Xander (Royal Protectors Book 2)

by Kat Mizera

  “Don’t be silly. What would you like? I can make an American-style burger? We have meat in the back.”

  “I don’t want to be any trouble. Maybe a couple of fried eggs?”

  “Of course. Sit and relax. Would you like coffee? Tea?”

  “Coffee would be great. Black.”

  I sat there in a corner booth for over an hour, until Ace came walking in, his eyes searching me out immediately.

  “Hey.” I got up and walked over to him, motioning in Solange’s direction. “Can you give some money to the brunette over there?”

  Ace dug some bills out of his pocket but Solange shook her head as he approached. “My country, my people, are not like the ones who hurt you. Please. This is my gift to you. I hope you don’t think badly of all the Limaji people when you return to America.”

  “I won’t,” I said softly. “Thank you again.”

  Her eyes met mine curiously, as if she wanted to say something else. She’d been incredibly sweet and was pretty cute too. Too bad I was crazy in love with someone else.

  She turned away and I followed Ace out to the truck he was driving.

  “You’re hurt,” he said, starting the engine. “Do you need a doctor?”

  “Maybe, but right now, I need to talk to Sandor.”

  He handed me his phone.

  By the time we got to the palace, it was the middle of the night and I was in some serious pain. I couldn’t even pretend I didn’t need to see a doctor. I managed to get out of the truck, but once I was inside, I couldn’t navigate the stairs and Ace caught me before I collapsed.

  “Jesus, they did a number on you.” Sandor appeared out of nowhere, helping me to my feet and guiding me to the elevator. “Let’s get you in bed. Ace, tell Joe we need a doctor.”

  I wanted to protest, but I couldn’t. Pain was shooting through my back and face, and I needed to close my eyes for a few minutes. I’d been through beatings before, but this was a new level of misery.

  I was nauseated by the time I got to my room and Sandor helped me onto the bed.

  “Water?” I asked, trying to breathe through the nausea.

  He got me a bottle from the mini-fridge in the corner and I drank deeply before closing my eyes.

  “Doctor’s on his way,” he said quietly. “I know you’re tired but try to stay awake until he can determine if you’ve got a concussion.”

  “’Kay.” The room was starting to spin and I wondered if I did, indeed, have a concussion. I didn’t have time for that and I struggled to get past it, trying to sit up.

  “Hey, take it easy.” Sandor put a firm but gentle hand on my shoulder.

  “Dammit, I have to get her back.”

  “We’re already on it. Don’t worry, we’ll—”

  “No, you don’t understand.” I forced myself to focus. “That motherfucker took something of mine. And I’m getting it back, one way or another.”

  Sandor paused, squinting slightly. “Does my sister know you think you own her?”

  I managed a wry laugh. “She knows. She kind of likes that about me.”

  Sandor chuckled. “I’ll bet.”

  “Dude.” My eyes found his despite the blackness threatening. “He’s going to hurt her. You have to find her because I don’t know if I can…” Oh, hell, I was going to pass out.

  “Xander?”

  I heard his voice but everything was swimming out of my line of vision.

  Dammit.

  The next time I opened my eyes I was in a hospital. My heart rate kicked up a notch and I tried to sit up but it hurt like hell and there was an IV in my arm. Shit. I forced my eyes open and found Joe in a chair by the window, his computer on his lap. He glanced at me and smiled.

  “Hey, how are you feeling?”

  I couldn’t smile back. Everything fucking hurt. “What happened?”

  “You needed surgery. There was damage to your left kidney but the doc says you’re going to be fine.”

  “Jesus.” I took a shallow breath since it hurt to breathe deeply. “Elen?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing yet. We have an idea where she is, but the signal in her chip is spotty.”

  “What the fuck happened to Axel?”

  “They shot him with enough tranqs to kill a horse. Good thing he’s a tough sonofabitch. It was touch and go for a while there, once we found him, but he’s on the mend now.”

