“I called him out on his lies. And yes, I did want him dead, but that was only because he put me in that position. My heart was bleeding, and the intensity of my feelings blinded me to consequences.”
Knight didn’t want to discuss this with Fane. The bastard was lying through his teeth, and Knight would make sure to brief Elliot on why the story didn’t make any sense.
Elliot put his cheek against the wood as if Knight wasn’t even there to witness it. “I understand. Some people… just don’t deserve to live.”
Fane sighed loudly. “I could sense you were a kindred soul, my sweet. But with the beautiful Laurent… I hesitated for too long. I couldn’t bring myself to hurt the beauty that possessed my heart. And so I met my end, bled like a commoner, no matter how much I had offered him. He could have gotten anything from me, and yet he rejected it all. Even now, as my memory is slightly faded, I still remember his dark, lying eyes, and I cannot bring myself to hate him. I was looking for something to patch up the hole inside my heart. To feel again.”
Knight rolled his eyes, no longer able to hold his mouth shut. “All evidence points against you, no matter what you say. Why would this story be true if we know for a fact you murdered thirty people!”
Fane’s elegant accent was just as studied as it has been at the beginning of this conversation, as if despite his declarations, he didn’t experience true emotion. “I’m sure that after the findings made in the rooms further on, the world has judged me harshly, but—”
“What other rooms?” Knight asked, his mind going completely blank.
The silence made Knight’s thoughts pick up pace again and he looked around the naked corridor.
“Mr. Fane?” Elliot gently tapped the door and took off his gloves, as if wishing to be closer. “The world might have judged, but we won’t. We are searching for the truth behind the way your name has been blackened. We… do know bodies of victims have been found on the grounds of your property, but so much about you is a mystery, sir. Are there more secrets to still be discovered? We want the world to see you for who you were, sir.” Elliot stared at the door but his other hand frantically reached back and grabbed Knight’s.
It was so surprising Knight didn’t hesitate to squeeze back, and despite the anger he felt in the face of such blatant lies, he wanted to know the answer to those questions as much as Elliot did.
“Look, if we can present new evidence then maybe people would see you in a different light.”
Fane hummed. “I will only be hated more. No one understands that all I’ve done I’ve done in the name of love. I could not bear it when a man lied to me for the safety of my money. Two of such ungrateful scoundrels lie in the room to the left of me.”
Knight swallowed and glanced at the brick wall that would lie to Fane’s left, were he facing the door on the other side.
Shit.
Fuck.
Someone must had blocked the rest of the corridor. There were no traces of this cellar in the original blueprints, as it hadn’t been designed to be known of.
“H-how many rooms should there be in the cellar, Mr. Fane?”
“How about I show you around?” Fane said, and it sent a shiver down Knight’s spine. That fucker wanted out, and Knight wouldn’t have it.
“Should we…?” Elliot whispered, looking back at Knight, who violently shook his head. The last thing he needed was Fane somehow getting out of the cellar to haunt Laurent. Thank fuck no one ever came down here.
“You wait here. I’ll get the tools,” Knight said and bolted up the stairs.
Minutes later, out of breath from running down the long corridors, he arrived back in the cellar and instantly regretted not taking Elliot with him. Down here, in the dark, bitterly cold cellar, Elliot’s joyful laughter echoed all the way up the staircase that drowned in darkness so substantial Elliot must have decided against using his phone as flashlight.
Knight slowed down, hugging the hammer and chisel to his chest.
“Yes, Mr. Fane, I did enjoy the exhibition. You were—are a man of great taste,” Elliot said, making Knight nauseated with the sweetness in his voice.
“Well, if we agree on the matter, then we both aren’t willing to compromise on any less than perfection. I can already see, dear boy, that you and I would have been great friends. Or more, dare I say.”
Knight ran down the stairs, creating enough noise to make Elliot look back at him. Regardless of the cold, Knight dropped his jacket, and then the long-sleeve for good measure, presenting his chest in the white glow of the large flashlight he brought with him. He wanted to see how that cold, limp bastard Fane could compete with that!
