Page 10 of Two Chambered Heart

The door they brought her to was a short sprint back to the elevator, and she hoped she didn’t need to scan a fingerprint to call the lift. She didn’t want to have to start cutting fingers off, but at this point, nothing was off-limits. She glanced back down the hall to take in the distance and realized too late that slip had given away her thoughts.

“Are you going to try to run, Little Fox?” Kayden asked, and he looked like that idea thrilled him.

“Don’t bother, you won’t get very far,” Jason said.

He opened the door to the guest bedroom. The room, like the hallway, had high ceilings. It had its own set of floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at the city skyline, and the midday sun was breaking through the clouds. Sheer curtains were pulled back, pooling lavishly on the floor. The view was breathtaking. The bed was on her left, facingtowards the windows. There were multiple pillows and a luxurious duvet, and nightstands on both sides.

Her bedroom with her ex had a shitty mattress on the floor and a cardboard box as a nightstand. It had one big window, which she’d used to escape several days ago. This was the nicest bedroom Corey had ever been in, and she longed to get into that bed and sleep the day away.Silver linings, she thought to herself.

Corey pulled on the final dregs of her swagger.

“Well, it’s better than the last bedroom a guy locked me in!” she declared as she marched into the room, turned around and slammed the door in the twins’ faces.

One twin opened the door back up and they both barged in, barely restrained fury lining their features. “You’re filthy. You need to shower before you get blood and whatever dirt you’re covered in all over this room.”

Corey just lifted her lip at Jason, baring her teeth. He made to move towards her.

Kayden interrupted, pushing him back towards the door. “Jase, go get cleaned up. I’ll show her the bathroom.” Jason kept watching Corey, but finally acquiesced.

Once Jason was out of the room, Kayden sighed, seriousness entering his tone for the first time since he’d spoken to her. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but you’re not locked in this room. There’s no lock on the outside. There’s actually a lock on the inside, so you could lock us out. Although, I think we do have a key somewhere…” He trailed off, thinking about it.

“People are going to be looking for me,” Corey tried, but the lie felt heavy in her mouth. The truth was that no one would come looking for her. She’d lost the few friends she had because of her ex, and there was no way he would search for her after she’d run away. He’d replace her in a fewdays and that would be that. He’d probably burn her things in a bonfire and curse her name for the rest of his stupid little life.

Kayden seemed to weigh her words. She couldn’t tell whether or not he believed her. He didn’t say anything else, though, and just walked towards another door, which she supposed led to the bathroom.

“I’m not sure if there’re towels in there. You can check and let me know. I’ll bring some if there aren’t.”

Corey walked into the bathroom, taking in the white marble flooring, the long vanity with big mirrors, and the modern shower stall with a bench and four different nozzles sticking out the side. A claw-footed bathtub nestled in the corner where the two floor-to-ceiling windows met. There were towels hanging on the rack by the shower.

“I guess Belinda does a good job,” Corey called to Kayden. “There are towels.”

Kayden didn’t grace her with a response, but she heard the closing of the bedroom door echo through the room.

Corey stripped off her filthy clothes. She tried not to take stock of the pain in her cheek, which felt extremely swollen, or the burns from the rope. She knew the raw skin was going to make her first hot shower in too many days far less enjoyable than it should be. She had no other clothes, so she neatly folded hers to put on again after. Maybe she could get away with laying on the bed in a towel for a little, but being caught by the guys in just a towel would make her feel too vulnerable.

Corey turned on the shower and waited until the water steamed. Then she stepped in and let the hot water burn her. She stood under the pounding spray until the dam finally burst on her tears, and she fought not to crumple to the ground.

Chapter seven

- Kayden -

After putting away his guns, knives and explosives, and spending a luxurious amount of time soaking in his own shower, scrubbing off the grit and blood, Kayden threw on a pair of low-hanging sweatpants and went to make himself a coffee.

When he got to the kitchen, he laughed at seeing his brother already behind the large centre island, pouring beans into the espresso machine, in matching sweatpants. Jason had also opted to remain shirtless for the afternoon. Kayden didn’t know if it was a twin trait or if it was just a habit that they usually ended up in the same clothes.

Jason turned to find his brother watching him. “Double espresso?”

“Sure.”

Kayden moved around the island to the large fridge and started pulling out some berries for a smoothie.

“I put some clothes on the bed for the girl,” Jason said offhandedly.

“Oh?” Any act of overt kindness was behaviour Jason usually reserved for those he cared about—which was virtually no one.

“Her clothes stunk.” Jason rolled his eyes.

“Mm-hmm.” Kayden just turned the tap on to wash the fruit.

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