  “This was extremely well-planned,” I muttered. “We’re prepared for a lot of things, but if someone just walked up behind him and jabbed him with a needle…”

  “Exactly.”

  I was exhausted and groggy, but I didn’t have the luxury of going back to sleep. There was too much at stake.

  “I heard something,” I said, trying to think. “They were speaking in Limaji but I heard something about Vinake and Braksa.”

  Joe furrowed his brow. “Braksa? That’s way the fuck up in the northernmost part of the country, further than Vinake. Rough country. I better tell Sandor about this.”

  I didn’t care how far it was or how rough the terrain was; I would burn down the whole damn country if that’s what it took to save her.

  32

  Elen

  Wherever we went was a long ride away. At least two hours, though they’d taken my phone so I had no way of knowing for sure. Omar sat beside me for quite a while without saying a word, and I wasn’t sure what to say either. I had a lot of time to think, though, and formulate something of a strategy. I had no idea if anything would work, but I was still alive, which meant he wanted something specific from me. It might be nothing more than sex, which was disgusting, but I would do it if it meant staying alive. No matter how awful the experience would be.

  “Where are we going?” I finally asked, just to break the monotony.

  “You don’t need to know that,” Omar responded.

  “What difference does it make if I know? I don’t have a phone or anything, so it’s not like anyone can hear us.”

  “My home,” he said stiffly. “In Braksa.”

  “Braksa? Why would you live in Braksa? There’s nothing there.”

  “Exactly.” His smile was so menacing, a shot of fear ran through me.

  “What does that mean?” I asked, trying to muster up a little courage.

  “It means I can dispose of bodies without anyone being any the wiser.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  He shrugged. “It’s a statement of fact. Nothing more, nothing less.”

  “You can’t just kill everyone,” I told him bluntly. “Anwar got away with it once, but now people are aware. Not just here, but worldwide. You won’t get away with it like he did, and frankly, you’re not Genghis Khan. You can’t just eliminate everyone who gets in your way and populate Europe with your spawn.”

  For the first time possibly ever, Omar laughed. A deep, rich sound filled with mirth, something I’d never heard from him before. According to Skye, he was a dour man with a miserable disposition, so he caught me off guard with this.

  “Touché,” he responded.

  “I don’t understand what you want. You still haven’t told me what your end game is and I can’t believe you’ve gone to all this trouble just to have sex with me.”

  “You underestimate your allure,” he said quietly, his dark eyes meeting mine as he leaned toward me.

  Sweet Jesus, if he tried to kiss me, I might barf.

  “I-I don’t know what you mean. I’m nothing special. Is it my money you’re interested in?”

  “Your money is a nice bonus, but no, sweet Elen. You are…a succulent treat for a man who’s been starved since his wife was taken from him.” He reached out, his knuckles brushing my cheek.

  I had no idea how to respond to that, but I recoiled slightly since he made my skin crawl and the idea that he called me succulent was horrifying. Everything about this was horrifying, and I was trying to stay calm because I had no choice. I refused to think about poor Homer or even consider the idea that his men had killed
Xander, which meant I had to focus on myself. And the baby that might be growing inside of me.

  “I can’t be a replacement for her,” I said quietly.

  “Once I’m through with you, you’ll be anything I want you to be.”

  “You can’t make someone love you or want to be with you, when they don’t.”

  “Spoken like a woman of privilege. When you grow up like I did, with less than nothing, you learn that’s not true.”

  I didn’t respond. I had grown up with privilege and still had it. But it probably wasn’t in my best interest to argue with him about anything.

  “Whatever you’re thinking,” Omar said in a deep and eerie voice, “forget it. My castle is a veritable fortress. You’re not getting out and no one is coming to rescue you. In the end, you will give yourself to me willingly, because the alternative will be much less pleasant.”

  “Give myself to you? You mean, marry you?”

  “Among other things, yes.”

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  “We’ll see.”

  So far, that was the scariest thing he’d said.

