Page 58 of Defending Van

As far as they were aware, Asahi Watanabe lived here alone. While staff remained on site permanently, so they were available to cater to his every demand, they slept in a small dormitory-like building separate from the main house. Breakfast would be served at seven, according to what they’d been told as they were shown to their rooms, so there shouldn’t be any chefs or maids about at this hour, and the daily housecleaning wouldn't start until much later either.

So even though he wasn't expecting to find anyone, he had to act as though he could. Which meant moving with painstaking care as he left this wing and headed for the other side of the house. Van was pretty sure that Asahi Watanabe would place guests as far away from his private rooms as possible, so while he’d come back and check these ones if he had to, he wasn't going to start there.

Once he reached the other wing of the mansion, he began listening through doors, seeking any signs that someone was inside. What he’d do when he found Asahi Watanabe and Makayla, he wasn't sure yet, it depended on what the man was doing to her. It really was better for the case to leave here without alerting Asahi Watanabe that anything was wrong, but on the other hand, he was pretty sure he couldn’t stand by and watch the man abuse Makayla. Getting her out without letting Asahi Watanabe catch on to who he really was would also be difficult. But he’d promised not to leave her behind, and he wouldn't.

Empty room after empty room met him behind each door he opened, and he was starting to feel his panic rising. Makayla had to be here somewhere. Brain was hacked into the security system, so he’d know if anyone left the property. He’d been hoping that Asahi Watanabe would just return Makayla to the glass cage and leave it be for the night, wait until they left before punishing her for escaping.

Finally, after wasting way more time than he would have liked, he stood outside a door, and when he heard no sign of movement inside, cracked it open to find the room he’d been looking for. Three times or more the size of a normal bedroom, a large portion of the space was taken up by the glass cage his girl had woken up in.

Rage bubbled up dangerously inside him as he stalked toward it.

The bed behind him was empty, but there was a lump in the bed inside the cage. Had Asahi Watanabe put Makayla there and then left to do something else despite the early hour?

When he got closer, he saw it wasn't his girl in the bed. It was the woman she’d killed. The blood-soaked covers told him that the bed hadn't been touched since someone discovered that Makayla had killed the maid sent to feed her, then fled. The tray of food still sat on the small table inside the cage, and the blood hadn't been cleaned up. It still pooled on the floor where Makayla had killed the woman, then trailed over to the bed where she’d placed her.

Had Asahi Watanabe intended to leave it as it was so that he could put Makayla back in there and make her live alongside the body of the woman she’d stabbed to escape?

Not only was that sick and twisted, evil, but all Van could think about was how traumatic that would have been for his girl. Even though she knew she was just doing what she had to do to save herself, she’d felt guilt for what she’d done, and being forced to confront it in such a horrible way would have broken her in ways not much else could.

As furious as it made him, he couldn’t get distracted. Makayla wasn't in here, and neither was Asahi Watanabe, so where were they? Where had the man taken Makayla, and what was he planning to do to her?

Chapter

Twenty-One

September 2nd

4:44 A.M.

The gun never wavered as Asahi Watanabe pointed it at her as he talked on his phone.

As soon as he got off the phone, Makayla was going to make her move. She wanted to do it now, but she was afraid that if she did anything while there was a witness, that person would call someone else here, and she’d just have more people to deal with.

When she’d agreed to come back and provide the distraction the guys needed, the plan had been for her to endure whatever punishment the man had decided to inflict on her, while the guys searched for evidence. They weren't exactly sure how they’d get her out. They’d told her that it all depended on how things played out and what they found, but she trusted them to do it, and had steeled herself ready to endure whatever was coming.

But if Asahi Watanabe planned to kill her because he thought she was more trouble than she was worth, then that plan had changed. Letting the man torture her was one thing. Of course, she’d hate it, but she’d do anything within her power to help Azure get shut down, but she didn't want to die. Nor did she think Van or any of the others would expect her to just sit here and let him kill her.

Especially Van.

If she died, she was pretty sure it would destroy him.

Which sounded super egotistical of her, because they’d only known each other for such a short time, and it wasn't like they’d spent lots of nice time together getting to know one another. Given how they’d met and the things he’d done to her, she probably should hate him, but how could she hate him for doing despicable things for honorable reasons?

The man had changed right before her eyes. He was trying to fight through years of layers he’d placed between himself and his emotions. She didn't know why she was what made him want to change, but she was, and she didn't want him to hurt if anything happened to her.

So she stood where she was, doing her best to ignore the pain in her feet, kept her muscles tensed and ready, while trying to look like she wasn't preparing to pounce. While the others all had their comms units and could communicate with one another, they’d decided it was too risky to give her one too. Because of that, she had no way to let them know that Asahi Watanabe wasn't planning on hurting her, he was planning on killing her. Right here in the basement, while the men who were here to rescue her were upstairs.

Given how big the place was, screaming for them wouldn't work and would give away that she was prepared to fight to the death if necessary. Asahi Watanabe might know she was determined enough to escape, but she hoped he thought she was weak enough, exhausted enough, that she was all out of fight.

That would never happen.

If it came down to it, she would absolutely fight to the death.

Since he was speaking Japanese, she had no idea what the conversation was about, but from the tone of Asahi Watanabe’s voice and the expressions he made, she had to assume it was quite a heated conversation. It had been going on and on, and she was getting antsy. She wanted this to be over, wanted the guys to find their proof, get her out of here, and for all of them to be safe back home. The thought that one of them might be hurt, or worse killed, because of her, was a terrifying one.

Muttering what she was pretty sure was a curse, Asahi Watanabe finally lowered his phone from his ear and ended the call. For a brief second, he closed his eyes, letting out an annoyed huff, before setting the phone down on a wooden table.

Because he’d been on the phone for so long, she’d had plenty of time to look around and get the layout of the basement room he’d brought her to. It was kind of like what she’d expect a medieval torture chamber to look like. There was a large wooden table over in the corner and a wooden chair set off to the side. Both were stained with blood, and she assumed that Asahi Watanabe liked to strap his victims to them, knowing they weren't the first to sit there and bleed. There were tools hanging from a wall, pliers, hammers, saws, whips, canes, paddles, all lined up in a neat and tidy pattern like he’d taken a great deal of time making sure everything was just so.