Corrupt(25)

I pulled away and turned to my right, fed up with standing here like a target.

“Where are you going?”

“To the catacombs,” I replied.

“You can’t.”

I pursed my lips, twisting my head to face him. “I’m not a kid. You got that?”

“Yeah, I got it.” His deep voice held a hint of humor. “But you’re facing the wrong direction.”

I sucked in a quick breath, feeling him take my shoulders and spin me further to the right.

“Oh,” I mumbled, embarrassment heating my face. “Okay. Thanks.”

“No problem, kid,” he said, his voice thick with a laugh I could tell he was trying to hold back.

I held out my hands just a bit, still refusing to let Michael win by taking off the mask as I took a hesitant step forward. But then I stopped and turned my head again.

“You knew my name,” I stated, remembering that he’d called me Rika. In fact, Damon had said my name, too.

“Yeah.” Kai approached my back. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Why wouldn’t he?

Why would he? I’d never spoken to these guys. It at least made sense that Michael knew of me, since I spent so much time at his house, but I was sure the others had never even noticed me.

“You study fencing,” Kai started, “you’re heir to a fortune in diamonds, and you’ve been on Honor Roll since birth.”

I smiled to myself, finding his sarcasm a hell of a lot easier to deal with than Damon’s hands.

“And,” he continued behind me, his voice lowering, “You wore an amazing black bikini at the Fourth of July cookout at the beach this past summer. I looked longer than I should have.”

My cheeks instantly warmed. What did he just say?

Kai Mori was as handsome as Michael and as equally sought after by women. He could

have anyone. Why would he even have given me a second glance?

Not that I ever held out hope he would. He wasn’t Michael, of course.

“Michael shouldn’t have let you come in here,” Kai warned. “And I don’t think you should go down there.”

I felt a smile pull at my lips. “I know. That’s the same thing everyone else would tell me.”

I turned around, adding under my breath, “Except Michael.”

I held my hands out a few inches in front of me, spreading out my fingers and stepping slowly forward, moving toward the dull hum of the music and howls coming from deep below.

I shouldn’t go down by myself.

Kai had sent Damon down there, and even though I wasn’t sure he would try anything again, I did know I wasn’t safe with him.

Michael had told me to wait—he’d take me down—but…

But something inside of me hated being at anyone’s mercy. I didn’t want to follow, I didn’t want to wait, and I didn’t want to wonder. All of those things made me feel uncomfortable, like someone else was leading me around by the nose, and I didn’t like being controlled.

That’s what I admired about the Four Horsemen. They were always in control and always visible. Why wait for Michael when I could do it myself?

Cool wind blew across my bare legs, and I inhaled the smell of earth, water, and old wood drifting up through the door from the catacombs. I was close.

But then someone grabbed one of my outstretched hands, and I sucked in a quick breath, planting both of my palms on his chest and clutching the soft cotton of his sweatshirt.

“Michael?” I moved my hands up, noticing that his shoulders were nearly level with the top of my head. “Have you been here the whole time?”

But he remained silent.

I breathed in and out, trying to calm my heartbeat. The full length of his legs and torso was flush with nearly every inch of mine, and my skin warmed.

I stepped back.

“Why did you do that?” I asked. “If you’ve been here the whole time, why would you let Damon handle me like that?”

“Why didn’t you just take off the blindfold and run away?”

I straightened my back, steeling my spine. Was that what he had wanted? For me to tap out and run away? Why was he testing me?

It didn’t matter. How could he just stand there—see what was going on—and not step in? Kai had put a stop to it, and I thought Michael…

I dropped my head, afraid he could see my face heating. I guess I thought more of Michael than I should.

I tipped my chin back up, trying to keep emotion out of my voice. “You shouldn’t have been okay with it.”

“Why?” he retorted. “Who are you to me?”

I clenched my fist at my side.

“Toughen up,” he bit out in a whisper as his breath fell across my cheeks. “You’re not a victim, and I’m not your savior. You handled it. End of story.”