  We drove for a while longer, and though I complained I was starving, he wouldn’t stop for food or for me to use any facilities. I wasn’t feeling that great and my nerves were starting to get the best of me, but Xander had worked hard in the last year to prepare me for anything, something I was grateful for now.

  “Never let them see that you’re afraid,” he’d told me. “Take control even if they’re beating the shit out of you, raping you, torturing you… Don’t give them your power. In the end, that’s what will keep you alive.”

  Now that it was happening, I was trying my best to be strong, but I was petrified. It would be dark soon and I didn’t know my way around up here. Braksa was a tiny, sparsely populated but huge geographic area that consisted mostly of farmers. There was very little industry and no big businesses, so the roads were quiet and houses few and far between. I had the chip in my arm, of course, but it was still experimental and we didn’t know how long the battery would last. For all I knew, it was already dead.

  By the time we slowed down, I had no idea where we’d turned. We were on a dirt road now, surrounded by trees, and the ominously dark building ahead had no lights at all. The car slowed to a stop and Omar got out, taking me by the arm as we walked over uneven ground.

  “Can you not afford lights?” I muttered, glancing at him.

  “We run on generators most of the time,” he said. “That way, I control the power and the government can’t turn it off.”

  “Why would the government turn off your power?” I asked.

  “To get you back, of course.”

  Someone took out a flashlight and we walked into a huge but pitch-black foyer. It was freezing inside, even though it was almost June, and I shivered slightly. I was wearing a linen pantsuit, with a silk blouse beneath, so these clothes wouldn’t even begin to keep me warm. Omar didn’t seem to notice and nudged me forward.

  “Take her to the cells underground,” he said to someone.

  “Seriously?” I turned to him but couldn’t make out his face in the darkness.

  “Perhaps after you’ve had a night to think about things, you’ll see just how dire your situation is.” He turned his back and a man I couldn’t see wrapped harsh fingers around my forearm, dragging me to a stairwell.

  “Move,” he snapped, pushing me forward.

  I went down the steps slowly, trying to get my bearings, but he just kept nudging me and I had no choice but to go forward. It was even colder down here and I hugged my arms, trying to warm up a little.

  “In here.” The man pushed me inside a room that didn’t appear to have any windows. Before I could get my bearings, I heard the door close behind me and a lock turn.

  “Wait!” I cried out. “Where am I?”

  All I heard were his retreating footsteps.

  Shit.

  I turned slowly, trying to ascertain if there was anything to trip over. It was as black as night and freezing cold. I felt my way along hard, concrete walls, moving my hands and shuffling my feet in an attempt to get a feel for the room. After counting four walls, approximately two or three meters each, it appeared that the room was empty. Tears of frustration stung my eyes and I thought back to all the things Xander had taught me, the things that would keep me alive should I ever be in a life-or-death situation.

  “Don’t panic,” he’d said. “It can be terrifying, especially if you’re blindfolded and/or bound. But talk yourself down. Panic does nothing for you and you need to save that fight-or-flight response for when you actually have a chance to fight back or get away.”

  I wasn’t blindfolded or tied up, but I might as well have been since I couldn’t see anything and couldn’t go anywhere. I breathed in through my nose, out through my mouth, counting to ten each time. Sliding to the ground, I pressed my back against one wall and wrapped my arms around my knees, drawing them up to my chest. I was so cold, tired and hungry. My worst nightmare had come true and all the drills in the world hadn’t protected me.

  The last thing I thought about as I drifted off to sleep was the baby growing inside of me. I hadn’t confirmed it, but the constant nausea and lightheadedness wasn’t like me, and I still hadn’t gotten my period. This was a nightmare I hadn’t even dreamt of yet and I sent a silent prayer into the universe that somewhere out there, Xander and my brothers were coming for me.

  The click of the lock in the door woke me and there was a sliver of light from beneath it. I sat up, having lain on the ground sometime overnight.

  “Get up,” a gruff voice called to me.

