Whatever. They said they knew how to make it look like Kate truly died and could bring her back. The timing needed to be perfect. Kate would have a handful of minutes at most, but they said it would work.
I trusted that.
Jake’s Adam’s apple bobbed and he grimaced. “I don’t like it.”
I didn’t blame him.
“The two of you could always back out. I know it’s risky.”
It was damn certifiable.
Kate took Jake’s hand in hers. “We’ll do it. I know what to expect and I trust Forest and his team.”
“He’s right.” My brother pulled her close. “You don’t have to do it.”
She cupped his jaw. “This is important. Considering what we’ve done to poor Clara, it’s the least I can do.”
Jake glanced past me and stared at the horizon. “I know, but I don’t have to like it. How can you be okay with it?”
“Because as much as I hate it, it makes sense. Josh is right. It really is the only way.”
Jake leveled his hard stare at me. “If it’s his plan, then why is he out here rather than inside leading it?” He turned his accusatory gaze toward me. “What is he running from?”
He spoke about me, rather than to me, and it grated on my nerves. My fingers curled, but I forced them to relax. He had every right to hate me, spit on me, and do whatever the hell he wanted to me.
I had earned his hatred.
“It’s not what, but rather who.” Kate turned back to me. “You care about her, don’t you?”
“I don’t know about that.” I lied. “I’ve spent weeks training her. I feel protective, but that’s it.”
“You’re a horrible liar, Joshua Davenport.” Kate shook her head. “This next scene will ensure whatever is going on between the two of you dies. Are you ready for that?”
“Yes.”
“Another lie. You know I can see right through you.” Kate’s perceptive abilities were practically a superpower. “You love her, don’t you?”
When I didn’t answer, she lifted Jake’s hand to her mouth and brushed her lips along his knuckles. “Come, let’s leave him with his thoughts. Besides, you need to practice killing me.” She gave a knowing look, one which seemed to pierce my soul and pulled Jake away.
The blood drained from my brother’s face. “Please don’t say it like that.” His gaze cut to mine and something between us shifted.
There would be no redemption. He would hate me all the more for forcing him to take this risk. My lack of redemption was the one thing we could both agree on. I gave an arrogant shrug, tired of apologizing to my brother.
I hadn’t been the one who cut Kate, but I had been the one meant to kill her. Considering dear old dad had been the one to slash her throat, I’ll never know if I would’ve gone through with it. I remember the regret when it happened, and the sticky wetness and coppery smell of her blood as I held the gaping cut closed. I’d never seen so much blood.
I’ve killed more men than I care to remember, and then there was Lamai—the woman I killed when I was young, reckless, and stupid. I may have done other, horrible things to them, but I had never done that.
Now, Clara had seen me kill one girl, and as soon as it could be arranged, she would watch it happen again. Only, it wouldn’t be me in that room. My skill with a whip was laughable at best. I wasn’t a master like Jake. To make this work, Kate would need to suffer. It’s what my phantom clients would demand, and to sell myself to Carson, it had to be one hell of a performance.
Forest’s moulage team had been the ones to create the fake skin and blood reservoir which made Mitzy’s performance believable. But there were limits to what they could do.
Kate needed to suffer before her death. Carson would expect a heavy dose of retribution on my part.
But what about Clara? What would she think after she watched me kill another woman in front of her? I didn’t want to be the villain in her story, but I saw no way out of it.
Not that Clara wouldn’t ultimately go free. She, at least, would have an exit plan courtesy of Forest Summers and his impressive capabilities. Not that she could return to her former life. In freeing her, I would still be taking everything away from her.
But Clara would be free.
Chambers said she would be placed in witness protection. I wouldn’t know where she was and would have no further contact with her after this was said and done.
It was for the best, even if it broke my heart.
Another hour passed before I left the beach. I could have stayed there all day, but there was work to be done. And of course, I had to check on Clara.
Chapter 34
Chambers led me out a different door from the one I came through. Or at least, I think I came through the ponderously ornate wooden doors to my left. I stumbled ahead of him as he pushed me forward and out of the room. We exited through a small, unobtrusive door tucked behind an alcove.
My mind was numb. I didn’t believe what I’d just seen. Processing didn’t come close to what was going on in my head. It was like I was trying to figure out a puzzle, but my brain kept tripping on the dead girl.
A dead girl.
Murdered in front of me?
I wanted to shake my head and toss out all my memories from the last hour, but it didn’t work. The look on My Monster’s face when it was done, after he took that girl’s life, in all our time together, I never really feared him until that moment.
I’d been too busy being scared about an impending rape which never came. Obsessing about it endlessly, I lost sight of the truth.
And now I feared the worst. What purpose did I serve? If not to be that for him then what? Was my fate to be the same as that girl?
Yes!
No!
I refused to believe it. Even after everything I’d seen, I refused to believe. Not after he saved me that very first night. He killed two men. Something within him had come unglued, a feral beast and avenging angel all wrapped into one, when he saw what those men intended.
He saved me. Protected me.
