“I’ve kept her bound and have been careful not to allow her to run loose over the compound.” He paused, looking towards the cave before returning his attention to Aaron.
“There is a warehouse used by the members of the house Hope identified. If there is something going on, and if they have the women she claimed they had, then I suspect the warehouse could be where they would have taken them.”
Aaron’s entire body tensed suddenly and his eyes locked to the cave. Turning quickly, Xander looked to find Hope standing in the entrance, her face concealed by the shadow from the vines. Pushing them aside to step out, the metallic gold of her eyes met with the unrelenting sunlight. The chain was still around her neck and she had redressed in the shirt and sweat pants Xander had given her. Her eyes locked to Aaron.
Stepping towards her, Xander grabbed the cuff still attached to her wrist and commented, “As you can see, she is still being treated with caution.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t kill you in your sleep.”
Xander turned back to Hope.
She shrugged. “I figured it was your network that got me into this mess, it would be your network to get me out. Who else would be able to help me now that they’ve moved my sister?”
“Is that the only reason?” Xander’s question was spoken low, barely loud enough for even Hope to hear what he’d asked. She looked up at him, some unknown emotion softening her expression.
She didn’t respond before Aaron spoke again. “We’ll search the warehouse.” He looked at Hope, suspicion still burning behind the green of his eyes. “The man who sent you, what did he look like?”
Hope eyed him back, the same suspicion swirling within her eyes. “Tall, maybe your height, brown hair, broad shoulders — very built. In fact, he was one of the largest men I’ve seen. He also spoke with the same bullshit affluent accent that you use.”
Xander attempted to suppress the same grin that Aaron was unable to hide. “Yes, well, there’s nothing wrong with conducting yourself with a bit of decorum, despite what you do for a living. Joseph took issue with those he considered uneducated and common street trash.”
Xander’s eyes locked to Aaron, narrowing at the obvious insult he’d just volleyed at Hope. Glancing back at Hope, he noticed she smiled brightly.
“This coming from the man who slaughtered his own father? Seems to me, whereas he had you educated, he failed to teach you respect. In my network, we protect the ones we care for …”
“I never said I cared for him.” Aaron interrupted. “Besides, I am not the person who can take credit for Joseph’s death.”
Hope’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Then who?” She turned to look at Xander.
He held up his hands. “I’m innocent as well, although I won’t say I wouldn’t have done it if he wasn’t already dead by the time I got to him.”
“Madeleine killed Joseph with a broken string from her instrument.”
When Aaron added that bit of information, Hope turned back to him, her eyes widening in surprise. “She seems harmless. How is that even possible? From what I heard, Joseph died fighting. In fact, the rumors of his death indicate he died in battle against you.”
“Then I will need to get information out to correct that belief. I’d prefer people know he died as a result of his drug addiction, that he left himself helpless to a small musician. I prefer people understand how anticlimactic his death really was. He doesn’t deserve the death of a warrior.”
Hope nodded her understanding. “Do you recognize the man I described?”
Xander spoke in Aaron’s place. “Was there anything else unusual about him? The description fits several men in the network, we’ll need something to narrow it down.”
“Besides the fact that he had my sister on a chain?”
Xander arched an eyebrow at her response, but she didn’t notice. She appeared to be thinking back, searching the recesses of her memory to pinpoint details that would be of use. “He had one green eye and one blue. I can’t be completely sure on that considering how dark the house was when I was in there, but I’m pretty sure that’s what I saw.”
Xander looked at Aaron who, at the same time, swiveled his head to look back. Their eyes locked in immediate recognition. Turning back to Hope, Xander asked, “Would you be able to identify him from a photograph?”
She nodded ‘yes’.
“Have you called off the search for us, Aaron?” Returning his attention to his friend, Xander began to formulate an idea. Unfortunately, it was one that would be almost impossible to pull off, but not entirely; especially if he and Hope were still considered to be enemies of The Estate.
“No.”
“Don’t call it off. Let’s return to the mansion, I want to show Hope some photos in your suite. We’ll need to sneak in. I want the entire network believing that we are still within your crosshairs, so to speak.”
Obviously understanding where Xander was going with his request, Aaron didn’t ask questions before responding, “I’ll have Maddy claim to have seen you near the front of the compound, when the guards leave to investigate, we’ll sneak into the building.”
Aaron looked at the cave, something unfamiliar flitting across his expression, before he took a few steps towards the entrance. Hope backed away, still not completely sure that Aaron didn’t intend to harm her. Speaking over his shoulder, he mused, “Do you remember when we came here as kids? We’d fight the dragon that lived here until we could steal his precious treasure chest.” He chuckled. “How pathetic that all it contained was a blanket and miscellaneous junk.” Parting the vines with his hands, he entered the cave and Xander moved to follow behind him.
He watched Aaron approach the trunk before kneeling down to examine it. “Apparently, our old treasure came in handy. I’m surprised you slept on that thing. There’s no telling how old it was when we first found it, not to mention the twenty years or so since we did.”
Xander shrugged. “It was better than sleeping in the dirt.”
