Keira had had the same reaction when she’d first seen the only bedroom in the cabin.
Carved out of the hill, the walls were pure, white limestone. Though there were no windows in the cave, the paintings on the walls were full of rich and vibrant colors, depicting brilliant flowers on the ground, climbing trellises and vines wrapped around brace beams. Bright, happy paintings, hung to distract the persons living in such a place from the loneliness sure to accompany living in such an isolated location.
A king-sized bed with an ebony-stained headboard took center stage on the back wall—a stark contrast to the white limestone. A lush, mink-brown fleece blanket covered the bed, and ebony nightstands graced either side. Black satin sheets and pillowcases gave the bed and the room a luxurious ambiance, in contrast to the cabin-in-the-woods vibe of the front living room.
“Did you purchase the cabin fully furnished?” he asked.
She nodded. “The only things I’ve added are the perishables and canned goods. The furniture was part of the deal. I didn’t have time to go shopping, nor did I want to have someone deliver items to this location. The guy I bought the place from didn’t want to move everything. It was a win-win for us both.” She looked around the room. “I like it well enough, and it serves a purpose.”
“It gives you a place to go where no one will find you.” Rogue nodded.
“That was the idea.”
“How long have you had it?”
“Three years,” she said softly.
“Onyx knows nothing about the cabin?”
“Not that I can tell. No one has challenged me about it.”
“How does it work to be a part of Onyx?” he asked. “Do you all live in the same place, or are you spread out over the state or county?”
“For the most part, we live on a compound in South Texas. Some of the more senior girls have their own apartments in cities like San Antonio, Austin and Dallas. I have an apartment in San Antonio. Even so, we all have to show our faces at the compound at least once a month to prove we’re still an asset.”
Rogue cocked an eyebrow. “And if you don’t?”
“They come looking for you. You see, once you’re Onyx, there’s no going back. If you’re not an asset, you’re a liability.”
“And what?”
She shrugged. “Either you’re reassimilated or eliminated.”
“Wow.” Rogue shook his head. “Did you know anyone who couldn’t be reassimilated?”
Keira looked away. “Yes. One day, they brought her back. The next, she was gone. No explanation. We weren’t allowed to ask.”
“Are you sure she didn’t escape?”
She shook her head. “The compound is inescapable. Once inside, you don’t leave unless they let you.”
“Or they carry you out?”
Again, she shook her head. “They don’t let you leave if your allegiance is compromised.”
“They bury the evidence.” Rogue’s mouth formed a thin line.
Keira had witnessed one of the older girls arguing with Viktor a year before. He’d backhanded her, sending her flying across the ground. She’d come up fighting, like he’d taught her. Only he knew all her moves. When he had her pinned to the ground, his knee on her neck, he’d demanded, Are you Onyx?
She’d replied, barely getting enough air past her vocal cords to whisper, Fuck you.
Viktor had led her away.
Keira had never seen the girl again.
Rogue touched her arm. “Hey.” He brushed a strand of her dark hair back, tucking it behind her ear. “We’re going to be all right.”
The spark of electricity snapped her back to the present, where she stood in a bedroom with the stranger who’d saved her life. A man she found herself attracted to, something she’d thought impossible after all she’d been through in her young life.