Elliot’s gaze definitely settled on Knight, and he took his jacket off as well. “Knight, this is so exciting. What can I do? Is it even safe? Ah, fuck it. I don’t care if it’s safe.” He got close enough to stroke Knight’s stomach but looked back at the wall that they were about to slam their way through.
Knight leaned in to taste Elliot’s mouth. “No. Stay back. Don’t want something falling on you. I know what I’m doing.”
Elliot smiled at him widely and once more stroked Knight’s arm before stepping aside.
“What you will find might be confusing, or fraudulent even,” Fane said, making Knight roll his eyes and the stupid backtracking. “If the corridor was blocked after my death, anyone could have planted anything there. But the two bodies you should find there are proof that I do not take kindly to those who toy with my heart.”
“So you don’t deny being a murderous psycho,” hissed Knight, pushing Elliot away and approaching the wall. With the heat inside his head growing, he placed the chisel at the top of the wall and hammered it against the dry mortar. It went straight through. The wall was literally one layer of brick and no one in the building’s long history had considered making sure it had been there all along.
“Oh, shit, Elliot. Can you see this?”
Elliot was one step behind him, and in the shaky light they could clearly see that there was so much more to discover on the other side. After some more chipping at the brick, a new, stale smell from the inside hit them both.
Elliot’s hand was pleasantly cool on Knight’s shoulder. “This has to be one of the biggest breakthroughs in the whole Fane case since… forever. I mean, the exhumations were one thing, but this…”
“I’m so turned on right now,” whispered Knight, shocked himself that his body was so confused with this.
Fane groaned. “And you say it’s me who is flawed? I simply have peculiar taste when it comes to men.”
But for once Elliot’s attention was back on Knight. “This is so hot, right?” He was already reaching for Knight’s belt. “No one knows what ground-breaking shit we’re up to here. Me and you.”
Knight exhaled, blinking as he looked at Elliot in the faint glow. Dust or the stale odor coming from behind the wall meant nothing in the face of such temptation. And if Fane heard them, then it was for the better. Knight hoped the bastard could never again experience true pleasure.
“You and me,” he agreed, tossing away the tools and grabbing Elliot’s hips.
Elliot instantly leaned in for a kiss, and when he pressed his dick against Knight’s thigh it was obvious that he was just as turned on. His tongue was just as eager to explore Knight’s mouth as always, and when Elliot was so close, Knight could sense his heartbeat, so warm and alive in this dead man’s corridor.
Rolling Elliot against the wall, he rested his elbows on either side of his head and pressed their bodies closer, wishing for more warmth to be shared. His cock was so painfully hard he wanted to just push it into Elliot. Ride him hard and fast with Fane listening on without a chance to experience the same.
“Turn around.”
Elliot stole one more fervent kiss and followed the order, turning between Knight’s arms. He didn’t even need to be asked, and was quick to unzip his own pants, offering that gorgeous ass for the taking. Right here, in the place that would go down in his
tory as one of the biggest discoveries in connection to the case of Fane and Laurent Mercier. This time, Knight would take the credit for it.
“Animals,” Fane hissed from his tomb, and Knight was happy to hear Elliot giggle.
“You’ve seen Knight, sir. I’m unable to deny him anything.”
Knight ran his teeth over Elliot’s sensitive nape and licked the short black hair there even as he slammed his hips against Elliot’s ass and rubbed against him in languid, circular movements. His entire body was crawling with sensation, and Elliot’s scent, not touched by the caramel and cinnamon from the visit in town, was making his senses go crazy.
“That’s right. And you want my cock in you now, don’t you, my little slut?”
Elliot pressed his cheek against the wall and nodded quickly. “Fuck, I can’t get enough of you.” He spread his thighs as much as the pulled-down jeans allowed him to, so willing, and desperate for touch. Knight could bathe in the adoration that oozed off every pore in Elliot’s skin.
Knight loved to see him this way. To wake up in the morning and meet Elliot’s smile, to eat another freaky sandwich Elliot prepared for him before Knight had even woken up, only to then fuck Elliot raw for dessert.
