Page 54 of Elicit (Decadence After Dark)

Silence.

Fuck.

Heart hammering seconds pass.

“Mr. Kayne?” A deep voice comes through the phone.

“No. This is his associate, Jett. Kayne has been called away.”

Static.

“Javier will be landing in one hour.”

“Landing in an hour? We weren’t expecting him until tomorrow.”

“He’ll be there tonight.”

Click.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

I fly out of the room, protocol twisting in the wind. I grab a clean shirt from my room and tear through the house on a hunt for Alistair. He’s not in the common room or his room. Before scanning the security monitors, I check one more place. My instincts tell me that’s where I’ll find him.

I bang on Amber’s door before I barrel into the room. Just as I thought.

Alistair has Amber pinned down on her stomach, hands secured tightly behind her back.

By the looks of it, Alistair has enlisted his dominant alter ego to aide in winning Amber back over. By the sound of it, it’s working.

“Do you mind?” He doesn’t even bother to stop fucking her while he addresses me.

“Yes, I do. Our house guest is arriving early.” That gets his attention. “Finish up and watch the girls while I’m gone.” I don’t give him the opportunity to answer. I just disappear.

In the limo, on the way to the private airport, I execute some due diligence, first and foremost calling Kayne. A dozen times. With no answer. I wonder if my prediction already came true. Second, I text Juice. One message from my personal cell phone that will have no reply. That’s the understanding.

The import is arriving early.

I erase the outgoing message, then drive the rest of the way sitting on a pin cushion.

I try Kayne one last time to no avail before I pull onto the tarmac without a second to spare as the private jet taxis.

I get out of the car, prepared to meet one of the most notorious men on the planet. I’m not shitting at all.

It’s a comfortable May night. The breeze is warm, and the air is clear, but the energy is off. Way off. Laced with a foreboding tangibility.

The door to the jet opens, and I hold my breath, cursing myself that I encouraged Kayne to go out. We should have seen this little stunt coming.

A moment later, a man in a plain white dress shirt and black slacks appears. He looks down on me with a malignant gaze and the hair on the back of my neck stands straight up. It’s like I’m setting eyes on one of Lucifer’s demons in the flesh.

Then he smiles. And I’m overtaken with nothing but dread.

He bounds down the stairs as if he’s lighter than air. Like he doesn’t have a care in the world. Like he doesn’t have a hoard of sex slaves suffering at a secret compound or work for a man who inundates the world with drugs and leaves a blood trail wherever he goes.

I open the limo door, playing into my steward role.

Javier slips inside motioning with his hand to his bag still sitting at the entrance of the jet. I jog up the stairs to retrieve it, and when I reach the top step, I nearly puke. Four men. Two naked girls. Cuts, blood, bruises, and four pleading eyes. I have never felt more homicidal in my life than at this moment. Reprehensibly, conscience-stricken, I pick up the bag and walk backward down the stairs. Despising my actions. Despising myself. Despising Javier for being allowed to walk this earth as long as he has.

I drop the leather carry-on in the trunk then slip back into the driver’s seat, prepared to bring this monster into my house.

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