Page 43
T he room is a goddamn bloodbath.
Kai’s blood pools beneath him, spreading out like a darkened halo, soaking into the cracks of the concrete floor. His clothes are drenched, sticking to his skin, the dark fabric turning black where the blood clings in the thickest. My hands press down on the gaping wound in his abdomen. But it’s not enough. Blood seeps through my fingers, warm and slick.
His face is almost unrecognizable—ashen and slack, the golden undertones of his skin now a sickly gray. His lips, usually quick to curve into a teasing grin, are barely moving, with only the faintest whisper of breath escaping between them. Every shallow inhale sounds like it’s being dragged through broken glass, each one fainter than the last.
He’s slipping.
He’s fucking slipping away, and I can’t stop it.
“Stay with us, baby,” I mutter, the words ripping out of me like they’re tearing apart my throat. My voice is hoarse, trembling. It doesn’t even sound like me. It sounds broken.
I lean all my weight onto the wound, the flesh beneath my hands yielding in a way that makes my stomach churn. The blood is hot and thick, sliding down my wrists, painting me in his life force.
“Fuck, there’s so much blood,” I choke out through tears.
Beside me, Sable is frantic. She taps the side of his face to try and keep him awake, her cries slicing through the chaos. “Kai! Wake up. Please, wake up!” she sobs, her voice raw and jagged, the kind of sound that comes from deep, primal terror. Her tears fall freely, streaking her cheeks and falling onto his blood-soaked shirt.
Her hazel eyes are wide and glassy, darting to me like I have answers. Like, I can fix this.
But I can’t fix this.
The knot in my chest tightens, squeezing until it feels like my ribs might crack. My thoughts are a mess of rage and desperation, crashing into each other with nowhere to go. Kai, my best friend, my fucking partner through all of this, isn’t supposed to die. Not here. Not like this.
He was supposed to be safe.
The Syndicate promised me they would all be safe.
Dayton stalks back and forth. The phone shakes in his hand as he yells into it. “Yes, we need an ambulance! He’s barely breathing! There’s blood everywhere! Hurry the fuck up!”
Kai’s chest barely moves beneath my hands. His eyes flutter open for the briefest moment, unfocused, glassy. His lips part, a faint gurgle escaping. Then his eyes roll shut again, his head leaning to the side.
“No, no, no!” I hiss, my voice rising in panic. “Don’t you fucking check out on me, baby. You stay with us, you hear me?”
But he doesn’t respond. His body feels limp under my hands, his skin growing colder. Kai lets out a weak, gurgling cough, blood bubbling up at the corner of his lips. The sound turns my stomach, but I don’t look away. I can’t.
“Kai, please,” she whispers, her voice cracking. “Please don’t leave me. Don’t leave us.”
“Fight, Kai. Fight, damn it!” Dayton roars over me.
But the blood keeps coming. The life keeps draining out of him. And with every second that passes, the crushing weight of helplessness grows heavier.
“If they don’t get here soon, I’ll fucking hunt them down myself,” Silas threatens.
There’s shifting at the warehouse door. I jerk my head up, and every muscle in my body goes rigid.
The leader of the Syndicate.
I’ve seen him before, once. In that interrogation room, when I thought my life was forfeit. He hasn’t changed—same cold eyes, same tailored suit. But now, his timing is even worse.
“Good evening,” he says like he’s stepping into a goddamn dinner party.
My hands shake, and the panic turns to rage in an instant. My vision narrows, zeroing in on him as if the rest of the world no longer exists.
He doesn’t care about Kai. He’s here for his own twisted game.
Dayton moves first, stepping in front of Sable, his fists clenched. “Where’s the ambulance?” he demands, his voice tight. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Oh, Mr. Hughes, you’re a little spunkier than I was imagining.”
Sable wipes her tears off the back of her hand, Kai’s blood smearing across her cheek as she chokes another sob down. She sees my eyes harden and I feel as if she can read how stiff my body goes.
The leader smirks. “You’re losing the game, boys,” he says, his tone almost amused. “And now, you have two days to fix it.”
Something in me snaps.
I pick myself up off the ground and lunge forward, fists swinging. “You son of a bitch!”
One of his goons catches me mid-strike, yanking my arm behind my back and forcing me to my knees. Pain shoots through my shoulder, but I don’t care. I thrash against the hold. My teeth bared and eyes locked on the bastard standing calmly before me.
“You fucking coward!” I roar. “He’s dying!”
“Levi. Who is this?” Silas questions.
“This is Victoria’s father.” I swallow down her name like it’s bitter.
The leader doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t even blink. He crouches beside Kai, his face a mask of detached interest. “He’s in bad shape,” he muses, his voice almost bored. “But not beyond saving. Yet.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m going to take Kai as collateral and hopefully save him.”
Sable surges forward, grabbing at his sleeve, but the leader moves before she can get her blood-soaked hands on his pressed suit.
“Don’t you dare take him!” she cries.
The leader looks down at her hand, then back at her face, his expression unreadable. “You don’t have a choice,” he says coldly. “He will die unless I intervene.”
I grit my teeth so hard it feels like they might shatter. “So you’re using him to control us.”
He stands, brushing invisible dust from his sleeve. “That’s exactly what I’m doing,” he says, meeting my gaze. “I need you to bring me the killer of my daughter. Alive. By midnight, New Year’s Eve.”
“And if we can’t?” Dayton asks.
The leader’s smile is thin, cold. “Then I’ll put Mr. Reynolds out of his misery.”
Silas storms toward the leader. “Get out of here before I put a bullet between your eyes.”
The leader raises his hand, and his goons draw their weapons.
“Stop!” Sable screams, throwing herself between Silas and the Syndicate leader. “Please, just help him!”
For a long moment, the leader and Silas lock eyes, neither backing down. Then, with a slight nod, the leader gestures to his men. They holster their weapons and move toward Kai.
Sable clings to his hand as they lift him onto a stretcher, her sobs tearing through the silence.
“He can’t die,” she whispers, her voice breaking. “Please don’t let him die.”
The leader leans in close, his voice a cold whisper. “Two days.”
And just like that, they’re gone, taking Kai with them.
The sound of the unmarked ambulance fades into the night, leaving nothing but the suffocating silence of the warehouse.
Sable collapses into my arms, her body wracked with sobs. I hold her tightly, my own breath shaking as I fight the storm of emotions tearing me apart.
We’re running out of time.
And for the first time in years, I feel completely helpless.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
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- Page 22
- Page 23
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- Page 25
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- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
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- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43 (Reading here)
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54