Corrupt - Douglas Penelope (книги .TXT) 📗

“Then you got less than you deserved!” Kai shot back. “Go downstairs and blow off some steam. It’s going to be a long fucking night.”

I reached up, grabbing the blindfold and wanting to see, but instead, I dropped my hands, curling my fists in anger.

“You okay, Rika?” Kai asked.

I heaved breath after breath, my body swaying as my head swam.

I bit him. I suddenly wanted to laugh. My hands tingled, and I straightened, feeling a little stronger.

“I wish I could say he was all bark and no bite, but…” Kai trailed off, letting the thought sit.

Yeah. We both knew that wasn’t true.

I inhaled, his heady body wash with only a hint of sweat hitting me. “I’m fine,” I answered. “Thanks.”

I pulled away and turned to my right, fed up with standing here like a target.

“Where are you going?”

“To the catacombs,” I replied.

“You can’t.”

I pursed my lips, twisting my head to face him. “I’m not a kid. You got that?”

“Yeah, I got it.” His deep voice held a hint of humor. “But you’re facing the wrong direction.”

I sucked in a quick breath, feeling him take my shoulders and spin me further to the right.

“Oh,” I mumbled, embarrassment heating my face. “Okay. Thanks.”

“No problem, kid,” he said, his voice thick with a laugh I could tell he was trying to hold back.

I held out my hands just a bit, still refusing to let Michael win by taking off the mask as I took a hesitant step forward. But then I stopped and turned my head again.

“You knew my name,” I stated, remembering that he’d called me Rika. In fact, Damon had said my name, too.

“Yeah.” Kai approached my back. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Why wouldn’t he?

Why would he? I’d never spoken to these guys. It at least made sense that Michael knew of me, since I spent so much time at his house, but I was sure the others had never even noticed me.

“You study fencing,” Kai started, “you’re heir to a fortune in diamonds, and you’ve been on Honor Roll since birth.”

I smiled to myself, finding his sarcasm a hell of a lot easier to deal with than Damon’s hands.

“And,” he continued behind me, his voice lowering, “You wore an amazing black bikini at the Fourth of July cookout at the beach this past summer. I looked longer than I should have.”

My cheeks instantly warmed. What did he just say?

Kai Mori was as handsome as Michael and as equally sought after by women. He could

have anyone. Why would he even have given me a second glance?

Not that I ever held out hope he would. He wasn’t Michael, of course.

“Michael shouldn’t have let you come in here,” Kai warned. “And I don’t think you should go down there.”

I felt a smile pull at my lips. “I know. That’s the same thing everyone else would tell me.”

I turned around, adding under my breath, “Except Michael.”

I held my hands out a few inches in front of me, spreading out my fingers and stepping slowly forward, moving toward the dull hum of the music and howls coming from deep below.

I shouldn’t go down by myself.

Kai had sent Damon down there, and even though I wasn’t sure he would try anything again, I did know I wasn’t safe with him.

Michael had told me to wait—he’d take me down—but…

But something inside of me hated being at anyone’s mercy. I didn’t want to follow, I didn’t want to wait, and I didn’t want to wonder. All of those things made me feel uncomfortable, like someone else was leading me around by the nose, and I didn’t like being controlled.

That’s what I admired about the Four Horsemen. They were always in control and always visible. Why wait for Michael when I could do it myself?

Cool wind blew across my bare legs, and I inhaled the smell of earth, water, and old wood drifting up through the door from the catacombs. I was close.

But then someone grabbed one of my outstretched hands, and I sucked in a quick breath, planting both of my palms on his chest and clutching the soft cotton of his sweatshirt.

“Michael?” I moved my hands up, noticing that his shoulders were nearly level with the top of my head. “Have you been here the whole time?”

But he remained silent.

I breathed in and out, trying to calm my heartbeat. The full length of his legs and torso was flush with nearly every inch of mine, and my skin warmed.

I stepped back.

“Why did you do that?” I asked. “If you’ve been here the whole time, why would you let Damon handle me like that?”

“Why didn’t you just take off the blindfold and run away?”

I straightened my back, steeling my spine. Was that what he had wanted? For me to tap out and run away? Why was he testing me?

It didn’t matter. How could he just stand there—see what was going on—and not step in? Kai had put a stop to it, and I thought Michael…

I dropped my head, afraid he could see my face heating. I guess I thought more of Michael than I should.

I tipped my chin back up, trying to keep emotion out of my voice. “You shouldn’t have been okay with it.”

“Why?” he retorted. “Who are you to me?”

I clenched my fist at my side.

“Toughen up,” he bit out in a whisper as his breath fell across my cheeks. “You’re not a victim, and I’m not your savior. You handled it. End of story.”

What the hell was the matter with him? What did he want from me? I would’ve thought he’d show concern. Jesus.

All of the men in my life—my father, Noah, Mr. Crist, and even Trevor—hovered over my life like I was a baby learning how to walk. I never cared so much for their concern, and even found it stifling at times, but from Michael…I might’ve liked it. Even just once.

He placed a finger under my chin, tipping my head up as his voice softened. “You did well. Did it feel good? To fight back?”

I caught the hint of amusement in his tone, and my stomach fluttered.

Michael had been right. I wasn’t a victim, and even though the thought of him showing up to save the day would’ve given me some kind of hint as to what he felt about me—if anything—the fact remained that I never wanted to be someone who couldn’t fight their own battles.

Hell, yes, it felt good.

I felt him move away, but his fingers slid between mine.

“So you want to go downstairs?” he asked in a low voice.

My lips quirked despite my agitation.

I let him lead the way as we continued in the direction Kai set. Howls echoed up from deep below, and my chest shook with anticipation.

Any bit of light from the other side of the blindfold disappeared and everything turned black as the air around me became cooler, thicker, and filled with the scent of earth and water, like a cave.

“There are stairs,” he warned.

I immediately slowed my step. “Can I take off the blindfold then?”

“No.”

I pushed down the anger boiling up and stuck out my other hand, finding the rough and bumpy rocks of the stone wall to my right. Michael slowed down, letting me cautiously feel my way down the stairs as we traveled in a spiral.

The grains of dirt grinded under my flats, and chills spread up my thighs, reminding me that it was getting colder and darker…

And that I was too unaware of my surroundings.

I didn’t know who was down here, what they were doing, and depending on how deep we travelled into the maze, I might not be able to find my way out, either.

Michael had made it very clear that, while he may have my hand right now, he didn’t have my back. So why didn’t any of that make me want to stop?

I slid cautious steps down the stairs, travelling deeper and deeper and feeling like the walls were getting closer to me. I inhaled a hard breath, the thin air under the earth weighing on my skin like a heavy blanket.

Michael took another step, and I followed, coming up to his side where he’d stopped.

Like a Storm’s Love the Way You Hate Me played all around me, and I gathered that all the tunnels were wired with speakers, the music probably filling every room.