“You can turn around now,” Sven tells us.
He is standing there with a bodyguard to the left and right of him.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Miss Holloway,” he tells me. “And, of course, Fynn. Not such a pleasure, right?” He laughs at his own joke, and the two guys next to him chuckle silently. “If you would be so kind as to follow me inside.”
The guards rush over to get our weapons from us, and they search both of us.
“Hey!” I shout, trying to push him away, as he presses his hands on my breasts.
“Bear, don’t be so hard with the girl,” Sven shakes his head. “On second thought, maybe I should do it. You know I’ve got the softer touch.”
He walks over to me, while Bear stands next to Fynn.
“This is just a precaution, my dear,” Sven starts.
His fingers grab me by the neck, but they don’t squeeze. He rakes them through my hair, probably to see if I’m hiding anything there. Then, the tips of his fingers trace lines down my back, and he is so close to me that our faces are almost touching. I turn my face away, to the side, and he grins.
“We don’t want you pulling a little handgun or something in the most awkward moment, now do we?”
His hands then cup my breasts, but I don’t say anything.
“Get your fucking hands off her!” I hear Fynn thunder.
He tries to lunge at Sven, but the two guards hold him back. Sven turns to him.
“Oh, I apologize. Does she belong to you?” he asks. “Has she been claimed already?”
“Claimed?” I repeat, wanting to spit right in his face, but I resist the urge. It would only make him angry, and that’s not what I want.
“Every shifter needs a mate,” Sven explains. “Someone to prolong the special race, you see. And, she has to be very…” he pauses to get so close to me that he inhales deeply the scent of my hair and neck, “special.”
He exhales loudly, and the grip he had on my breasts loosens. He goes over my waist, inner and outer thighs and then stops.
“I must say, Fynn, she is a fine choice. A fine choice indeed. But, is daddy dearest in agreement with this?”
“Fuck you,” Fynn growls.
“All in due time,” Sven grins. “I also might include your trophy here in that endeavor.”
He cups my chin with his fingers, and I jerk away from him.
“She’s got spunk. You gotta love that in a woman,” Sven looks over at his guards, and they all start laughing.
I look over at Fynn, helpless. I see the rage in his eyes. But, I also see that he has a plan. I can’t be sure of it, but it’s a gut feeling, and if anything, I’ve learned to trust my gut feeling over the years.
“Alright, now that the fun is over, we can continue with the matter at hand,” Sven informs us. “Take them inside.”
We are then led inside the old, forgotten tavern, and the darkness that opens up before me is frightening. But, not as much as what I fear I might find inside of it.
Chapter 22
Fynn
We’re brought into a small room. It’s dusty and dirty. There is no furniture apart from some old, broken down piano with a layer of cobwebs on it. Two chairs are brought in, and we’re tied to them. I curse silently at myself, for not telling her about this. I take a deep breath as the big thug wraps a thick rope around me, and tries to tighten it as much as he can. I’ve been tied up more times than I can count, so this isn’t new to me.
I watch as she does exactly the opposite. Maddie cowers. She makes herself as small as possible. Her body comes into itself, and it’s easy to entangle her so hard that I doubt she’d ever get out of those ropes without some help. As for me, I might. But, I need to bide my time.
When the rope welcome is over, the thugs move to the side, giving Sven the spotlight.
He takes one of his cigarettes and lights it up.
“You know those’ll kill you?” I frown at him.
“They’ve been trying for decades,” Sven replies. “Still no luck.”
He walks over to me and brings it to my lips. It’s one of those expensive, Cuban cigarettes. The ones you have to kill for to get a box. I remember those. I turn away.
“I’m trying to quit.”
“Too bad,” he shakes his head. “It might be your last one.”
“So, are you finally going to reveal the big pinnacle of this fucking Shakespearean drama you’ve got going?” I snort, having had enough of this already.
Also, Sven prides himself on being calm. That’s when he’s most cruel. But, you get him angry, and you get him careless. That’s my plan here.
“The twist is to die for, you’ll see,” Sven is cracking up at this point.
I look over at Maddie. She’s scared. She’s so scared that I see tears glistening in her eyes. The thought of her being tied up there, and even more, Sven touching her the way he did, brings me to the edge. I just need one little thing to push me over it.
“But, of course, I’ll start explaining,” Sven says. “I believe we all know why we targeted little Miss Sunshine over here.”
He walks over to Maddie and gives a big kiss on the forehead.
“Fuck you!” she growls at him.
Good girl.
“Real feisty,” Sven pinches her cheek. “I can think of a few scenarios where that might come in handy, but I stray. We all know her father, Hugo Holloway. We also know who he owes his vast fortune to.”
I’m listening to Sven talk, and I see the confusion on Maddie’s face. She knows something, but probably not all. But, from the looks of it, we’re both in the dark.
“Do you remember, Fynn?” he asks me.
“Kayne,” I reply.
“Exactly!” Sven gives me a mocking applause.
“But, Kayne is dead,” I remind him. “He’s been dead for 15 years. What the fuck does he have to do with anything now?”
Sven gives me one of those oh-oh looks.
“It seems that someone here hasn’t been brought in on the news yet.”
“What news?” I snort.
“Kayne is alive.”
“The fuck he is,” I hiss at him. “I saw him burn in that house with my own eyes.”
“Correction,” Sven shakes his index finger at me, as the other one is still busy holding his half-finished cigarette. “You saw a house on fire. You saw someone was inside at the start of the fire. But, have you seen his body?”
“He burned.”
“He did burn, somewhat, yes. But, you know the wonders of modern medicine. They take a little bit of skin from one part of your body, or from someone else’s body, that also works apparently, and they just replace the burned area with new, rejuvenated skin. And, they can also change your profile a little, so you don’t look like yourself so much. And, when someone who once knew you sees the new you, they can’t even recognize you.”