Hope stepped up beside Xander, recognition apparent in her expression. “Where did you get that trunk?”
“We found it hidden in a crevice over in the wall. It was hidden behind vines, why?”
“Because it looks like it was made by one of the founders of my network. He’s since died, but only members received one. Would you mind if I examined it further?”
Xander and Aaron looked at each other, but then Aaron stepped away from it, extending his hand. “Be my guest.”
She approached the trunk, pulling out the miscellaneous clothing and other odds and ends it contained — all of which would have been useful to a person camping or surviving off the land. Xander found it odd when she knocked on the bottom of it and smiled.
“Just as I thought, it has a false bottom.” She pulled at something within the trunk and reached in. Extracting a journal, she flipped it over in her hand, tracing something on the back of it with her finger. “Who’s Connor?”
Aaron stepped towards her and Hope was on her feet facing him within seconds. They looked at each other, distrust hanging heavily between them. Eventually, Aaron slowly extended his hand. “May I see the journal?”
Hope looked surprised that he would ask instead of demand that she hand it to him. Taking from her hand, Aaron flipped through the pages quickly, but stopped when something caught his attention that was stuck between the pages. Pulling it free and unfolding it, he turned it over and his entire body tensed in reaction to what he saw.
Xander stepped forward. “What is it?”
Looking up slowly, Aaron reached over to hand the scrap of paper to Xander. “It’s a picture of my mother, I believe.”
Xander took the sketch and froze as Aaron did to see it. Drawn in pencil, the sketch was almost the exact likeness of Aaron’s mother, at least as much as Xander could remember from when they were young. Handing it back, he watched Aaron carefully fold the picture back over itself and place it in the journal. “We won’t be able to carry the trun
k back with us if we hope to enter the building unnoticed, but I’ll keep the journal to look over later.”
Xander moved to pack the blanket and other items back in the trunk before sliding it back into the crevice hidden by the thick curtain of vines. “Let’s get going.”
Hope cleared her throat to get Xander’s attention. Holding up the leash, she asked, “Can we remove my chains now that we are all friends?”
He smiled mischievously. “I’m not sure about that, I kind of like it.”
Her gold eyes heated, memories dancing behind the metallic color. “I didn’t say we should throw it away.”
Xander chuckled and Aaron groaned. “I’ll leave you two to discuss … your arrangement. I’m going to head back now to move the guards. I want you to hide within the tree line until you see the guards leave. Once that happens, move quickly to my suite. I’m not sure how long you’ll have to make it inside unseen.”
Chapter Twenty
A new room with empty walls: a sea of nothing that never seemed to end. The monotony of white only broken by the black iron bars that caged her. Honor remembered screaming, fighting off the monsters that removed her from the place where he would come to her. She feared she’d failed too often and her angel moved on to find a woman more worthy of his touch.
Waking up, she heard muffled groans and cries, the screams no longer tearing her mind apart, but suffocating her with the knowledge that she was not the only woman tested by her angel.
There were many. All bruised and tattered; dirty and awaiting him. Honor’s body tensed with jealousy and shame, wondering if one of those who surrounded her would be chosen.
The machines were not new. Wheels, crosses, tables and chairs intended for cruelty, for blood. She’d seen them before, had been strapped to their bone shattering surfaces — beaten, broken, and left raw. They made her worthy of his beauty and love.
The monsters whispered in a corner, the black of their eyes looking back in her direction, white teeth glistening against the low light of the large room. Crouching low, she cornered herself against the back of her square prison. Her eyes darted back and forth, but she was barely able to see beyond the mound of skin that had swollen on her face from their punishment.
Two of the monsters broke away; lewd grins barely discernible on their features when they stepped towards her. Balling over herself, her head shook as she silently begged to be passed.
Each man knelt down to look into her cage, their eyes peering in at her bringing back to life the bits and pieces of what they’d done to her.
“You ready, princess? Behave and we’ll present you in a way that will please ‘your angel.’” His low laughter was cold, dripping with mockery. She wondered if he believed she’d be unready once again.
Her body trembled.
“Dose her before you remove her.” The monsters stood speaking to each other about her as if she was nothing more than an animal.
“Why don’t we have some fun with her first? He’ll never know. What’s another mark on the bitch’s body? I’ve been eyeing this one since she was dragged in.”
The only response was a sickening gurgle, crimson liquid dripping down the monster’s legs in a flood before his body fell to the ground, splashing the stain of his demise onto Honor’s skin.
The screams started again, tearing her mind apart.
“Shut up, all of you, before I give you a fucking reason to scream!”
Quiet came over the room — punctured by sobs and tears, the smell of urine a faint trace in the air.
After dragging the body of one away, the other knelt again, the clatter of metal against metal as he unlocked the small door. His mismatched eyes looked in as the bars swung open. “You need to be cleaned. I’d hate for you to be rejected once again.”
She didn’t want to go with him, but she wanted to be clean for her angel. She would be good this time, would bite through her own lip if it meant holding in any sound that tried to force its way from her body. She wanted to enjoy his touch, felt ashamed that pain overtook her when all that mattered was that he was pleased. He’d take her away from this nightmare if only she could give him what he required.
