Kept (Bound Book 1)

by Leona Keyoko Pink

  'Something had happened', thought Autumn as she was rushed back to the tower. When they arrived she was pulled from the car. Cage hadn’t even waited for her to be brought to the elevators as he took her in his arms. He quickly checked every inch of her before lifting her up. Without a word he carried her to the elevators. She didn’t know if he spoke then. She didn’t know if he said anything as she began to say Penna’s name over and over again.

  When Cage got Autumn to his office, he set her down on his couch. He attempted to speak to her but she didn’t respond to him, only saying Penna’s name. After a few seconds he slapped her and her eyes finally focused on him. He grasped her arms and shook her as he yelled at her. “Tell me what happened! What were you doing? Were you trying to run away?! Damn it, Autumn! WHAT HAPPENED?!”

  He looked vicious and cruel in that moment as Autumn whimpered and cried. She mumbled, telling him about the dog on the tracks, and how she'd had to do something. She’d rushed off without thinking and Penna had followed. She'd saved the dog, but a train had separated her and Penna from the others. A van had pulled up. Then Autumn went quiet. She went to pet the dog in her arms, wanting to hold it close to her, but she realized it was gone. Panicking, Autumn looked around. “Where is it? Where is the dog? Where is he?”

  Cage watched her frantically begin to search for it. He sighed, brushing some hair from her face. She yanked back from him, disoriented as her mind raced, searching for the dog. Cage got up and went to his desk. He pulled out a needle as Autumn searched the room thinking she’d find it. Without warning Cage grabbed Autumn’s arm. He yanked her to him and gave her the shot.

  Autumn looked at him, confused, before she passed out. He lifted her up and held her tightly for several moments. Lane entered the room. “I just heard. Is everything okay?”

  “YES!" yelled Cage. He stood up, throwing Autumn over his shoulder. He began to walk with her, leaving the room. Lane and Fredric followed him as he barked out orders. “I want answers. Find out how her bodyguards let this happen! Find out who those men were and what they wanted. I want video from every camera in the area. And bring me that damn dog!”

  “Dog?” questioned Lane.

  Fredric just nodded as Cage went into Autumn's room. He slammed the door behind him, leaving both Fredric and Lane outside. They looked at each other for a moment. Then Fredric took his place guarding the door and Lane went off to do what Cage had asked.

  In Autumn’s room, Cage undressed her. He washed Penna’s blood off of her face, chest, and hands, before putting her in a nightgown. Gently he placed her into bed, tucking her in softly. He drew the curtains in the room before turning off the light. He pulled up a chair close to the bed and watched her as she slept.

  Autumn slept for several days. Everything was a blur to her. She’d wake up every so often, feeling sick and shaky as she remembered what had happened. She’d burst into tears and someone, Cage, would pull her close to him. He’d comfort her and soothe her back to sleep. Every time she woke up he was there. He was always there.

  He’d hold her in his arms as she shook and he’d let her cry as long as she needed, kissing her softly. He’d say, “It’s alright, Autumn. You’re alright.”

  Sometimes she would wake up and he would be humming a lullaby to her, his eyes haunted with his own past. When he noticed she was awake he would stop humming. He’d smile to her gently and she just knew he understood how she felt. Somehow she just knew he’d felt this same pain before.

  Searching his eyes she saw a softness she’d never noticed before. She drew comfort from the knowledge that he had somehow made it through this pain, because it meant she could too. She smiled back at him and slowly let herself drift off to sleep as he began to hum once more.

  **********

  Three days later a heavy rain began to fall. Downtown, people darted in and out of the buildings as they attempted to avoid getting wet. Some people ran into the Haziknown bank as it stood proud and tall in the downtown district. It was a fixture. A permanent part of the landscape. It had always been there, and most people expected it always would be.

  It had the kind of presence that you only saw in old school architecture. Heavy marble-wrapped pillars held up the entryway. Carefully crafted sculptures and historic icons decorated the exposed surfaces. There were ageless gargoyles that looked forever down on passersby.

