Page 65 of Empire

Taking my chances, I shake my head. “No, they don’t know I am here. But I suspect they will come looking soon.”

“I don’t doubt that,” he says, stepping out of the doorway and making space. “In any case, you better come in. You don’t know what kind of monsters lurk around these tunnels.”

He waves me through the door and my hands start to shake. I give him a curt nod and step past him, not comfortable with having this strange man at my back, but I’d be damned if I’m staying out there in the shadowy tunnels now.

Walking into the dimly lit corridor, he waves me toward the first set of stairs that lead down to the strange golden gate. I put one foot in front of the other, swallowing the feeling of dread that only gets worse with each step.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he leans around me and slips a old, brass key into the lock and pushes the gate open. “After you,” he tells me.

I nod, not trusting the look in his eyes. I hesitantly take a step out in front of him when a black bag is yanked down over my head and tightened around my neck. I scream, reaching out to grip the material as scuffles reverberate off the walls around me. Someone pulls my hands tightly behind my back, and while I blindly try to resist their strength, it’s no use. Something hard collides with the side of my head, knocking me to the ground and with a deafening ringing thundering through my ears, my world fades to black.

Chapter 26

OAKLEY

Aburstofice-coldwater against my face rips me from unconsciousness, and my eyes spring open as I gasp in shock. Looking around the room wildly, the reality of my situation tears through me, and I struggle against my bound hands.

I’m in a hardback chair with my legs and wrists bound to the seat, and the man with familiar green eyes paces before me in the darkened room. My heart races, fear eating at me as I quickly realize this is the same dungeon where Zade brutally murdered the doorman from the ball.

My stomach clenches, and I keep my eyes on the man. I never should have come here. I should have trusted the boys, but instead, I’ve walked right into this man’s trap.

“You snake! What do you want with me?” I spit.

The man laughs. “Oh, I must admit, I am very sorry for all of this. I am not a callous person by nature, but you showing up here like this has put me at quite an advantage. One I simply cannot allow to slip through my fingers.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Goodness, girl,” he says, belittling me. “So many questions, so little time.”

“Who. Are. You?”

His brow arches in surprise. “Wow. Out of everything you want to know, that’s your priority?” he muses. “Okay, I’ll play. My name is Nikolai Thorne. I am—”

“Sawyer’s father,” I gasp in horror.

“Indeed,” he says with a nod, almost looking impressed that I’ve put the pieces together so quickly. Not that it’s hard, considering they have the same green eyes and share a name. “I believe you’ve had the pleasure of getting to know my son over the past few weeks? I do hope he’s been on his best behavior.”

My brows furrow. What the fuck is this guy’s deal? He’s got me bound in the murder dungeon but wants to discuss his son’s behavior? “Your son likes to fuck and is hung like a horse,” I tell him bluntly. “That’s about all I know of him.”

Nikolai presses his lips into a hard line, clearly not too impressed by my crass words or his son’s willingness to fuck the chick he’s supposed to protect. He doesn’t respond to me, and I let out a heavy sigh. “I highly doubt you went to all this effort of getting me down here just to talk about how well your son can get me off,” I mutter. “So why don’t you go ahead and tell me what you really want with me.”

“You’re right. I suppose I owe you an explanation before I end your life,” he says, crossing the small space and leaning up against a table filled with things I can only assume are used for torturing innocent souls. “You see, there’s something special about you, Miss Quinn. Something not many people are aware of.”

My brows furrow. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s important to me that you know I am loyal to the blood. I would never disgrace Empire by committing such horrendous acts of treason. However, this is not a typical situation. I have been backed into a corner, and for the sake of this organization and the strength of its future, I am only doing what is right.”

Tears well in my eyes as I watch Sawyer’s father, and I can only describe him as heartbrokenly resigned to this fate. “And ending my life is what’s right?”

He nods regrettably. “As I said, I am not a callous man by nature, and my loyalty to the blood has been my only purpose in life. I have raised my children in my image, to follow in my footsteps. Once word gets out about what I have done here tonight, I will be sentenced to death, but I know my son will fall into his place and finish what I have started.”

“Okaaaay,” I say slowly. “I think you’ve skipped a few things. I’m not following.”

Nikolai takes a heavy breath before pushing off the edge of the table and striding back toward me. “You, my sweet girl,” he says with a strange adoration in his eyes, kinda like in the way a young girl would look up at her idol. “You are the only living heir of Empire, this magnificent organization that is home to so many. The blood which runs through your veins is what we were built on. It is what has ruled us for the past hundred and fifty years, passed down from generation to generation. You, Oakley, are the rightful heir.”

My jaw drops. “You’re hearing yourself, right? Do you know how insane this sounds? I’m sorry, but you have things twisted. I don’t know anything about Empire, what it is or what it stands for, and no offense, but I really don’t want anything to do with it. Besides, Zade DeVil is the heir, not me. Because his father was the leader.”

“The only problem is, Lawson DeVil was never supposed to lead our people. He does not possess the blood, but you know who did?” he asks me, a sparkle hitting his eye. Sharing the privileged information of his beloved society really gets this man going. He looks like he could come in his pants with excitement for being the one who gets to break this news to me. “Your father, Matthias Quinn.”

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