Reborn

Chapter Ten

The second time I saw Vince was when he was interrupting me and Shadow - again. Either he was doing it on purpose or he really did just enter at the most inopportune times but if he did it a third time, I wasn't going to be happy.

"Is Alec here?" Was all he said, not even commenting on the compromising position he had found me and Shadow. For a man that seemed to have plenty to say earlier, I'd have thought he'd have said something about the fact I was no longer wearing a top but he didn't seem bothered.

The second he had spoken, I pushed Shadow away and grabbed my top from the floor, quickly pulling it back on as he stood in front of me so Vince wouldn't get an eyeful. Then again, he'd probably already seen the red lace bra I was wearing so it seemed pointless but I appreciated it anyway.

"You're early." Shadow commented. "But no, Alec isn't here. He and Ric went hunting. Why?"

"Good." Vince nodded his head once, keeping his eyes on Shadow. "We need to move quickly."

"What's going on?" I glanced between the two cautiously.

"Where is Leah?" Shadow asked at the same time, his voice more forceful. "Please don't tell me she escaped."

"Actually, she's in the boot of my car." Vince spoke offhandedly. "She knew I had been to see you."

"You said she would be in the dark about this." Shadow practically growled, knowing he no longer had the element of surprise.

"I lied. " Vince grinned manically. "I tend to do that sometimes."

"She was going to find out eventually," I spoke up, glancing between the two of them. "She was bound to figure it out. She's not stupid."

"I beg to differ." Shadow responded, barely looking at me as he then started talking to Vince again, telling him to bring Leah to the room he had Rolan all those months ago. 

I, of course, tried to follow after them when Vince left, returning minutes later with Leah in his arms but Shadow told me it was best that I wait behind. According to him, there were some things that I just didn't need to see and this was one of them. What was so scary about them taking Leah to the room he tortured victims in, I wasn't so sure, especially when I already knew they'd have to leave the house entirely to get supplies that Vince deemed necessary. So it wasn't like they were going to torture her immediately and knowing that annoyed me because I knew why Shadow had planned this the way he had. 

He wanted Leah to fear him more than ever. 

I wanted to talk to her but for some reason, one I couldn't quite fathom out, Shadow refused to let me. That only led to me coming up with my own plan because I'd be damned if I let him dictate what I could and couldn't do. Just because he felt like Leah deserved to be tortured, didn't mean the rest of us did and I wanted her to know that. 

I had no choice but to wait until they'd left.

***

 Hoping that neither Shadow or Vince would come back and catch me in the act, I opened the only door I had never touched before. Up one flight of stairs, the second door on the right, it was a room I had never wanted to enter. I never wanted to set even one foot inside this particular room, afraid of what I'd find. This time was different; this time, pushed the fear aside and entered the room. 

Shutting the door behind me, I stopped short as I scanned my surroundings. I had been expecting a lot of things, from blood on the floor to various different tools of torture. Being an avid reader contributed to my overactive imagination but it could come in handy. 

What I hadn't been expecting, however, was to step into a library.

Maybe library wasn't the best word for it as there were three tables in the room, books stacked on top of one another. There must have been thousands of books around the room, some on the tables and others thrown carelessly to the floor but it definitely wasn't a room Shadow used to torture his victims. That much was obvious. Yet this was the room I had definitely seen Shadow and Vince bring Leah's unconscious body. There was no mistaking that this was the one they had entered so I knew that there must be some sort of hidden room somewhere.