From that moment, in my heart of hearts, I knew he’d never hurt me. And I didn’t care if it didn’t make sense.
You’re a fool!
I didn’t believe I suffered from Stockholm syndrome, that’s what they called the twisted state of mine when victims believed their captors were saviors instead of predators.
I didn’t care.
You should.
Shut up! I’m not delusional.
Chambers’ grip on my arm tightened. Harder than it needed to be, he pulled me along endless hallways of varying shades of white and gray. I saw none of my surroundings. Too engulfed by a fog of it couldn’t be, my body moved on autopilot.
He stopped several times to activate keypads that opened doors. And we marched down endless passageways.
I stumbled and Chambers kept me from tripping and falling on my face. I kept looking over my shoulder, certain My Monster would come running down the hall behind us. He would fold me into his embrace and tell me it had all been a horrible mistake.
But there was no furious stomping of feet behind me. There was no sign of the man I couldn’t help but care about. Even when everything said otherwise, I couldn’t help but believe.
“Come along.” Even Chambers’ voice changed from the polite and gracious man I’d known to a robotic monotone. The muscles of his jaw bunched and the lines around his eyes tightened. He didn’t like this either.
Was it possible he didn’t agree with how My Monster was treating me? Or what he’d subjected me too? If so, Chambers had made no move to stop any of it.
What the hell was happening?
It’s not real.
That was a new, different voice. Instead of the angry me yelling at me, this one seemed to be on my side. But if not real, what was going on?
Come on. Think!
Another door, identical to all the others we’d passed, opened to concrete stairs leading downward. Chambers led me inside and
forced me to hurry down the steps. He moved quickly, never once letting up the pressure on my arm, and I struggled not to fall head over heels. Breaking my neck seemed a real possibility.
But I didn’t stumble. I didn’t fall.
My entire existence might be in some sort of free fall, but I managed to make it down to the bottom of the stairs intact. Chambers guided me down two more hallways and around three corners before coming up short in front of a solid metal door.
He glanced at me and his expression faltered. I thought he would say something, tell me it had all been a mistake, but the tightness of his eyes said otherwise. Chambers was not my friend. He would never be my ally. This man served others, and I would best remember that fact.
I was completely alone.
He activated the scanner and the lock disengaged. The door swung inward, taking its damn sweet time, but slowly it revealed the interior.
Solid concrete walls. No windows. A row of metal rings along the far wall. Heavy metal chains dangled from them. A small palette occupied the far corner. There was a sink. A toilet. And a drain in the middle of the floor. I’d been taken to a cell in the basement.
I pushed back, stunned and frantic, but Chambers gave me a look.
“Don’t fight it. This is your fate. Your role.”
“But, this is wrong. Chambers, you know it’s wrong. This is not what he wants.”
“And yet, this is exactly what he ordered. I’m sorry, Miss Clara, but…”
A concrete cell with chains. My Monster had mentioned it once. Not once did I think My Monster would exchange my luxurious accommodations for this abomination.
Chambers guided me into the cell and headed straight to the far wall where the chains were attached. From one of them, a metal collar dangled.
I tried swallowing my scream, and did for the most part. A strangled noise vibrated in the back of my throat as Chambers reached for the collar.
He locked me in and my tears started to fall. They didn’t stop for days. Or, at least it felt like days.
I stayed in the windowless room for what felt like an eternity. I couldn’t say how long they left me there. There was no sunlight. No crescent moon to help me out. All I had was hunger to tell me when I needed food. I didn’t trust the natural rhythms of my body to keep track of time, but it was all I had.
They brought food, but I didn’t eat. I couldn’t. My stomach seemed to be in a constant state of rebellion. I drank only after being threatened with having it forced down my throat if I refused.
Not once did My Monster come visit me.
My tears did finally stop. My sobs quieted. I rocked myself to sleep each night and woke in the morning curled in fetal position. At least, I told myself it was night and day. Then one day, the cycling of the lock drew my attention. Scooting back against the wall, I tugged my knees to my chest as the door slowly opened.
Chapter 35
Xavier sat in the armchair across from me with the lovely slave who knelt before him. He stroked her hair, letting the soft tendrils run through his fingers. My entire focus centered on them because I longed to do exactly that to Clara.
I wanted nothing other than to see that same look of contentment on her face, knowing I put it there. If I could bring her that much pleasure from a simple touch, my life would be complete. But, I would never be the one to soothe her fears. Instead, I brought nightmares.
Xavier gave a slight tug of Raven’s hair and the beautiful woman closed her eyes in bliss.
She belonged to him, which came as a surprise for two reasons. The first, and least alarming, was that I initially had no idea they were a Master/slave dyad. I first met Raven on the beach two days ago where she literally appeared from beneath the waves.
She’d been scuba diving with her bodyguards, Chad and Bay, men who worked for Chambers but submitted to Xavier. An odd arrangement, but then I learned many things about Xavier’s unique lifestyle over the past few days.
I leaned forward, intent on pressing my point. “I want to make certain no one touches Clara.” We’d been running through the setup for the demonstration and there remained one gaping hole in the whole production.
