Gravel crunched underfoot, and Bryson felt every vibration. He half expected the guards to converge on them at any moment.
“Do we just knock?” Kaydon asked, raising his voice against the hush.
Bryson lingered at the rear, shoulders tense, scanning the guards who stood motionless among the hedges. His throat was dry. Adria pulled out her phone, pausing in the act of typing as though waiting for a signal.
Then, without warning, the massive door swung inward on gilded hinges.
Eric stepped forward first and Adria followed, her face a mask of determination. Kaydon and Seth fell in behind her.
Bryson took one final breath, rolled his shoulders, and stepped across the threshold. The door swung shut behind him with a firm, decisive thud.
A large foyer opened up before them. Its floor a kaleidoscope of hand-painted tiles framed by veins of gold leaf. There were towering columns of marble, streaked with warm amber, supporting a ceiling where angels and tropic birds danced among swirling clouds.
The five of them stood in the empty expansive space for a few seconds before a voice boomed from a balcony above.
“Adria, seja bem-vinda. I’m so relieved you all arrived safely.”
A lean man with short, curly black hair spoke from the floor above. He descended the stairs to greet them with a dancer-like grace.
Bowing slightly, he said, “Xander, or as you know me, X.” Xander gave Adria a quick wink before extending his hand.
Adria took his hand in hers and shook.
Xander’s eyes were calm. “It has been a long time coming, us meeting. I’m sorry it came with such grave circumstances.”
Adria nodded. “I’m grateful that you are able to take us in.”
A gentle smile grew on his face. “Not just take you in, my dear. No. We have a plan to get you out of this mess.”
“We?” Eric and Kaydon asked in unison.
Xander turned to the rest of them, as if noticing them for the first time. His eyes took on an introspective quality and Bryson wondered what he wasn’t saying.
“Yes, we,” Xander said. “I assure you, the cloak-and-dagger routine will be done soon. But in the meantime, would you like to see your living arrangements?”
Xander led them through the labyrinth of opulence. Massive murals depicting lush jungle riverbanks and mythical creatures. Each room overflowed with tropical orchids in porcelain urns, their perfume mingling with the damp jungle air.
Bryson attempted to get a read on Xander. He wanted to decide if he trusted the man or not. But with every turn down a new corridor, Bryson felt himself twisting in a new direction. Instead of getting his footing, he found himself tumbling about, leaving him unsure of which way was up.
At the back of the estate was a set of massive French doors that opened and revealed a winding stone path. Xander led them through, jungle at their sides, before bringing them to what the average person would think of as a small mansion.
“We thought after your travels, you might want a little privacy,” Xander said, ushering them into their new private villa.
He showed Eric his suite on the ground floor, then led the rest of them upstairs.
Bryson halted on the landing, breath catching.
Anticipating the question, Xander gestured toward an entire wall of polished ebony floggers, soft leather restraints, and dark wooden paddles.
“Perhaps you miss certain—comforts of home,” Xander said.
Kaydon gave another soft whistle; Seth shifted on his feet. Adria’s voice trembled with surprise. “That’s...astonishingly generous.”
Xander’s eyes twinkled. “The wardrobe closet is stocked to all of your measurements. There’s a shower here; once you’resettled, I’ll have someone escort you to the meeting room to outline our next steps.”
With a graceful nod, he departed down the corridor, leaving them alone.
And leaving Bryson more confused than ever.
