Page 2 of Two Chambered Heart

The other guy sniffed the air before grunting out that he’d showered.

The car started with a deep rumble. She lurched slightly as the driver reversed out of the parking spot faster than was appropriate, and then again as he put the car back in drive. Luckily, the front seats were big enough that the floor was quite low behind them, and Corey prayed that neither of them would turn back and see the coat on the floor. She prayed a lot, and for a lot of different things, but she felt she was usually reasonable with what she was asking for.

Every turn they took in the car park jostled her, and Corey felt the pull of gravity when they drove up the ramp to leave the underground. Rain hit the car violently. She couldn’t believe it was still fucking raining out. Whatever was going to happen if these two guys realized they had a stowaway, Corey hoped it was worth the dry night.

The men continued to drive in silence until the speakers started blasting metal music. Corey didn’t recognize the song, but the genre was right up her alley, and so she tried to focus on the silver lining in this fucked-up situation—at least the music was good.

After a while, Corey had lost track of time and lost track of the turns they’d taken. There had been little starting and stopping after the initial twenty minutes of the ride, so it felt like they were driving on open roads, and she couldn’t be sure how far they’d gone. The car was a really smooth ride. She’d give the Range Rover that much.

The driver turned the music down and spoke in the same cold, dark voice. “Stick to the plan, Kayden. I’m not in the mood to improvise today.”

The guy in the passenger seat, Kayden, spoke back in a voice slightly lighter, and she could practically hear the smirk on his face. “But we had fun last time, didn’t we?”

There was no response from the driver.

For the life of her, Corey could not figure out what they were talking about so ominously, especially because she couldn’t see anything and was absolutely not going to poke her head out to investigate further—not until she was sure they were out of the car.

It seemed the conversation was over anyway, even though no one turned the music back up.

Finally, the car slowed and took a turn. After a last stretch of movement, it came to a complete stop, and Corey held her breath.

“Get the gloves and gear up,” the one who was not Kayden said, with some bite. It was weird to Corey that they would need gloves in this rain, but not umbrellas. Maybe they had raincoats on, but they seemed like people who didn’t mind getting wet.

She heard the puff of air of a hydraulic system and figured it was the centre console opening up. Moments later, the sound repeated, dashing her plans to search through it once the men left.

The door opened, and a third man spoke from outside the car on the driver’s side. His voice was much older than the guys in the car. “Mr. Haeven, Mr. Kovack wasn’t expecting the meeting to begin until noon.” His words were uncertain, as if he didn’t know whether he should tell the men they were so early.

“Is that a problem?” the driver-seat guy responded. Corey could feel the tension where she was hiding.

“I’m sure it-it’s no problem, sir,” the older man stuttered, “but I’ll have to check with Mr. Kovack whether he’s ready to receive you now.” Corey could have sworn she heard the older man gulp.

“It’s not really up to him, is it?” Kayden said casually, and she could hear the distinct click of a firearm being loaded and the passenger door opening and closing.

“Your only job is to stand outside this car and make sure it’s here in thirty minutes when I get back. I expect Kovack will try to strand us here, but I assure you, he will not be successful in taking us out if that’s his plan.If I see even a fingerprint that’s not mine on this vehicle when I return, I will kill you, and I won’t make it quick. I have no interest in whatever shitty rides your boss is keeping on property to get us back into the city.”

There was a pregnant pause while the threat sunk in. “On the other hand, depending on how this little visit goes, you may very well find yourself unemployed at the end of this. I can appreciate help that’s willing to risk their neck, and your idiotic comment about our arrival time definitely putyoursat risk. There may actually be some opportunity here for you. The car alarm is set. If I hear it, we’ll shoot first and ask questions later.”

The driver finally closed the door, and Corey heard the locks on the car click. Her heart dropped into her stomach and the smell of leather and wet dog encompassed her fully.

Great. She was stuck in a fucking psychopath’s car for god knew how much longer, and worst of all, she really needed to pee.

Chapter three

- Jason -

Jason Haeven was on edge. As he walked away from his Range Rover and up towards the large, Scandinavian-style home, he looked over to his brother. Kayden caught his eye, and the look on Kay’s face confirmed that he could not hear the older man’s thoughts either.

Ever since Jason could remember, he had been able to hear people’s thoughts. His brother was the only person he couldn’t hear, and the only person he knew that shared this ability. He’d researched and researched, and other people had claimed they could, but he had found no one with actual, legitimate abilities like theirs. Anyone Jason found turned out to be crackpots, fakes, or schizophrenic, so he had eventually stopped looking.

The Haeven brothers had been institutionalized for years. Since they were just little boys, they had been poked and prodded, drugged up and experimented on, until they’d finally learned to shut the hell up about “the voices” they could hear.

Instead, they’d started using their ability to get where they were now. And where they were now was pretty damn good for two kids who no one had wanted.

Now everyone wanted them.

Jason had never encountered someone they couldn’thear,and he worried that if his ability had suddenly left him, this “interview” may not be as productive. He suspected Kovack had been trying to gather information on their product routes in an attempt to cut out their company, Alpha Moneta. If Jason couldn’t hear Kovack’s thoughts, he wouldn’t be able to confirm for certain.

Jason hadn’t encountered anyone in the elevator from their penthouse this morning, nor had he encountered anyone in the car park. This was by design, of course, as hearing the thoughts of every single person he came in close proximity to, day in and day out, was fucking exhausting and made him want to stick knives in his eyes.

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