Chewing on the excitement of it all, Knight spanked Elliot’s buttocks as he fumbled for a condom. He made a point of always having some on him, and he was glad the one he fished out was pre-lubricated. It wasn’t ideal, but Elliot was no virgin, and when he was this turned on, the sparse lubrication shouldn’t be that much of an issue.
“Go on, open your ass for me.”
Elliot glanced back, looking shy for half a second, but then reached to his buttocks and pulled them apart, showing off that pink, puckered hole already waiting to be stuffed full of cock. Elliot’s heavy panting told Knight all he needed to know and more.
“Oh fuck...” Desire speared its way through Knight’s chest, and he scooted down behind Elliot, burying his face in the curve of his spine, so close to that glorious hole. He rubbed Elliot’s thigh with one hand, only to remember that he couldn’t open the condom wrapper this way. The rubber was out before Knight’s cock was, and he kissed his way along the curve of Elliot’s buttock as he frantically pulled on the condom.
“Do me quick,” Elliot whispered, as if somehow embarrassed by the presence of a ghost when he didn’t mind fucking with other people around. “I love to feel you all over.”
Knight trapped Elliot against the wall, and he waited no longer. His cock pushed into that tight, willing body, and he moaned against Elliot’s fragrant, soft hair.
Elliot’s excited grunt was music to his ears. Knight could sense the way his lover shivered, how each of his movements pressed Elliot tighter against the wall. Elliot was just as horny as him, ready to get his rocks off in between talking to a ghost and wrecking walls. Knight would empty his balls into that pliant body, and even if it was a quickie, Elliot would be just as happy as he was when the sex lasted longer. The experience could have only been better if Knight could watch Elliot’s dark eyes turn liquid as he neared completion, but there would be more than enough time to indulge that need later.
They were so in tune Knight could hardly comprehend it. Even though all of his mental capacity was dedicated to his dick and the lithe, angular body in front of him, he still knew Elliot wouldn’t say he was tired after fucking, or that he’d rather do Knight later. Those lovely thighs always spread for Knight. He was always wanted.
Knight pressed in so hard he could feel his balls touch Elliot’s skin, and the pleading whimper almost made him come on the spot. And best yet, Elliot held his hands on his ass, spreading it for Knight’s enjoyment. The sight fueled Knight’s lust so intensely, he lost it and started ramming his cock in time after time, the cold of the cellar forgotten.
They found a rhythm. It was furious, hard, and yet so very delicious Knight’s thighs were trembling slightly every time he entered Elliot. The bony hips pushed back to meet his thrusts, and when he wanted a kiss, Elliot somehow sensed it every time and looked back to meet Knight’s lips. Orgasm shook Elliot before Knight had his chance to come, and Knight held him up while thrusting into him hard and fast, ultimately spending inside that tight ass, with his face buried in sweet-smelling hair.
Heat was only slowly draining out of their bodies when he threw the used condom at Fane’s door. “Let’s get back to work.”
The damn ghost was silent for once, and Knight wished to never hear the fucker flirt with Elliot again.
Elliot sported a sheepish smile as he pulled up his pants. “Yes, yes, I can’t wait. I just need a breather.”
Knight could never imagine his ex-girlfriend, Jordan, being up for a quickie in a stinky corridor, or excited to be demolishing walls instead of cuddling after a fuck. He’d been right to decide relationships weren’t for him at the moment.
Knight was only weakened for a few moments before energy returned to his body, and he took down the wall brick by brick, revealing the dark corridor on the other side. He went in as soon as the hole was big enough to accommodate his body.
Elliot followed right behind him, uncaring if he got dirty, or if there were spiders or rats inside. Knight now couldn’t believe that he’d actually once driven to Jordan’s in the middle of the night to kill a spider in her bathroom. What had he been thinking?
“This is insane…” Elliot whispered, exasperated as his flashlight illuminated a long corridor with several doors to its sides.
Knight’s hand closed around Elliot’s as they breathed in the damp air, standing in the swirling dust right in front of a closed door, which had deteriorated due to condensation. Knight pushed it back with his foot and stepped inside first.
