Page 8 of Two Chambered Heart

“I told you. I wasn’t trying to take the car.”

“Right. Just for sleeping.”

“Right.” Corey loosed a breath and hoped they’d stop with this line of questioning. The two of them just kept staring at her with those bright eyes and blood-flecked faces.

“Fine. I didn’t have anywhere dry to sleep.” Corey threw her hands up in the air and looked away from them.

“How old are you?” Kayden asked her.

“I’m 23,” Corey replied too quickly, realizing after the words left her mouth that she’d answered honestly.

She narrowed her eyes at the guys.

Jason gave the rope to Kayden. “Your dog needs a bath, Kay. She stinks.”

“Stop calling me that,” Corey spat, infuriated and a little embarrassed. She probably did stink.

“Then tell us your name.” Jason said.

“Untie this rope and I’ll tell you my name.”

“How about this?” Kayden said. “We’ll escort you upstairs, and then we’ll untie the rope. You’ll tell us your name. Then you’ll have a shower. I’ll make you a cup of coffee, and we can sit down for a civil discussion about how to move forward.” He probably thought he was making some reasonable proposition.

“This isn’t a negotiation, Kay,” Jason said to his brother. He looked back at Corey. “You’re going to walk or I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and take you upstairs. Again, the choice is yours.”

Corey took in his bulk, straining against his blood-soaked shirt, and actually considered what it would be like for him to carry her. She didn’t think it would be that bad. Then she remembered that he was violent and likely a murderer, and had to shove down the image his words had conjured.

“I’ll walk,” Corey announced.

“Good dog,” Jason sneered, getting out of the car.

Kayden tossed her the rope for the second time that day. He threw on his jacket, covering the vest that held his weapons. Kayden opened the car door for Corey and gestured for her to get out. She hopped down on shaky legs, but she straightened her spine and tried to hide the wobble as she followed Jason, who had already stormed off to the interior door.

When they got to the entryway of the condominium complex, Jason scanned his fob and swung the door open. Corey froze just as Kayden took a step, and he knocked into her from behind. Her legs trembled and she tried to blink back tears as the reality of what going up to their home might entail crashed over her.

Had she really escaped one violent tyrant just to end up with two others?

Corey’s knees buckled.

Kayden’s hands were already bracing her under her arms, hoisting her back up before she could fall to the ground. Jason grabbed the rope around her neck and tugged. She stumbled forward into an underground atrium and towards the elevators. The jolt to her neck refueled her anger, and she shot a death glare at Jason.

“Do that again,” Corey spat out, challenge lacing her words.

Jason just smiled at her with perfect white teeth. There was no kindness in it. He pushed the up button for the elevator, still watching her, and Corey stared back bitterly.

The elevator arrived, and the three of them entered in silence. Jason scanned his fob again and then scanned his thumb on a fingerprint reader she hadn’t noticed. He hit the button for PH2. Below that was PH1, and then 54. They were going to be fifty-six stories high.

Corey had never been in a building this big, let alone at the very top. She hadn’t seen any signs of extreme wealth on the guys. The Range Rover was expensive, but nothing gaudy like she’d expected from someone rich enough to live in the penthouse of a luxury condo. Their watches were discrete, their suits were tailored, and without the gore, they might have looked expensive.

The twins also looked too young to be that rich. Whatever funded their lifestyle definitely wasn’t legal. If the events of this morning didn’t screammobsters,she didn’t know what did.

The buttons for the floors lit up as they passed each one. Rather than an electronic reader over the doors, there was a large, high-definition TV screen showing the weather forecast.

The elevator hit floor five and stopped. The solid metal doors opened slowly to reveal a long corridor. A heavyset security guard with a white moustache walked in. He bowed his head at each of the guys before greeting them by name.

“I’ll escort you and your guest to your floor,” he said plainly, keeping his face turned away from Corey and scanning a white card on the fob reader. She caught the twins passing a glance between themselves. “We’ve been having some issues today with the direct elevators, and they’ve been stopping on other floors. I have a control key for the elevators that overrides whatever the glitch in the fobs is. The security company is aware of the issue, and they have advised me they’re working to fix it. I’ll leave you with the card so that you’re not inconvenienced with any stops on your way while they resolve the problem.”

“Thank you, Jenkins,” Jason said, softening his expression for the first time that Corey had seen. The twins shared another glance, unspoken words passing between the two of them, and Corey was not versed enough in their facial expressions to decipher it.

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