The Sheik’s Vow (The Billionaire’s Club #13)

Chapter 26

Kaia watched the horrible man as he shrugged, fondling the cane like it was his dick. He wasn’t a member of any church. He was a sadist who enjoyed hurting people. He was a monster!

But she had to remain calm. She was here for a reason. And she didn’t have much time.

“The money is safe.”

“If I asked for the money that my parents earned, the money you should have given them all those years ago after you stole their harvest, would you admit you still have it?’

The cane sliced through the air again, the wood shattering when it hit the table beside him. “The money is mine! I am in control here! Everything that is produced goes into my accounts for safekeeping.”

“So, you’ve stolen the money from everyone. And what about my land? Tara and I should have inherited our parents’ farmland and house. Who is farming that land now, Ethan? Who is living in our house?”

“You don’t own anything! I own all of it!” he raged.

Kaia knew that she had only a few more moments before this whole thing went sideways. “Every year, you take the corn, the wheat, the cows, and the hogs, bring it all to the markets and pocket the money. Admit it.” She gestured to the blood-covered table. He hadn’t even bothered to wash it off the table before he’d called for another victim. “You steal everyone’s produce, sell it off, and keep the money for yourself.”

“I have everything safely stored away,” he replied, calmly. “The money is protected. I don’t give everyone the money from the sales because they aren’t ready to have that much money.”

“You steal from them,” she hissed. “You had no intention of giving the money to anyone but yourself.”

Ethan didn’t catch her slip. Kaia had accidently used the past tense during that last accusation, but the man was too warped to hear anything but his own justifications for his perversions.

“I control the financial and spiritual resources of our community,” he replied. The cane sliced down onto the table once more, but this one didn’t break. “Are you going to take your punishment like a good girl? Or do I call Diane down here to take it for you?”

Kaia stared at the table, then back at Ethan. “Are you threatening to beat me?”

“Of course, my dear. You escaped from my care fourteen years ago. Then you helped your sister escape from her husband’s marriage bed.”

“She was twelve years old!” Kaia yelled, furious at the reminder.

“She was a woman in the eyes of the church.”

“She was a child in the eyes of the law, Ethan! You sold Tara to Elijah. You sold my sister for the price of a house and farmland!”

Ethan sighed heavily, acting like he was speaking to a stupid child. “He took control of the farmland after marriage to Tara. She bequeathed the land to her husband through her marriage vows.”

“Tara was too young to bequeath anything, you freak,” she snapped, disgusted by this farce. “You were going to allow Elijah to rape my sister. ”

Ethan shook his head, but his eyes were igniting with anger. “You don’t understand the ways of our church. We are faithful to the word of our lord. You must accept your punishment, then you will be admitted back into our fold as a full member. You will enjoy all of the privileges, although we cannot allow you to marry. You’ve left the protection of our community, and are therefore no longer worthy of marriage.”

“You’re sick, Ethan. Completely twisted!”

The man just chuckled, but his smile quickly disappeared. His eyes turned hard a split second before Ethan smacked the cane down on the table. “Take your punishment!” he bellowed.

“It will be a cold day in hell when I give in to you, Ethan.” Then Kaia stepped back, through the still-open doorway.

Ethan had just opened his mouth, but before he could speak, police officers poured in from the stairway and the basement door. Within moments, there were twenty SWAT team members with big, menacing rifles pointed at Ethan. They were yelling and ordering him down on the ground. Ethan was confused for a long moment, but then he dropped to the ground, his hands pulled mercilessly behind his back and plastic cuffs were attached. But Kaia didn’t see any of it. As the police officers swooped in, Riaz and a group of his bodyguards surrounded Kaia. Riaz lifted her into his arms and carried her from the cellar room.

Riaz didn’t stop until he had her a safe distance away, then he pressed her back against the rough bark of a tree, holding her there with his hips between her legs and his arms crushing her to his chest. “Never again, love! Never will I let you do anything so dangerous ever again!”

Kaia wrapped her arms around his neck just as tightly, holding him close. “I won’t ever put myself in that kind of danger again,” she promised. “The only way I managed to go in there was because I knew you were right outside.” She pulled back, looking into his eyes. “The only way I had the courage to do that was because I knew that you would never let anything happen to me.” And then she kissed him deeply, sealing her promise.

They remained like that for a long time until the noise of Ethan’s protests interrupted them.

“You can’t invade the private sanctuary of a religious building!” Ethan bellowed. “You are all going to prison for violating my constitutional right to practice my faith!”

Kaia looked over Riaz’s shoulder at the insane man. “What’s going to happen to the rest of the community members?” she asked.

“I’ll hire therapists to help deprogram them,” he promised. “From what you told me, every member of this church is going to need intense therapy to work through the brainwashing.”

She sighed, adoring this man even more. “The state should cover the cost of therapy,” she suggested. “I spoke to several law enforcement personnel, who told me that they’d looked into my claims. They came back, claiming that Ethan wasn’t doing anything wrong. They all claimed that the village was just a religious group and they had the right to practice their faith the way they wanted.” She bit her lip, still holding Riaz. “I bet he bought them off.”

“We’ll go through everything. We’ll dig into everyone’s finances to find out who he bribed, love. He has an office and several homes outside of Todras. If there is evidence of anything, I’ll make sure that everyone involved is punished severely.”

Kaia beamed at him, warmth heating her up. “Thank you,” she told him. “I love you. I love you so much!”

“I love you too,” he replied back. “And as soon as we get back to my country, I’m going to drape you in diamonds and make love to you until you can’t speak.”

She laughed, hugging him again. “That sounds delightful!”