“Be careful!” Elliot told him, but despite the dark interiors giving Knight the creeps, he wouldn’t show Elliot that—
“Motherfucker!” he yelped when the yellow light fell on a corpse in a black dress, it’s grin wide and not covered by any skin.
“What is it?” Elliot asked from outside.
“There’s a dead woman inside,” Knight said, squeezing his hand on the flashlight. But just as he wanted to accuse Fane of yet another murder, he recognized no signs of violence. She sat in a corner chair, which throughout the years had sagged to one side and leaned against the wall. Her dress was in almost perfect condition, and there was a book in her lap.
"What? Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Elliot barged in with more light.
Something small rushed along the wall with a squeak, but Knight couldn’t catch what it was. The whole room looked rather bare, with a chest by one wall and a few framed paintings covered by a layer of dust so thick it was difficult to discern at first glance what they depicted.
The cool glow licked items covered with thick cobweb, but when Knight walked in deeper and the door wasn’t blocking his view anymore, he stood still, for a moment not sure what he was seeing. His heart beat so fast it felt like he could barely breathe when he spotted two more human skulls. One sat on a huge barrel, with thick rope between the teeth. With the way it dipped slightly against the top, he realized the rest of the skeleton was likely inside the container.
The other skull faced him from between thick bars of a small cage no larger than the one Beast sometimes used for transporting Hound. It was accompanied by more bones, and when Knight stepped closer, he was struck by the remains of the man’s hand helplessly reaching beyond his confines.
“Sick bastard,” uttered Knight. It was one thing to know those things about Fane, but to see the raw evidence was quite another.
Elliot stood right beside Knight with one hand over his mouth, the other trembling, as was evident by the way the light shook. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This is so fucking real. Can’t believe this is happening. We can’t touch it. We’ve got to be methodical, take pictures. He didn’t know mercy, did he? You wouldn’t want to cross him.”
Knight swallowed and looked at Elliot, squeezing his hand. It was a miracle this boy was still alive considering the eagerness
with which he wished to enter a lion’s den. “He held men in cages. That’s hardly retaliation. That’s torture.”
“What was he even thinking? I can’t believe we can actually go ask him. Did he use different men for different purposes?” Elliot spoke fast and looked around, but his hand over Knight’s was sweaty. “I hate it and love it all at once.”
“What is there to love? This is your proof. He didn’t just commit crimes of passion. He liked it.”
In the glow of the flashlight Elliot’s eyes were wide and frantic as if he’d snorted some coke. “I love that we found this. There’s still so much to discover, and I just... I don’t know. I’ve always loved gruesome shit, and horror, and this is… I’m on the in now. I’m not just a viewer anymore.”
Knight swallowed, suddenly feeling a connection so intense he couldn’t remember ever experiencing it with anyone. He and Elliot had common goals. Common dreams. They could team up and unearth the secrets still left in the cold gut of Fane’s mansion.
There was just so much to learn. “I know. It’s... beautiful,” he said, glancing at a painting of a man being torn apart by four horses.
Chapter 16
Knight wasn’t much of a family man. In fact, he had almost no contact with most of his family and was much closer with his biker brothers and hangarounds, but with Christmas fast approaching and screaming at him from every yard he passed on his way back to Brecon, he was starting to get a little bit nostalgic. There was no real significance in the holiday for him, but he did like the mulled wine, the smell of evergreens, and even the dumb ritual of exchanging gifts. He’d probably get some lousy T-shirt from his mom again, but that was fine, because it was also one of the few days in the year when she was likely not to be drunk from the moment he entered his home.
Most of all, he was happy to be almost home. Not at his parents’ but at the clubhouse where he’d lived since he turned fifteen. There was freedom in being on the road, even if to deal with club business, but at this time of the year, with snow piled up on both sides of the road and the cold freezing off his dick, he was glad to finish his weeklong trip south.
My Dark Knight (gay biker romance) (Kings of Hell MC Book 2) Page 20