Page 5 of Two Chambered Heart

He liked the spattering of freckles over the bridge of her nose.

Minus the hideous trench coat she was hiding in and her wild hair, she was actually very attractive.

What was strange was that Kayden couldn’t hear her thoughts, which made two people in one day that he couldn’t hear. That had never happened before.

Kayden took a step towards her, and she straightened her spine, lifting her chin. The fear in her eyes hardened to defiance.

Kayden grabbed her chin and tilted her face. The blue of the bruise was deepening under her freckles and her cheekbone was already swelling. Kayden brushed his thumb over it, pressing slightly, and she hissed, batting his hand away and bringing her own hand up to cover her injury. He let his arm fall to his side, the other still had the gun trained on her.

“Did you kill him?” Kayden asked the girl.

Her eyes shifted to the body on the ground before finding Kayden’s face again.

“I don’t know,” she rasped and clutched her stomach, taking a step back. Kayden mirrored her with a step forward.

“I can’t hear him.” Kayden said to his brother.

“I can’t either.” Jason said from behind him. Kayden kept looking at the girl in front of him, who was watching as Jase moved to the body on the ground, checking for a pulse. “He’s still alive.”

Kayden let his eyes roam from the girl’s face to the Range Rover’s open door, and down to the body. Finally, his eyes landed back on the girl. He smiled, baring his teeth, and he saw her fight a flinch.

“I have a theory.” Kayden said to his brother, still looking at the girl. “We need to separate them.” He finally looked at his brother, who cocked an eyebrow at him. Kayden rolled his eyes. “Just indulge me.”

Jase gave him a nod of agreement and stood back up, grabbing the older guy’s legs and dragging the body towards the house. The back of the guy’s head left a smear of wet blood across the driveway in its wake.

“Further,” Kayden said.

After Jase gave a few more drags, he paused. Jason gave another nod, eyes wide.Fascinating,Kayden thought, the idea of what they’d discovered in this driveway hitting him like top-shelf liquor. Jason dropped the man’s legs and jogged back to his brother’s side.

“Who are you?” Jason snarled at the girl, leaning in to loom over her.

“Who am I?” the girl’s voice was shrill. “Who the fuck are you?” She shoved Jason’s chest and took a few quick steps back, trying to get some distance between them. Kayden laughed at her boldness. Both of them now had their guns pointed at her.

Another explosion erupted from the house, and the girl glanced over their shoulders to the home that was burning down behind them, the firereflected in her pretty blue eyes. He could hear the glass shatter, but they were far enough away that they were safe from flying fragments. For now.

The smell of burning flesh was permeating the air.

“We need to leave.” Jase said, pulling out the Rover key and unlocking it so that the alarm finally stopped blaring.

The girl shifted on her feet. Kayden could see her calculating whether an escape was possible, her eyes darting to the trees across the driveway.

Jason shook the nose of the gun at her. “Uh-uh-uh, you’re coming with us.”

The girl’s muscles tensed, but before she could bolt, Kayden reached out and grabbed her wrist, yanking her in close to his body so that her back side was flush against him. She was tall for a girl, coming up over shoulder height on his six foot three frame.

“No running, Little Fox.” He bent his head down so that his lips were close to her ear and whispered, “We have some questions for you.”

The girl’s free hand shot up to his face, either ready to slap him or scratch him. Kayden wouldn’t find out, because Jase caught her hand midair, crowding her between them.

Kayden felt the fight draining from her body as she realized she was trapped.

“Will you behave, or do we need to tie you up?” Jason asked her.

“I’m not going with you,” she said defiantly, but made no further move to dislodge herself from between them.

“The only control you have over this situation is how much force we need to use to get you in the car.” Jason stepped away from her. “So I’ll ask you one more time. Will you behave, or should I get the ropes from the trunk?” Kayden knew Jason hoped she’d run. More than the chase, Jase loved to tie up his playthings.

The girl hesitated for a moment before turning around in Kayden’s arms and looking up at him, seeming to decide that he was the safer optionbetween the two twins. She bit her bottom lip and looked at the ground, a blush creeping up over her cheeks.

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