  Even the original heavy wooden doors, themselves unnecessarily large and cumbersome, were a marvel to look upon. When you stepped through those doors, you knew you were someone. You had a purpose to your life. The sort of certainty that only grand old buildings can impress on you.

  The carpet was a mottled red, worn, but kept as an affectation of history. Changes to the décor were not made casually. Thousands upon thousands of footsteps had trod across this carpet. Fortunes made and lost. Panicked withdrawals as markets collapsed. Then more reluctant footsteps. People fearing, perhaps, to be reminded of the state of their accounts. Or, perhaps, reluctant to drain them further.

  The original owners of this bank had done well for a time, then poorly, and then well again. Eventually they decided to sell it off, as time and new regulations in the banking industry cooled their passion for the work. The new owners, wise to more modern ways, made small changes. Security cameras. Upgraded alarm and vault systems. Eventually, computers.

  But they were less risk averse, more prone to taking chances. And they took a big one, gambled for the fortune of their lives. And lost. Markers were called in. Debts were called due. And, unable to pay, the bank fell from their hands and into a new set of hands. These hands were young. Strong. Masculine. These hands had a use for the bank. These hands knew what to do. And if these hands came covered in blood, well, there was no one left who could say otherwise.

  If anything, the building only gained greater presence under the care of these hands. More wealth than ever before flowed through its accounts. The authority and power contained within the building grew to heights never before dreamed of by any of the previous owners. And though fewer feet walked through those polished oaken doors, more transactions than ever before flicked through the bank's electronic systems. And if not all the transactions would have survived close scrutiny, well, that was the point in owning a bank.

  Would the bank itself have cared that its old institutional legacy was being used to launder money and to pay for illicit services? Who knows. It was, after all, just a building. And a building is only useful when people are putting it to use.

  Today as the rain fell, several people were putting this particular bank to use at the same time. One teller at this bank became uneasily aware of how busy it was becoming. She was used to more people coming in and out on rainy days, but today the amount of people was especially high.

  She whispered something quietly to the manager. A minute later, the surprisingly fit and dangerous-looking security guards became more alert. A careful listener might have heard a quiet noise coming from the barely-noticeable earpiece that each guard wore. Unfortunately for the guards, by that time it was already too late.

  As the old bank clock rang out the hour, several silenced pistols, drawn quietly from purses and jackets, joined in with the tolling of the bell. In less than a minute, the bottom floor had been cleared. The doors were locked. In the floors above, specialists and analysts kept careful watch over the accounts this bank deemed important. They had no chance, or opportunity, to notice the bloodbath below. Even if they had seen the slaughter, the only way out was down, right into the arms of the attackers.

  Not that it mattered. Minutes later an explosion went off, killing everyone inside. A secondary explosion, perhaps from the building's water heater, fired a moment later, changing the direction of the collapsing building. In its death throes, this old bank struck out at the world angrily. The shifted rubble caused the collapse of an adjacent office building, killing many of the workers and trapping others underneath tons of twisted stone and metal.

  Fragments of the building rain
ed down on the city streets, blocking intersections and crushing people. For one unfortunate group of tourists, a huge slab of gargoyles and inscribed stone would be the last thing they ever saw. The death rattle of the old bank would end up taking hundreds of lives. Some people think that buildings absorb the essence of those that most frequently trod their halls. Given the owner of this bank then, it is no wonder that the old bank refused to go down alone. Or that it took so many with it, to the grave.

  **********

  Across the city a funeral was being held. A funeral Autumn had never wanted to attend. Penna was supposed to have been buried days ago, but now it had been more than a week since her death. More than a week since she had given her life to save Autumn’s. Cage had held off Penna’s funeral until Autumn had been coherent enough to understand what was happening.

