2
I thought I was comfortable in the dark, but then you tugged me deeper.
The journey to the safe house was quieter than she’d anticipated. The gnawing silence made her skin itch, and her knee bounced erratically, like her body could sense the impending doom.
They split up into three transports. Brock drove, while Serene, Adan, and Winnie sat beside her.
Lying in the back was Takeshi.
She prayed no one would pay attention to the unconscious figure in the vehicle, but Jack was clever, leading them through hidden back alleys.
She stared at the dazzling lights hanging in the distance, highlighting the drunken men and women laughing. They sung and sloshed their drinks onto the cobblestone streets.
Did they know?
Surely, they sensed it.
That sinking feeling in their chest. The one they merely dismissed as stress and anxiety, but it was really the pain from their neighbors dying not far from where they danced.
Winnie had once said that nuclear bombs weren’t what ended civilization. It was the loss of empathy that marked humanity’s collapse.
The transport screeched to a shuddering halt, jerking Khalani in her seat, wrenching her from those despairing thoughts.
Jack parked in front of a towering building, with a sharp, pointed terrace looming overhead. The stone structure might’ve been white in the past, but it was now a muddled gray. Her eyes flickered along the walls covered in patches of dirt, cobwebs, and boarded-up windows.
She dared a glance at Elise as everyone cautiously exited the transports. Elise’s eyes were dazed and unfocused as she stared at the ground, like she wanted to be as ignored and forgotten as the spatters of dirt on the road.
“Is he still out?” Jack approached, his stoic gaze fixed on Takeshi’s unmoving body under the blanket.
“For now,” Brock responded, his tone conveying just how long he thought that status would last.
Jack’s lips formed a thin line as he turned to the decrepit building. “Be quick and get him inside.”
Brock and Adan had the lucky job of dragging Takeshi’s six-foot-five frame up the stone steps. Adan cursed at the effort and mumbled, “What the heck does he eat?”
When they reached the cobwebbed entrance, Jack knocked on the wooden door with a series of intricate beats.
A small look-through panel slid open.
She couldn’t tell who stood behind it, but she felt someone’s stern gaze scanning her all over.
Immediately, the door swung open.
A broad-shouldered man cloaked in black stood in the doorway. He had a coppery beard that reached his chest. Khalani swallowed at the nasty gash that trailed from his right eye down to his cheek.
“Get in. Hurry,” the man said in a deep, rasping voice.
“Thanks, Jericho.” Jack nodded, hastily ushering them inside. Jericho took one final peek at the quiet street, eyes darting left and right before he slammed the door shut behind them.
Khalani shivered as she stepped into the cool interior. Dark shadows bounced along the white stone walls, and an odd scent drifted to her nose. Like burning incense.
“This way.”
Jericho led them down a narrow hallway. Khalani’s shoulders were stiff, her pulse racing as they dragged Takeshi through the haunting building.
But when the hallway opened on their left, her feet shuddered to a halt.
“What is this place?” Serene whispered in awe.
Khalani’s lips parted. “It looks like a…church.”
Rows of empty pews lined the vast space. At the head stood an altar, with a tall wooden cross mounted above. Her gaze lifted higher to the beautiful stained-glass windows scattering a kaleidoscope of color across the white stone.
The space was devoid of people. It was peaceful and quiet in a way that was the antithesis of Hermes. A part of her ached to sit in a pew and appreciate the beauty around her, but peace was as absent as Takeshi’s memory.
His head hung low as Brock and Adan continued to carry his dead weight forward. Jericho led them down a long set of stairs that looped in a spiral. Nearly two stories beneath the church, they entered a communal space similar to the Black Heart.
Khalani coughed as the scent of mold hit her. A rickety chandelier dangled overhead. Long tables filled the room, with several men and women chatting.
“Jack!” someone yelled as their harrowed group descended the stairs.
All chatter dissipated.
The men and women stood so fast, their chairs crashed to the ground.
“What happened?” one man with white hair asked, his wide eyes taking in the injured Ryder.
“Dealers,” Jack said flatly, wiping sweat from his brow. “The Black Heart is compromised.”
Gasps rippled through the room.
“How?” Jericho hissed. “Who talked?”
Jack, Spade, and Raziel’s gazes slid to Takeshi, and everyone took in his helpless form.
Khalani’s stomach twisted, hating their distrustful eyes upon him.
A fierce, protective instinct drove her. She wanted to carry him into a room and barricade the door, but she wasn’t strong enough to lug him across the building.
“Bakarra.” Jack gestured to one of the women wearing a black pantsuit with pixie-length green hair and multiple piercings on her face.
“Please show them to their rooms. Jericho,” he continued, and the burly man who led them in stepped forward.
“Show them the holding cell.” Jack gestured to Brock and Adan.
“When he wakes up, we’ll ask our questions. ”
The last sentence was said with an odd inflection, and Jericho inclined his head. Without another word, he grumbled at Brock and Adan, prowling down the room.
