Carnal

Chapter Seventeen - Trustworthy

"Cain, stop! What are you doing?"

I frantically followed Cain down the hallway as he pulled my nearly unconscious brother behind him by the collar of his shirt.

Zak's bruised and bloodied face was a gruesome sight but seeing him dragged along like a suitcase was even more terrifying.

"Cain, he's hurt! Would you let go of him? Where are you taking him?"

Hearing my rapid-fire questions, Cain stopped walking and turned around before letting go of Zak's shirt collar and letting him slump to the ground.

I gasped as Zak's head hit the marble floor, the sound echoing off the walls of the long, empty hallway.

Before I could sink to my knees to help him, Cain came to stand in between Zak and I.

I looked up at him with a bewildered expression.

"What on God's green earth are you doing?" I asked.

"He's not allowed to be here and he knows it," Cain said sternly.

"What-"

Before I could finish my next question, Cain interrupted me.

"The skill with which he snuck into this castle suggests that he's been professionally trained to do so, which raises lots of questions that his willingness to fight didn't answer positively."

I peered around Cain to see Zak's disorientated expression as he stared up at the ceiling, his chest slowly rising and falling with every shallow breath.

He did say he was in special ops.

"Can we please just take him to the doctor?" I asked Cain. "He's in no condition to fight with you anymore and he's probably in worse shape than I was whenever I got my concussion. He needs to be seen by a doctor."

Cain made no effort to suggest that he wanted to get Zak the medical attention he needed.

"He's my brother!" I said after a few moments of silence. "You can't just expect me to not get him help."

Cain crossed his arms, the look on his face telling me that he wasn't convinced.

"This man, regardless of whether he's related to you or not, is an intruder in this castle. Until I can prove that he isn't a threat, he's going to be treated as such."

I looked at Cain like he'd grown three heads.

"You've got to be kidding me. He's not a threat to you," I persisted.

Cain gave me a look before turning back to Zak.

I watched him with apprehension as he knelt down next to Zak and pulled up Zak's pant leg, revealing a kevlar knife sheath that was strapped to his ankle.

I felt my heart drop seeing this.

Cain pulled the knife from the sheath and held it up to observe it.

The blade glinted in early morning sunlight that drifted through the windows.

Cain placed the knife on the ground and slid it over to me.

It stopped just shy of my foot and I leaned down to pick it up.

Examining it, I knew it was definitely a military-grade knife.

"It's an Ari B'Lilah," Cain said. "It's an extreme use combat knife with the toughest and strongest penetrating point possible and one of the finest tactical combat weapons made in the world today—specifically for the world's most elite counterterrorism unit, the Israeli YAMAM."