Savage Chains: Scarred (#2) by Caris Roane Read Free Book Online Page A

past three mansions, and after a turn in the path as the river shifted to a southeasterly direction Engles’s home came into view.
    She stared up at an incredible mansion built several stories high of white stone, reaching almost to the top of the cavern. The pyramid effect had vines trailing off several balconies and trees growing everywhere.
    Reyes, how does anything grow in these underground caverns without sunlight?
    It’s simple, really. We make use of modern technology and massive grow lights that run on timers. A community like this would have specified daily periods in which the entire cavern is ablaze with manufactured light. We have a lot of engineers in our culture.
    It’s truly amazing.
    She began to believe that from what she’d seen this civilization could do just about anything.
    Another boat moved by, but Angelica didn’t bother looking. She knew what to expect, and no matter how beautiful the lights or the artistic design of the set, the exhibition of flesh and sex would once again disgust her.
    She walked beside Reyes in silence, working to sustain her submissive appearance. At the same time, a strange emotion vibrated through the blood-chain.
    Something was bothering Reyes.
    ###
    A chill chased down Reyes’s spine as he stared up at Engles’s massive riverside home. Though Reyes had never been to this part of the world before, he couldn’t shake a bizarre feeling of familiarity, though he had no basis for it.
    He thought the mansion a monstrosity, though he admired how the building actually molded itself to the shape of the cavern wall. The dwelling was the size of a small hotel, and he knew from gossip over the years that it boasted fifteen bedrooms, some of them equipped with smaller versions of his game room.
    Engles stood alone on a secondary platform, away from the river’s edge by thirty feet and guarded by a security detail. He held a tumbler in his hand, probably his favorite Dubonnet. A pair of female slaves, wearing nothing but chain chokers, stood nearby, heads bowed, bodies bruised. Engles represented the worst of his kind, depraved and self-involved, as though nothing else in the world should ever happen except what pleased him.
    Engles had an odd, owl-like look with large dark eyes and a hawkish nose. He combed his thick mass of wavy dark-brown hair away from his face, had a deep indentation in his chin, and possessed a level of charisma that made him appear better-looking than he really was. His head swiveled in Reyes’s direction, Engles smiled and waved his hand in acknowledgment but swiftly reverted his attention to the party below.
    His gaze scanned the crowd on the deck that ran at least forty yards along the riverfront. Engles seemed methodical in his search, as though cataloging who had attended his event and maybe deciding to award favors based on that attendance. He wore a sharkskin coat and black slacks, an open-collared black shirt.
    Reyes tightened his grip on Angelica.
Do you see Engles?
    Yes. He’s like a hawk, isn’t he, looking for prey?
    Reyes nodded.
And we just need to avoid his talons.
    Repressing a sigh, Reyes held the leash at shoulder level, another dominant position, as he guided Angelica toward the steps that led to the curved stone platform. He moved in Engles’s direction, intending to fulfill his obligation, when from the opposite side Engles’s security detail called to Engles, handing him a phone.
    Engles’s face turned scarlet with rage as he shouted into the cell.
    Reyes shifted direction, guiding Angelica toward the mansion.
I think we’ll leave him alone for now.
    Good idea. Besides, I was not looking forward to being anywhere near that man. There’s something not right about him. Personification of evil, maybe.
    I think that’s exactly right.
    But as Reyes led her up the walk to the house another chill traveled down his back.
    What is it?
Angelica asked.
Because I’m getting this strange vibe from you.
    Reyes felt confused.
I honestly