Must’ve been caveman speak for “follow me.”
Khalani, Winnie, and Serene trailed behind, keeping their heads down as Jack, Spade, and Raziel stayed back with Ryder.
“When will Lane arrive?” Jack asked.
“Tomorrow morning,” Raziel responded gruffly.
“Don’t worry, Raz.” Spade spoke in a calm voice. “Ryder’s tough. He’s dealt with worse.”
But just before Khalani disappeared from earshot, she caught Jack’s low murmur. “Once he takes care of Ryder, we’ll have Lane assess him. And then we’ll decide what to do next.”
Khalani’s frown deepened as she walked down the narrow hallway. Bakarra led Elise inside a sparse room that housed a twin bed and a hanging lamp. A lone tear dribbled down Elise’s chin before she shut the door without a word.
Khalani’s chest tightened as Bakarra gestured for them to enter the next room, but she pressed on after Jericho. The lingering fear and fury were palpable. The twisted emotions crawled along her skin. Permeated the stone walls.
Revenge was on the horizon. She could sense it.
The Aces would not let this treachery go unpunished. Khalani just needed to ensure Takeshi wasn’t on the receiving end of their retribution.
At the end of the corridor, Jericho pulled out a rusted key and creaked the final door open. Khalani’s eyes widened.
There was no bed.
No sink or windows.
Just a single bulb dangled from the ceiling, offering only a tiny modicum of light in the cold room. But what caught her attention were the thick chains hanging on the stone wall.
This place was no bedroom.
It was a prison.
“Bring him,” Jericho ordered.
“What are you doing?” she exclaimed when he clamped the thick cuffs around Takeshi’s wrists.
“He’ll remain in holding until we question him,” he curtly responded.
“But—”
“Khalani.” Winnie placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Let them help. It’s what he needs.”
“But what if it makes him worse?” Khalani’s chin trembled.
She’d been operating off the assumption that his memory loss was temporary. Something that would fade once he talked to Khalani and realized who she was.
But if he woke up in chains, it might have the opposite effect. The distance between them might lengthen, stretching farther and farther, until Takeshi was completely out of reach.
“We won’t let that happen. Not to him.” The resounding statement came from Serene. “We traveled to this city together, and we’re going to leave the same way. We all know he means more to you, but he still matters to us too. We’ll be with you every step of the way.”
The knot in Khalani’s throat tightened at Serene’s words.
But it wasn’t just Serene staring at her with love and devotion. When she looked around, the same dedication poured from Winnie and Adan. Not even Brock left her side.
A clamor tore her attention as Jericho finished chaining Takeshi. He sat slumped against the wall, arms pulled above him by the manacles.
“Let’s go,” Jericho grunted. “I’ll show you to your quarters.”
The others began to file out, but Khalani didn’t move.
Her feet were cemented to the floor, her eyes locked on Takeshi. “I’m staying,” she declared.
Jericho’s brows pulled low. “You can’t.”
“Says who?”
“Jack.”
“Well, relay this to Jack. I don’t give one flying fuck what he says. Someone needs to be here when he wakes up, and that person is going to be me.”
Adan cleared his throat, shuffling his feet. “Khalani, what if he attacks again?”
“He’s chained up.”
But the others gave her pointed looks, like they knew the chains might not be strong enough to contain him.
She let out a deep breath. “I’ll stay against the wall, out of reach.”
“If you stay, I’m locking the door with you inside.” Jericho’s eyes narrowed. “I won’t bring water and food for a while. Are you still sure?”
“Absolutely.” Her voice didn’t waver.
But her fingertips shook as Winnie, Serene, and Adan hugged her goodbye. Brock nodded at her before the metal door slammed shut, leaving her alone with Takeshi.
She turned, taking every inch of him in. Even unconscious, his presence held a weight that demanded attention.
His silky black hair hung over his face as his head dipped to the side, eyes firmly shut. No marks marred his body. The chiseled lines of his cheekbones and strong jaw stood out. But something in his cold energy made Khalani shuffle back.
The deadly parts of him had always been evident, but in the past, she could always sense a light in him. His uncompromising need to protect others. The child who loved to paint, still looking out for her.
But now, all those parts of him were absent.
Not as if they were missing.
As if they’d never existed in the first place.
How much torture must Takeshi have endured for the chip to work? She started to unravel after only a few hours under Doctor Strauss’s scalpel.
Takeshi was gone for three days.
“I’m so sorry I left you behind.” The whisper was barely audible as her back met the wall and she slid to the floor.
Khalani brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her thin arms around her legs, curling tighter on herself. Trying to hold everything together as Takeshi lay in chains before her.
She waited for him to wake up.
Fought sleep as long as she could.
But without her permission, her heavy eyelids began to drift shut.
It could’ve been hours later before she startled awake, wiping the drool off her cheek. Her butt ached from sitting on the stone floor for so long.
Khalani lifted her head and abruptly froze, every inch of her tensing. Takeshi was awake.
And he was staring right at her.