THE CAGE

Karl did not blink when he blew the stranger’s brains out.

The gunshot exploded inside the concrete room. The blast hit my eardrums like a physical blow. My hearing went dead, replaced by a high, agonizing squeal. My vision flared white. The stranger jerked backward, hit the wall with a dull thud, and slid down into a shapeless heap.

The smell hit next. Hot copper and burning sulfur. A thick pool of dark blood rushed across the gray floor toward my boots. My brain stalled. The Karl I knew spent weekends on a yacht and skipped university lectures. This man was a stranger. He lowered the heavy black pistol, his face carved out of stone.

"Get up," Karl said.

I saw his lips move through the ringing in my ears. My knees buckled. I hit the floor.

"I said get up, Julian."

Karl stepped into the blood, his expensive leather boots splashing. He grabbed my bicep like a steel vice. He hauled me upward in one violent motion. My feet barely grazed the floor. The torn fabric of my shirt fluttered. I stumbled. Karl caught my waist, pulling me flush against his chest. He slipped the pistol into a hidden holster beneath his suit jacket.

"Walk," he commanded.

"You killed him," I choked out. I dragged my heels, trying to anchor myself to the floor. "Karl, let me go!"

He didn't answer. He yanked me through the door and into a dimly lit service corridor. The heavy bass from the dance floor vibrated through the walls, totally disconnected from the nightmare. He walked with long, crushing strides. I had to run to stay upright. His fingers dug deeper into my muscles.

"Stop fighting me," Karl snapped. "If you make a scene, I will knock you out and carry you. Do not test me tonight."

His tone froze the air in my throat. This was not a bluff.

He kicked open a heavy metal exit door. The icy night air hit my bare chest. We stumbled into a pitch-black alleyway. An oversized black SUV idled near the shadows. A man in a dark suit stood by the open rear door. His expression was completely blank.

"Get inside," Karl ordered, shoving me toward the leather.

Panic broke my shock. If I got into this car, I would never get out. I grabbed the door frame, planted my boots, and swung my free fist at his face.

Karl caught my wrist in midair. He twisted my arm behind my back and slammed my chest against the cold metal side of the SUV.

"I told you not to test me," he hissed against my neck.

He clamped a hand onto the back of my neck, forcing my head down, and shoved me into the backseat. I tumbled onto the leather. The door slammed shut. The electronic locks clicked. The driver slammed the gas, and the SUV surged forward.

I scrambled into the furthest corner, pulling my knees to my chest. Karl sat beside me, taking up the entire space.

"What is happening?" I demanded, my voice shaking. "Who are you? The Karl I know maxes out credit cards. He doesn't execute people!"

Karl leaned back, his dark eyes fixed on me. "The Karl you know is a ghost. A distraction to keep people from looking too closely at my family."

"A distraction for what?"

"Shut up," Karl said, his voice dropping to a low rumble. "You blindly walked into a rival family's territory. You're lucky you're still breathing."

"I wanted to be free of you!" I shouted, tears stinging my eyes. "You spent years treating me like a fragile joke!"

Karl lunged forward. He pressed me flat against the door. He grabbed my chin, his fingers rough, tilting my face up.

"You are fragile," he murmured, his thumb brushing over my lower lip. "You have no idea what lives in the dark. That man was going to sell you, Julian. You belong to me. You always have. And I protect what is mine."

The SUV swerved sharply down a private underground ramp and screeched to a halt. Karl dragged me out and into a private elevator. We rode up in suffocating silence. The doors slid open to a modern penthouse.

The moment his grip loosened, I bolted. I ran for the heavy oak front door, grabbing the brass handle. It wouldn't budge.

Karl walked up slowly behind me. His massive frame crowded my back against the wood. He reached past my shoulder, his chest pressing firmly against my spine, and twisted a heavy steel deadbolt. He locked us inside. He leaned down, his warm breath grazing my ear.

"You are in my world now," he whispered. "And you are never leaving me again."

I stared at the thick wood. The truth settled into my chest. I hadn't escaped anything. I had walked straight into a permanent cage.

Right then, a bright red laser sight sliced through the window and settl

ed directly between Karl’s eyes.