Free Reaper: A raven paranormal romance (Crookshollow ravens Book 2) by Steffanie Holmes Page B

down a set of stone steps, into a narrow, dimly lit corridor. After the opulence of the upper levels, this cold, undecorated space filled me with dread. Was he taking me down here to dispose of me? I searched around me for a weapon, but there was nothing.
    “After you,” Victor held a large wooden door open for me. Heart pounding. I stepped into the room.
    I was standing in a kitchen, probably the largest kitchen I’d ever been in. It looked like something from a fantasy film, with three large open fireplaces along one wall, and shelves of enormous iron pots and pans along the other. One of the fires had been lit, and a pot of something delicious-smelling bubbled over the flames. Those flames – and the single window high in the wall – offered the only source of light. Two long wooden tables ran along the centre of the room, each one laden with jars or preserves and spices and baskets of produce. The large, industrial freezer humming in the far corner was the only clue that this room existed in a modern household.
    A man stood behind the counter in the middle of the room, furiously cutting mushrooms, which he tossed into a large pot. Beside his elbow he’d set down a glass of red wine. As he finished chopping one stalk with shaking fingers, he leaned over and gulped a mouthful of wine, then broke off the next stalk.
    “Tony, I’ve got someone who wants to meet you.” Victor called into the dim room.
    The man jumped at the sound of Victor’s voice, hitting his head on the utensil rack above his head and causing a stack of pans to cascade down onto his head. Rubbing his temple, he whirled around to face us. As he did, his elbow knocked over the glass, and it smashed against the stone floor.
    “Shit!” he cried out, dropping to his knees and trying to sop up the wine with the corner of his chef’s jacket.
    “Never mind that,” Victor snapped. “There’s plenty more where that came from. Now stand up. I’d like you to meet Belinda.”
    Tony looked up then, and his eyes met mine. He was a young guy, about my age – probably a bit younger. He had close-cropped blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, and some strange scarring on his cheek and down the side of his neck. He flashed me a brilliant smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back. If it weren’t for the scars, he’d be quite an attractive man. I was relieved to find Victor hadn’t been taking me to some kind of torture chamber.
    “This is Tony.” Victor said. “He’s going to be our new chef. He’s fresh out of school, so he’s a little green. I thought if you wanted something to do during the day instead of sitting in your quarters, you could show him a thing or two.”
    “Um, hi,” I said, uncertain. I glanced from Tony to Victor, not sure what to make of the situation. Victor was holding me prisoner, and now he wanted me to work in his kitchen?
    “Hi,” Tony said. “Look, I don’t need an assistant—”
    “Nonsense.” He shoved me towards Tony. “Belinda is an exceptional pastry chef. I’m sure you two will get on just fine. Belinda, I shall return for you in a couple of hours, and you can join me for a walk in the garden.”
    “Delightful,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. If Victor picked up on it, he didn’t acknowledge it. He backed out of the room with a slight nod of his head, leaving me alone with Tony.
    “So,” Tony stood up, brushing off his clothes. “You a prisoner here, too, huh?”
    I nodded. “My boyf— I mean, someone I’m close to neglected to fulfil an order from Victor, and he wishes to punish him by keeping me here until he kills an evil vampire. What about you?”
    Tony found a brush and shovel in the corner, and swept up the glass. I noticed his hand shaking again as he took the glass over to the rubbish bin. “I owe Victor money. A ton of money. He won’t let me leave until I work off my debt.”
    “This is ridiculous. It’s like something out of a bad thriller film.” I moved around to the