Crawling forward, she allowed the monster to take her by the arm, feeling a small prick to her skin and knowing the poison he’d given would loosen her — render her open and waiting for his test. He led her to a corner of the large room. “Stand there. Move and you’ll be punished.”
Knives created from ice; the water beneath her pink and muddled brown, the spray against her skin unrelenting and cutting like fine razors across her body. She grit her teeth while her bones ground against each other, her muscles frenzied and shaking from the violent cold of the water.
When it ceased and she was left dripping where she stood, he approached. Looking her up and down, his mouth twisted into a grin. “He’s asked that you be set up before his arrival. Do not fight me.” He held out his arm to motion towards the other women held in cages throughout the room. “Don’t you want to show them how you are the most worthy?”
She was walked to a table, her arms and legs becoming liquid from the poison that coursed through her veins. She stumbled and the monster grabbed her hips to steady her. Reaching the table, she bent over it, hissed at the cold bite of the metal surface over her skin. He locked her wrists into place beside where her head rested on the table, her chin gripped by the small indentation on the side. A steel bar was placed over the back of her neck and locked down, rendering her immobile. After securing her feet, he moved in front of her and knelt down. Slipping his finger over her swollen and broken lips, he pushed in, the tip running across her tongue before he pulled it back out again. Her stomach turned.
“Fail again and next time, you’re mine.” Standing up, he motioned towards the cages in the room. “Cover them all with blankets to block their view.” He chuckled. “It will let the bitches hear what a true whore sounds like.”
When the men had covered the cages of each woman in the room, they left out a side door. Honor sat motionless on the table, not daring to move an inch in case her angel silently watched.
She felt the warmth of his palm on her skin, flinching in surprise at the sudden touch. The low tone of his voice soothed her shock and she smiled against the unforgiving steel of her perch. “Misbehaving already. Do not jump away from me, my pet. This is your last chance to please your angel.”
A tear, hot and wet, dripped from her eye. She blinked the others back.
He walked around, placed the strap into her mouth, connecting the small chains he would use to hold her in place. Lifting the steel bar as he passed, he pulled on the chains once positioned behind her. Her body bent backwards, her ass lifted in presentation.
She felt him invade her, pushing into the deep recesses of her body, working her — molding her into the perfect woman. When he pulled free, she felt suddenly empty, a void previously filled with the full width of his promise.
“Good.” He purred.
Pushing forward again, he entered another place, the skin tearing at his girth, her teeth biting heavily into the strap in her mouth. But she never made a sound. When he moved, he pulled the chain bending her back further. “Show me you appreciate your gift, pet.”
She moaned against the pain, eventually relaxing around him until he growled out his release, pulling free once taking what he wanted.
She heard his boots hit the ground when he circled the table to stand before her. Removing the strap, he placed the steel bar back in place.
Placing his hand on her head softly, he said, “You are chosen. The next time you see me you’ll be leaving this place.”
His hand left her head and she heard his boots again when he walked from the room. The taste of her grateful tears kissed her lips, the salt sweetly stinging where her lip had been split.
Chapter Twenty-One
“No. Absolutely not. They’ll kill you as soon as you enter the building if what Hope is saying is true. You are my lead guard and my spy,
they’ll never believe you turned on me.” Green eyes shone out from a blank expression, no hint of bending on the decision he’d made.
Xander leaned back against the wall of Aaron’s office. “You have the entire network searching for me with instructions to return me to you for execution. I assume now is the best time for anybody to believe I’m no longer your most trusted.”
The two men stared at each other, neither flexible in the decision they’d made.
Maddy spoke into the silence between them. “Xander may be correct, Aaron. If Patrick is involved in the attempt against you, there may be other units involved as well. If we can discover who it is, you’ll have a valid excuse for bringing those units down. It would be another step towards finally destroying the network.”
Hope stood by the built in bookshelves in the office, disbelief settling over her shoulders to learn that the three were working to destroy the network from within. Once she and Xander had made it inside, they’d immediately gathered in Aaron’s office and Xander revealed the identity of the man she’d described. He’d pulled a photograph and her stomach turned in reaction to the image. Yes. The bastard depicted in the photo was, in fact, the man who’d held Honor’s chain.
“Forty-eight hours, Aaron. That’s all I need.” Xander spoke without emotion, business like in order to convince Aaron that his idea was not without merit.
Aaron quietly considered what Maddy and Xander had said before responding, “Forty-eight hours. That is all I’m willing to give you.” He paused, obviously considering another potential issue. “Dependent upon the amount of men involved, I’ll need to incorporate Jason’s assistance. It would be best to have someone more acquainted with the individual unit members. I know each leader, however, their underlings appear to change daily and I don’t want to involve any of the leaders until we have each man identified as to the unit to which they belong.”
“I’ll need my weapons.” Hope interrupted. If their mission was going to be a slaughter, she was determined to take part. Her skills would be useful to the few men who would be coming in with Aaron.