  When she learned they were waiting on her, that her friend was waiting to be laid to rest, she pulled herself together. There was no sermon, or ceremony. Only a grey coffin that was brought to the graveyard. From the car Autumn watched as it was lowered into a hole. When the coffin was finished being buried she was allowed to approach it.

  Autumn stared blankly at the freshly laid dirt that was slowly turning into mud. She was heartbroken and wanted to cry, but she had cried so much over the last week that her tears were hard to come. Autumn didn’t know if she could cry anymore. As if the rain knew, it fell on her cheek, creating false tears.

  There were others there too, but they were the normal bodyguards that watched Cage and Autumn whenever they went out. They stood alert several feet away with their hands behind their backs. Autumn wondered why others weren’t here. She wondered why no one else seemed to be paying their respects.

  For several minutes Autumn just stood in the rain, staring at her friend's grave. There was so much she wanted to say to her. So much she wished she could say to her. But she was gone. Because of Autumn, she was gone. She closed her eyes after a bit and said, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Penna. I should have listened to you. I shouldn’t have run away like that. When I saw the dog I just wasn’t thinking. I didn’t know this…would happen. If I could do anything, if I could change anything, I would. I would gladly give my life if you could have yours. Please know I’m sorry, and that I will miss you every day. I’m grateful I knew you. I’m grateful you were here. Thank you for saving my life. And I’m so, so, sorry.”

  Autumn could say she was sorry a million times over but she knew it wouldn’t bring Penna back. She opened her eyes and looked at Penna’s tombstone. It was empty. Autumn assumed it would be engraved later. Slowly she bent down and gently placed several violet daisies from her garden on top of the grave. All of it felt like a nightmare, but she knew it was real. She knew all of this was happening and there was nothing she could do, like so many other things in her life.

  When Autumn rose back up again, Cage appeared seemingly out of nowhere with an umbrella. He stood next to her and covered her from the rain so she wouldn’t get wetter. Autumn vaguely looked at him as she asked, “Why aren’t there more people here? I know others in the organization cared for her. Why aren’t they here now, paying their respects?”

  Cage was silent for several moments and all Autumn could hear was the rain on the umbrella. She stared at Penna's gravestone, waiting for him to answer her. With a sigh he said, “The reason there aren’t more people here, the reason people won't pay their respects publicly, is because Penna is a dishonor to the family. She failed to keep you out of harm's way. It was her duty to see to it that you didn’t get into trouble. She was a disgrace to her post.”

  Autumn was nearly speechless. She didn’t understand how he could say such cruel things. “ A disgrace? A disgrace! She saved my life!”

  Cage looked at Autumn and said, “This is the way of my world, Autumn. We have rules and laws for a reason. The fact that she saved your life and you are alive now is the only reason she gets a burial at all.”

  “What will be put on her tombstone?”

  “Nothing. It will remain unmarked as a sign of her shame, for now at least.”

  “You can’t do that! What about her family? How will they find her? What about her brother, Byron? Did anyone tell him?”

  “He was informed, along with his duty.” said Cage. He looked over to some men in the distance. “The young man over there in the middle is him. He’ll come pay his respects once we're gone.”

  Autumn turned to look at the men. She focused on the one in the middle. She knew what Byron looked like, but it was hard to tell it was him. He was dressed in the same black suits the guards wore, along with black shades. “Why is he dressed like one of the bodyguards?”

  “Because he is one. He’ll be picking up where Penna has left off.”

  “You can’t…you can’t do that!” shouted Autumn, turning back to Cage. “Penna sacrificed everything for him! Isn’t their family debt paid off? Surely if you can pay his student loan, you can forgive his family debt! There can’t be that much left.”

  “Not all debts are money, Autumn. Some are blood. Some are bodies. As long as that family lives on, one member must serve the Zisgani. And he has a reason to serve, as well. If he serves well, and honorably, in time he'll be allowed to have Penna's headstone engraved. He is the only one now who can earn that honor back for Penna.”

