that reigned over our own lives. I didn’t care how bad a situation sounded or how dire it was projected to become, I wanted to know what was about to happen.
The fact that Khane had decided to talk to me, endeared me to him that much more. Maybe that was why I had almost kissed him. He was open with me, and although he fought it, he showed me he cared in an unconventional sort of way. I wasn’t oblivious to the fact that he had given me all the gory details of his actions as a way of turning me off.
I lifted my head to the ceiling, hoping to push back images of Khane. A cold chill easing up my arm stopped my chain of thoughts as it inched its way to the exposed skin of my neck. I removed my laptop from my lap, setting it atop the mattress beside me.
Don’t you go messing with that man. Leave him alone, my internal good sense warned. Instead of listening, my bare feet were already kissing the darkly tiled floor.
I could no more explain what led me from my bedroom as I could explain what drew me to Khane. My roaming mind led and my body followed, breezing through the house, and I didn’t stop until I was standing in front of the mysterious door.
The sight of it fed my fear as much as it stirred my curiosity. A glimmer of light traced up the seam of a small crack in the door. Khane was in there, and I was about to find out what was on the other side of it. The bend of my smile deepened as a rush of excitement flooded me.
It felt like I was gliding closer to the door instead of walking, my soundless steps impressing even me. The tip of my pointer finger pushed at the cold, thick wood. The crack grew wider, making the seam of light break apart the darkness in the hall. I expected the door to creak or whine, but it was uncommonly quiet as I pushed until there was enough space to step through.
The dim lighting on the other side didn’t match the level of brightness that had shone through the crack. Surrounded by dark stone, I stood on the top of the small square of a cliff. Choppy stone steps, cracked and brittle in areas, led down to a cave-like basement.
Based on the thick silence of the surroundings, it appeared that this portion of the house dipped into the mountain. The idea that I was stepping into a mountainous cave at the lower level of Khane’s home had fear and excitement fighting a grudge match inside me.
The dark stone walls surrounding me were as worn as the steps, parts crumbling and dusting the walkway. There was no railing to hold on to, so balance and careful steps led me down.
The small pieces of biting stone poked at the pads of my feet and crunched under each of my careful steps. The merging of flesh, stone, and movement ignited the space around me with sound. Khane hadn’t shown up to stop me, so I continued on my path down the steps covered in goose bumps.
The chill in the air touched me down to my bones, making me fight back shivers. A spot on the top of my head presented a pulling sensation, a supernatural touch from beyond, warning me to stop, turn around, and go back to bed.
The mysterious door at my back was being folded into the darkness until it disappeared, but the sight of a thick metal door in front of me filled my dim view as I stepped down the final two steps of the dungeon-like stairway.
After swiping a hand across it a few times, I found a nook that would aid in sliding the metal door open. I placed the tips of my fingers in the delve, pulled, and the door moved sluggishly, sliding behind the stone wall that held it in place. The weight of the door made the process a slow one as it slid apart like a black curtain revealing a surprise.
“Aww! Nooo!” came a shrieking yell that caused me to jump back and place my hand over my chest. My heart pounded like I was facing down an eighteen-wheeler approaching head on at top speed.
“Why were you watching the women?” Khane’s voice was calm and easy. Curiosity was a strong motivator. It pushed my fear aside and demanded I find the strength to take the next steps.
Light swallowed me in its brightness, but the strong chill in the air had me shivering within seconds. Straight ahead were more dull and gray stone walls. I had been transported back in time and was standing in the hall of a medieval dungeon. Like Khane’s house, the theme of this basement, if it were a theme, was just as compelling.
A sharp left would put me face to face with whatever horror Khane was participating in. The hallway wall blocking my view was a blessing and a curse, protecting me from the horror I’d heard and keeping me away from what my curiosity begged to witness.
“God. Please. I’m begging you!” Another series of pleading yells sounded off loud enough to send ripples vibrating over my skin.
Was Khane torturing one of the men who had been watching us earlier? Based on the detailed story he had revealed, I assumed he had killed them both. Had the man been in the back of Khane’s truck the entire time I was following him up the mountain?
The shrill yelling sounded again, the man screaming at the top of his lungs, leaving no doubt that pain was the conductor of his cries. I stepped out into the opening, took one step and froze.
Shock, horror, and awe hit me full-on, sending a seizure through me and sending my trembling hand knocking against my chest. My mouth dropped open, and I was forced to cover it with both hands to stifle my throat-tickling scream. My bladder fisted, shuttering in my lower belly, and only my clamped-shut knees kept a river of piss from flowing down my legs.
Khane’s style of dress was simple, but always neat and nice. A long-sleeve, button-up or polo shirt that gave him a professional touch with pants or jeans and boots. He always appeared refreshed like he was just waking from a nap. Even now, he maintained a relaxed look about him, covered by clear coveralls and clear goggles that were dotted with blood splatter.
A raised machete, a partially separated arm, blood, and mind-piercing screams filled my psyche. Khane stood above the man as his strong arm continued to swing the death instrument, hacking into the screaming man’s shoulder. The area of shredded human flesh he concentrated on had chunks of deep red flesh and blood flying away as the blade chopped deep enough for me to see the ebony white of bone peeking through.
My eyes refused to shut, although I swallowed my screams and choked on my horror. The man’s wailing continued to light the air, his eyes bucking out of his head, and body twitching mindlessly. Naked, his genitals were shaking along with his body from the terror rolling through him.