I would showcase my Shibari as a prelude to the evening’s main event. Xavier had a flair for the dramatic and insisted on a theatrical performance. We couldn’t begin the evening with a murder. We had to ease into it.
Shit, this whole thing was insane.
“She’ll be safe.” Xavier’s cultured voice filled the room, but the rasp of mine cut through his confidence.
“Nobody touches her. This goes nowhere if I’m not assured of that.” My teeth ground together as I clenched my jaw.
Using one of my rope suspensions, the one I loved the most, Clara would assume the pose of a graceful swan taking off in flight. The arrangement had deeper meaning to me, because after all this unpleasantness concluded, she would finally be free. It was her swan song.
Corny really, but I did like the swan pose. I loved how it brought us together in an intimate space. The grace and beauty of the pose matched everything about Clara, enhancing her natural beauty. I loved how tying the ropes allowed my hands to roam over her entire body. From her toes to the tips of her hair, I would weave my rope around her body. If I couldn’t do that, as I ached to do, I would do it with rope.
Unfortunately, it left her vulnerable.
“I want Chambers by her side the entire evening,” I asserted.
There would be two times when neither Jake, nor I, would be in the room. I would start the evening, change places with my brother for the death scene, then reenter to conclude the evening’s business. We’d spent the last two days rehearsing every step, every variation, and planning for the unexpected.
Nothing could go wrong or everything would fall apart. Without Carson, and access to his organization, I couldn’t free Wu’s children. If I failed to extract them, Wu would have my head.
“Chambers will not be a part of Clara’s security team.” Xavier shifted in his seat and drew Raven’s head back as he tugged on her hair. Raven’s eyes bounced closed and a tiny gasp escaped her delicate mouth.
“Why? She knows him. Trusts him.”
“Because Carson knows Chambers. To him, Chambers and I are business associates. I work as an intermediary to supply Chambers’ private resort with slaves from Carson’s inventory. He’s unaware of Chambers’ true status.”
“Still, Clara needs protection.”
“Chad and Bay will provide for her security. I trust them with my life, and we’ll position them to either side of your slave. Nobody will touch her.” Xavier spoke as if Clara really was my slave. He knew exactly what Clara was to me.
Over time, and by means I didn’t fully understand, Xavier had collected a group of highly trained, ex-military, special forces operatives, who also happened to be intensely submissive, fiercely loyal, and had pledged their lives in service to Xavier.
I didn’t understand their loyalty or the strange authority Xavier held over these men. I never connected that type of man to the submissive mindset, but there were a lot of things I’d seen over the years which surprised me.
Xavier sat on an incredible asset of highly skilled, specialized soldiers who excelled in dealing with difficult and dangerous situations.
“Will that meet with your approval?” Xavier shifted his focus from Raven to me.
“They will do.” Just as soon as I had a private conversation with them to let them know what I would do to them if they failed to keep Clara safe.
My attention shifted to the woman at Xavier’s feet and I gave a slight shake of my head.
The day I’d met the diminutive woman she rose out of the water with scuba gear on her back. She had approached Xavier and I, and plopped down on Xavier’s lap. They seemed like any other, normal, couple, with nothing resembling a power exchange between them.
She’d been flippant, snarky, and clearly in love with Xavier. He couldn’t keep his hands off her, but in no way did he order, command, o
r dominate the girl.
The next day, a Monday, she fell to her knees before him and had me doing a double take.
But then Xavier explained.
One weekend a month, they were Xavier and Raven. Nothing more. The rest of the time, Xavier reasserted his role as her Master. I was dying to hear their story, even more so after the second shock hit me in the face.
Zane Carson was the girl’s father.
That took a little more explanation, and we hashed it out on that beach.
“What the fuck do you mean he’s your father?” I had glanced at Xavier. “Does she know what we plan?”
“Raven knows all my plans. I keep nothing from her.”
“You can’t afford not to,” she said with snark. “You need me to fix your stupid plans.” Her comment had caught me off guard, but I hadn’t thought anything of it. At the time, I didn’t know their true status. “Xavier thinks he has great ideas, but I poke holes in all of them. For example…”
She had proceeded to surprise me with the intimate details of our operation, commenting with in-depth knowledge about the more technical aspects. I came to understand she was a graduate of MIT with a degree in computer science. When Raven had finished telling me about how her father gave her to Xavier as a slave in exchange for debts he owed to Xavier, I had thought my head was going to explode.
But that was nothing compared to the following day, during our strategy session, when she entered not as the free-spirited woman from the beach, but as a reserved, nearly reverent, slave.
That had been two days ago. Now, we all sat together, running through everything until it was as perfect as it could get. Raven’s job was to assist Forest with our technical needs. The girl was a computer whiz, and as a result, she and Mitzy had become fast friends. I guessed not too many women knew the ins and outs of computers and all things electronic like that pair.
I glanced at the far corner of the room where Jake and Kate sat with Skye, Tia, and Ryker; members of Forest’s medical team. They would be the ones overseeing Kate’s death.
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