Successors Read Online Free Page A

hadn’t earned it yet.
    “This man is going to take you to a warm house. There’s food there. You can clean up. He’s not going to hurt you. Are you Paul?”
    “It’s Pow-ul,” the man corrected. Danato paused to gape at the man who was interrupting his attempt to console the poor girl. The man blanched and stammered to correct himself. “No, sir. The girl is safe with me.”
    Danato didn’t disguise his exhausted frustration, but the girl seemed to find some slight amusement in his predicament. As insignificant as it seemed, she started to move toward Paul. At the last second, she stopped and started to peel his trench coat from her shoulders.
    He touched her hand, barely putting a feather’s worth of pressure, but it was enough to stop her movement. “Keep it.” He resisted the urge to squeeze or caress her hand like his instincts demanded. He just withdrew and nodded again for her to go.
    She slipped out and Paul, following his example, didn’t try to touch her as he led her away. She glanced back, but he was already being mobbed by more men begging for orders, and couldn’t afford her the reassuring nod that she probably wanted and needed. He maneuvered his clamorous entourage toward the prison and began to repair the damage a day away had left him.
     
     
     
     
    5
    The guard directed Cori into the darkened house behind Ethan. The door slammed shut and she heard a click. She reached back for the doorknob, but she already knew the answer.
    Locked.
    She combed the walls in search of a light switch. She flipped the first one she found and turned to see the devastating conclusion to her captivity. The dungeon that would stand as a backdrop to her final days. However, the living room area, illuminated by the soft glow of table lamps just to the left of the door, was hardly the oppressive confinement she had anticipated.
    The strictly defined space had a stacked stone fireplace corralled by a plush tan couch and two brown leather chairs. A few taxidermied animals adorned the mantel, and the wood lamps rested on slate end tables that flanked the couch. In the center of everything was a brown tinted-glass coffee table.
    She flipped up the remaining two switches, revealing the rest of the open floor plan. Above her the vaulted ceilings dramatized the log-cabin style. A wrought iron faux-candle chandelier designated the dining room space ahead of her. The table and chairs beneath it were crafted of gnarled wood and varnished with a glossy red mahogany stain.
    Just to the right of that the kitchen’s L-shaped island squared off the L-shaped counters against the wall. The stainless steel industrial-sized fridge/freezer opposed the end of the island. The apron sink on the long counter offered an easy back-and-forth with the stove in the island. On the far side of the island was a three-stool breakfast bar that overlooked the kitchen.
    Cori gaped at the bachelor pad. It looked like it had been taken straight from a design magazine. Drawn in by the warmth, she meandered to the fireplace that was already roaring.
    She stood in front of the billowing heat and closed her eyes. The orange flames lapped behind her eye lids, temporarily abating the concerns that were rolling around in her mind. Of which there were many.
    Behind her, Ethan was banging around in the kitchen, raiding the cupboards and fridge for food. She wasn’t surprised by that; he looked far too skinny to be healthy. She wondered how long he had been in his state of malnourishment. She had already speculated that the scars on his back and down his arms were most likely inflicted prior to his abduction.
    Eventually, the smell of food drew her back into reality. She was surprised to find Ethan just behind her. He knelt over the coffee table devouring cold chicken, ice cream, and chips without any regard for appropriate palate order. At one point, he even dipped his chicken into the ice cream. She smiled and sat back against one of the chairs to watch him.
    He