She whimpered when she saw me, cinnamon eyes flashing in terror.
In pain and relief.
Dare had Kayden sitting on his desk, and he had an arm around him. In his other hand was a knife, and he dug the tip of it into the wood, turning it round and round like he was bored.
Kayden’s little face was soaked with tears, and he flailed when he saw me, stretching his arms out to me. “My Rye-Rye.”
He smacked his chest, giving me one of those emphatic nods, urging me to come to him.
To help him.
Save him.
I toiled in the agony of it, while Dare tightened his arm around him and cracked one of those sinister smiles. “Ah, Ryder, so nice of you to join in on this little family reunion.”
Shifting, Dare took the tip of the knife and barely dragged it down Kayden’s thigh. Not deep enough to cut but enough to send horror ricocheting against the walls.
Dakota wailed into her gag and thrashed in the confines of the chair, making the legs bang on the floor.
I curled my hands into fists, every part of me wanting to fly forward and rip Kayden from his arms. But that was too risky. Too much of a chance. And I had to play this right if everyone was going to make it out of this.
I let a scoff puff from my nose, hoping to draw his full attention to me. “You’re that pathetic that you need to prey on my best friend’s sister? Going to those lengths to coerce me? Seems awful desperate to me.”
He wasn’t biting, though. The smug-fucking-smirk he always used when he had someone trapped emerged on his revolting face. He rocked back in the chair, just a fraction, enough that it let a tiny bit of air into my lungs since he didn’t have Kayden completely curled against him. “Do you think I didn’t know you wanted to get out because of her? You think I couldn’t see it in your eyes? You think we didn’t know you were sneaking off to meet her every night? Your obsession with her was clear to me. It was clear to Amelia.”
He shrugged. “So, I figured I should check out what all the fuss was about.”
Dakota whimpered while Kayden continued to cry, “I go my Rye-Rye’s house. I go, my Rye-Rye. Pease.”
Agony cut and slayed. The truth that I was the one who had gotten them into this. That I was responsible.
I’d gladly spend my last breath getting them out of it.
“You know, it was a shame that I had to let Amelia go. She was so in tune with you. You two could have been so great together.”
Let Amelia go?
Hatred burned hot.
“But you needed to know what betraying me would cost, which was why I had to follow our sweet Dakota that night.” He tsked it like the sleazy fuck he was. “It was simply precautionary, added insurance.” He shrugged. “I’d hoped I’d never have to tap into that resource.”
His voice came out like he had an ounce of regret as he pressed the tip of the knife a little deeper into Kayden’s thigh.
Resource.
As if that little boy meant nothing.
Nothing when that monster had fathered him.
“And now you’ve forced me into this.”
“You touch either of them, and it will be your last day.” It came out shards.
A rough chuckle fumbled up his throat. “Big words to be spouting when you’re surrounded by my guards.”
“What the hell do you want from me?”
“What I’ve wanted all along. For you to understand that you belong to me. I molded you. I picked you up from a sniveling, pathetic kid and made you who you are today. And who you are is mine. I’ve always demanded loyalty of my men, Ryder, and you make me more money than all of them combined. So no, I won’t kill you like you deserve, but I will pluck off the people you care about, one by one, until you understand your place. Because I know you’re plotting something, and I won’t let you derail the plans I have for you.”
It occurred to me that he didn’t know the actual details. That he had no idea how deep my plans went. That I was set on destroying him.
I refused to stop until I saw that through. Until Dakota and Kayden would be safe forever.
I just had to wait for the right moment.
The right moment came one second later when there was a thud outside somewhere in the hall.
It was enough to distract Dare for the flash of a second. For his attention to dart to the door. Enough for me to be sure that Ezra was there and handling the guards.
“What the fuck is going on?” He frowned toward the commotion, like he was just catching on to the fact that things were about to go sideways for him.
That his reign was about to come to an end.
I took the chance, and I dove forward and grabbed him by the wrist of the hand that held the knife.
I bent it back hard.
Hard enough that he roared in pain, and the knife clattered to the ground.
“You piece of shit, you betrayed me,” he spat.
I kept his wrist bent back, making him twist to the side, while I delivered a punch so hard to his face that he flailed backward.
It tipped the chair over and sent him toppling with it.
Kayden wailed, and my soul shattered with it because I fucking hated putting him through this. I swooped him off the desk just as I heard a barrage of gunshots go off in the hall.
A frenzy lit.
Chaos.
And I knew I only had one minute.
One fucking minute to get them out of this.
Running around the desk, I dipped down to snag the knife from the floor.
Dakota’s eyes were wide, like she was trying to express a thousand things as I rushed for her, my heart battering at my ribs as I scrambled to get behind the chair so I could cut her free while still trying to hold onto Kayden. I sawed the blade over the thick rope.
Sweat beaded on my brow, a sticky heat rushing through my veins as I tried to hurry, desperate, needing to get them out of there and to safety.
Dakota kept whimpering, and I was mumbling, “I have you, I have you, I have you.”
Finally, I cut through her bindings and freed her arms. She reached up and yanked the gag from her mouth, heaving for oxygen as she jumped to her feet.
Only there was no relief.
Because she screamed, “Ryder!” just as the blow came from out of nowhere. The office chair cracked against the back of my head. It sent me to my knees, knocking the knife from my hand and sending the metal clattering against the floor. I fought to hold Kayden against me, fully wrapping myself around him, trying to protect him from the attack while Dare jumped onto me from behind.
Fists kept cracking against the back of my skull and my temples. Doing their best to black me out.
I managed to get Kayden to his feet, yelling, “Dakota! Get Kayden and get out of here!” at the same time as I threw an elbow into Dare’s gut.
It knocked him back enough that I was able to turn around, though he was on me again in a flash, pushing me to the ground as he threw a fist into my face.
It cracked into my jaw. Pain screamed, but I didn’t care. I rammed my forehead into his nose.
He howled as blood gushed, and he came back at me full strength. “You think you can play me? Have you forgotten who I am?” he wheezed. I think it was then he knew the depths that I had gone. That his building was now surrounded by a slew of agents.
That he had no way out.
I kicked and punched, but the fucker was huge, and he got his hands around my neck.
He squeezed, and I clawed at his hands while dragging up a knee, trying to hit in any spot that would make him lose hold.
Another round of gunshots rang out, this time so many, a blitz going down on the other side of the wall.
And I prayed that Ezra was holding his own. That he was safe. That he was razing the depraved assholes that roamed this city.
“You piece of shit. I will kill you,” Dare grumbled through the exertion, squeezing tighter. “You betrayed me, after everything I did for you.”
My consciousness ebbed, coherency fading as he cinched his hands tighter around my neck.
Suddenly, his eyes went wide, and he roared, releasing me as he whipped around and climbed to his feet.