“Do not try and find us.”
“Spooky.” Emily grinned. “I love it. How do you think they got the projectors working?”
“All remains a mystery still. No one knows what electricity source they used.” Simon took us deeper into the darkness. “In 2015, Airbnb united with the city and offered an opportunity for people to stay in the Catacombs overnight.”
That thought made me shudder in disgust. While a few hours exploring would be fine, I was not the type of man who could sleep within a tomb of bones overnight.
But Emily asked, with glee, “Wow. How much did it cost?”
“$350,000.”
She laughed. “For one night?”
He nodded. “One night.”
It’s in the budget, but don’t get any ideas, mysh. I won’t be fucking you by bones this evening. We’ll be surrounded by the best of things.
“This is the ossuary.” Simon pointed to an inscription above the doorway.
“What does it say?” Emily asked.
The man raised his voice and held his hands up in the air. “Stop! This is the empire of death!”
My guards edged back.
Relax. If my mouse isn’t scared, then you all try not to piss on yourselves.
We stepped inside. To my shock, my guards remained outside. I let them have that, knowing none of our enemies would be waiting down here among the decaying corpses.
I scanned the place. Dusty bones were stacked on top of each other in groups. Others were neatly piled along the corridors. Many bones and skulls were arranged in patterns, creating crosses and sacred images.
Simon pointed to the wall. “At first, workers would just pile the old bones and skulls in here. Then they got creative.”
One of my guards peeked in, wiping sweat off his face.
I glanced behind me. The other two still hadn’t entered the ossuary. Meanwhile, Emily strolled around like she was at an art gallery.
“The workers began arranging the old bones into shapes and decorations. Maybe they went crazy. Being down here every day could mess with your mind.” Simon pointed to one pattern. “You see that?”
“Yes,” Emily said.
“What do you think that is?”
“A heart.” Emily smiled.
My sweaty guard left.
Emily hurried to the other side. “Oh and that’s a cross.”
Surely to my guards’ dismay, Simon took us further down. “This is one of the most iconic displays here. It’s called the Barrel.”
I walked up to the monstrosity and studied it.
The Barrel was a large, circular pillar surrounded by skulls and tibiae, shooting outward and up to touch the ceiling.
“It’s a little morbid,” Simon said. “But I’m told it serves as a traditional support beam.”
We continued the tour, although my men remained very far behind us, gripping their guns. I didn’t know when they’d pulled them out, but they all kept weapons at their sides. By the time we left, Emily had even more questions. My men hurried out. One gasped a little but made sure not to do so too loudly. Mr. Sweaty’s suit was drenched.
“This was insane, Kaz. I loved this.”
“Good.” I took my phone out. “Stand over there.”
Emily laughed. “The lion takes good pictures?”
“So good that no one would dare to complain about them.”
“That’s pretty damn good.” She did a silly pose as I snapped, and then she got Mr. Sweaty’s attention. “Can you take one of Kazimir and me?”
“O-of course.” His fingers shook as he wiped more sweat off his forehead and took the phone.
After several snaps, I turned to her. “Are you hungry?”
“Definitely. That was a blast, but it tired me out.” She glanced at my guards. “And I think your men need a break from the tunnels.”
“Then, let’s go somewhere amazing to eat.”
She squeezed my hand. “Thank you, Kazimir. This date was incredible.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
“I did. Now it’s my turn tomorrow.”
I paused. “What do you mean, it’s your turn?”
“I’m going to surprise you with a date.”
My body tensed as we made it to the limo.
“Really, Kaz? Don’t look so worried.”
“I’m just used to being in control.”
“Well, then good. Tomorrow, you sit back and relax while I take the reins.”
“Hmmm.” I patted her ass as she got into the limo. “This might be fun.”
Chapter 14
Emily
The next morning, I quietly woke up hours early, before Kazimir. To my surprise, Pavel had arrived at our suite with a few men. He limped a little and refused to use the cane he’d come with. Each time his guard handed it to him, he cursed them out. Apparently, Misha had shot him out of annoyance. That was the most Pavel had muttered to me as he tossed his head over his shoulder and refused to offer any more information.
I didn’t know him well, but I took a chance and told him my plan. Thankfully, he jumped right on board with helping me surprise Kazimir.
“He needs something to do.” Pavel limped by my side as we headed to the kitchen. “This will be a good idea. It’ll give him something to let all the aggression out.”