Page 2 of A Heart So Savage

Why was he meeting with Oliver again? What were the two men doing? Were they disposing of bodies? Plotting the murder of her awful brother?

And the others Kingston mentioned. Who could they be?

Maybe they were potential buyers. Maybe placing her in the game room provided some kind of sick display. After all, cameras recorded everything in this mansion. Like a bird in a pretty cage, she could flit around the room while being assessed.

Ava’s hands clenched into fists.

Be sensible. He has no intention of letting me go.

Kingston already said she would not be sold, but expecting a murdering kidnapper to keep his word was unrealistic.

Releasing a frustrated sigh, Ava leaned a shoulder against one of the window casements, tracing the intricate carving with her fingertips. Just outside the deep, tall windows, the mountains loomed. Awash in color from the late afternoon sun, scarlet and burnt orange hues blazed in vivid contrast with the dull green of the lawn. As if one entity, a flock of small birds darted and swooped against the brilliant blue sky before disappearing into the thick trees.

Considering everything she’d been through since arriving at The Den, the quiet of the game room and the autumn-hued beauty outside this lavish prison was a sanctuary. She should be grateful.

“Stay here,” Ava muttered aloud, repeating Kingston’s command. His dominion over her new life meant obeying him in all things.

The five rules laid out following Malcom’s attack were clear enough. The terms of her imprisonment might as well be literal chains binding her body. Disobey and she would be punished.

She moved away from the window, restless in captivity as the hours passed. Maybe Kingston had changed his mind about keeping her.

Realizing she was chewing a fingernail, Ava quickly distracted herself by selecting a pool stick from the wall rack.

Absently, she considered the usefulness of the room’s items as weapons. So many things could serve in that capacity… from pool sticks and cue balls to chess pieces. Even the numerous decanters of scotch and whiskey lined up neatly on the built-in bar would make excellent missiles.

How hard would it be to take one of the animal trophy heads off the walls? There was one she eyed with more than a passing curiosity. It was an antelope of some sort, with wickedly sharp horns jutting out like twin daggers. The whole thing could be utilized as both shield and weapon.

Ava’s gaze drifted to the cavernous stone fireplace. The iron stand beside it contained all the usual instruments for tending a fire. A miniature shovel and brush. Tongs. A poker with a curved hook on its end. All potential weapons but not practical if she intended on hiding the fact she was armed.

But there…mounted on the wall over the rough, wooden beam mantle was a pair of daggers that looked real enough. They flanked an exotic ceremonial mask which might have been used during some sort of ancient ceremony. An enormous, hairy boar’s head hung beside the daggers, leaving one to conjecture the ugly beast was slain using those sharp instruments.

If those daggers were real, she could slice a man’s neck open with barely a flick of her wrist. Stab him through the heart until the ivory handle was flush against flesh and the blade buried deep. It would be easy. Killing a man with those daggers.

Can I do it?

Shuddering at the bloody path her thoughts careened down, Ava turned to the heavily carved pool table. Like everything else in this house, it appeared antique. An exquisite game piece which likely cost more than her entire college education.

Ava rolled the white cue ball across the length of the pool table. What was taking so long for Kingston to return? Why did she even care? His absence allowed her to think clearly for the first time in days.

Why did I agree to be his?

Her fingers tightened around the pool stick. Matters were much simpler when she’d been held in the dungeon cell. When she was an untouchable prisoner. A valuable prize to be protected with her choices snatched away.

And now? Now, Ava wasn’t sure what she was other thanhis.

And being the property of Kingston Vaughn Winter was a dangerous, confusing thing to be.

The click of the double doors swung Ava’s attention around. Gripped with mounting apprehension, she watched Oliver enter the game room. A scowl twisted his lips.

He was alone. Fear twisted Ava’s stomach, but she remained silent.

Where is Kingston?

“Don’t worry. He’s coming.” Oliver answered the unspoken question. Leaning against the bar, he poured a finger of bourbon into a cut crystal tumbler. “My brother wouldn’t dare dream of leaving us alone for too long.”

Ava gripped the pool stick tighter, unable to keep her gaze from drifting to the daggers over the fireplace.

Oliver raised his glass in mock salute. “You are quite the surprise, Miss Blue. Don’t know how you managed it, but you’ve completely captured my brother’s attention.”

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