  I quickly stood, trying to take a quick look around as he opened the door and light filtered inside. The sight of a rodent of some kind scurrying past almost made me yelp but I managed not to, turning to the man as rigidly as I could.

  “Move,” he said. I walked ahead of him, hoping I didn’t embarrass myself by peeing my pants in front of him.

  “Where are we going?” I asked him.

  “Shut up.” He shoved me forward and I nearly stumbled, but kept my mouth shut since I didn’t want him to push me down the stairs we were about to climb.

  When we got back to the main house, it was notably warmer and he shoved me into a bathroom. “Clean yourself up. Mr. Daishel requests your presence at breakfast.”

  I didn’t respond since I had to pee too badly.

  Once the door was closed, I sank onto the toilet, half afraid to look and see if I’d gotten my period.

  Still nothing.

  I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so I put it out of my mind and focused on the task at hand. I was so hungry now I was nauseated again, but I managed to wash my face, scrub my teeth a little with my finger and then comb wet fingers through my gnarled hair. I looked horrible and I had a feeling it was only going to get worse. I used my palm to cup several handfuls of water and drank deeply because it had been close to eighteen hours since I’d had anything to eat or drink.

  “Never let them see your weakness unless you’re trying to throw them off guard because you see a chance for escape,” Xander had said. “Otherwise, stay strong. People like that get off on their power—especially taking away yours. Don’t let them have it.”

  I walked out of the bathroom just as Omar came around the corner.

  “Good morning.” He gave me a smirk. “Sleep well?”

  “Go to hell.” I scowled at him.

  “Such a smart mouth. Skye had a mouth like that once too. Until I smacked it a few times.” He motioned for me to walk ahead of him, and I did so reluctantly.

  We made our way into a large dining room. There was a fire lit in the fireplace and two place settings at a massive table meant for at least twenty people. He sat at the head of the table and motioned for me to sit beside him. I slid into the chair trying to hide my nervousness. He was smarmy and scary and I’d never been so frightened. As hard as I was trying to be brave, it wasn’t working
and my hands shook a little as someone poured me a cup of tea.

  “Sugar or honey?” he asked, as if I was his guest or something.

  “Honey, please.” I took the container from him and put a little in my cup before stirring it. Then I took a sip. It warmed me as it made its way down and I hoped I could behave myself long enough to get some food.

  A plate of eggs was put in front of me and I wasn’t too proud to dig in. Something told me this might be my last meal for a while and I would eat as much as I could. There were hot rolls with butter and jam, cheese and bread, and a handful of breakfast meats. I ate a little of everything, though my stomach started to revolt after a few minutes.

  Omar watched me curiously before pushing back his own plate and lifting his cup. Peering at me over the rim, he said, “So. It’s time for you to make a choice, Elen.”

  I swallowed, meeting his eyes nervously. “Oh?”

  “You can sleep with me, in my bed, as my woman, or you can sleep where you slept last night, with the rats and the cold.”

  “I guess I’m sleeping with the rats,” I whispered. If I could come up here to the house during the day, I’d be okay sleeping down there.

  “You’re a foolish woman,” he said pleasantly. “And I promise you, your stay will become much more uncomfortable than it’s already been.”

  “To what end?” I demanded. “What do you gain by making me miserable? I’m never going to marry you. My brothers are going to come for me and—”

  “God, I hope so. I shall dance upon their remains when my men kill them.”

  I made a face. “Why? What is this hatred inside of you? All because of Skye? That doesn’t sound like you. You’re far too much of a man to let the end of a relationship impact you that way.” Maybe buttering him up a little would earn me a few points.

  “My reasons are my own,” he said, meeting my gaze pointedly. “You have no need to know.”

  “But I’m the one you’ve kidnapped,” I protested. “I’m the one you’re making suffer.”

  “Not true. You’re the reason you’re suffering. I’ve given you a choice and you’re choosing to suffer because you’ve said you don’t want to be with me.”