  Autumn looked to Byron, standing with the other guards. He kept his head up and his hands behind his back. At his own sister’s funeral, he was forced to serve the Zisgani and obey their rules. He should have been the first person to pay his respects to Penna, yet he had to wait for Autumn to finish.

  She wouldn’t make him wait any longer. Autumn turned and walked back to the limo. Her mind raced with pain and anguish. Penna had done so much for the Zisgani and here she was being disrespected. Penna had given her life serving them. She had done everything in her power to keep her brother from them. But in the end none of it had mattered.

  Before they reached the limo, Autumn turned and attacked Cage. He was only a few steps behind her. She beat him as hard as she could while she screamed, “I hate your rules! I hate them!”

  The guards reacted quickly, stepping up to pull her away, but Cage waved them off. He let Autumn hit him a few more times before he dropped the umbrella and took hold of her. He drew her into his arms and held her tightly. She thrashed and screamed, fighting him, but he just kept squeezing her tighter until she stopped. She caved into his embrace, finding her tears once more. She wept in his arms as he whispered in to her ear, “I’m sorry you lost your friend.”

  Several minutes passed at Cage held Autumn in the rain. He soothed her, rubbing his arms up and down her back, and kissed her on top of the head. When he felt she was getting cold he motioned to Fredric to open the door. He stepped up and opened it. Carefully Cage turned Autumn to get into the car. She climbed in, sobbing and soaking wet. When she was seated she found she was not alone. The dog she had seen on the tracks was there.

  He’d been cleaned and cared for. She almost couldn’t recognize him with his hair cut. He came over to her, wagging his tail, with a bow around his neck. When Cage got into the car she looked at him and then to the dog. It went to pay him attention but he raised his hand and it cowered back towards Autumn, sitting on her lap. It began to lick itself and Autumn looked at Cage again, wondering what it was doing here.

  Fredric shut the door and Cage grabbed a towel. He handed it to Autumn and she slowly began to dry herself off as he said, “There was a broken zip tie on his collar. The other half was found attached to the tracks. He was a deliberate trap, set for you. You risked your life for this mutt. In turn he’ll be a reminder of why you should obey the rules. Maybe next time you’ll do as you're told.”

  Autumn looked at the dog. Someone had been willing to let him die in order to get to her. If she hadn't saved him, if she'd obeyed the rules, he'd be dead now. But Penna would be alive. He was a hard reminder to her and she didn’t know if she could love him even as he licked her hand, wa
nting her to touch him. She wished there was something she could do, something she could change. Autumn wiped her tears as she said, “I wish things were different.”

  “Don’t we all.” said Cage quietly. He looked saddened for a moment, the hard shell he often wore seemed to crack.

  Fredric started the limo and they slowly pulled out of the cemetery. As they left, Autumn looked out the window. She watched Byron slowly approach his sister's grave. She wished she could somehow make up for what she had done. Cage slowly reached over, running his hand over hers. He gently squeezed it and she looked at him. For the first time his touch felt warm.

  Chapter Eight

  It took Autumn three days to name the dog. After she came home from the funeral she still wasn’t sure if she could love it. She brought it into her room and let it go to see what it would do. The first thing it did was pee on the floor. Then it attempted to run into the window that took up one of the walls of Autumn's rooms. She thought it was cute, even a little funny, but it was hard to care for the dog. Everything just felt so bittersweet. Every time she looked at the dog she couldn’t help but think it was part of the reason Penna wasn't here. She knew she shouldn’t blame it, but if it hadn’t been on the train tracks that day, if it hadn't been tied to the tracks, Penna might still be alive.

  A few hours after she had settled in her room some bodyguards dropped off some things for the dog. A bed, some toys and food. Autumn spent most of the day in her room finding places for it all. When she wasn’t moving stuff around she was in her bed mourning her friend. Whenever she was on the bed the dog would bark, wanting to get up on it. He was too tiny to jump and would bark until she let him up.