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Even as I said those words, I knew they weren’t true.
Chapter twenty-one
VALENTYN
Waiting in the small interrogation room was torture, not so much for me or Dmitri but watching the panicked expression on Rhys’ face slowly get worse was making me angry. I whipped out my phone as it buzzed, my eyes widening at the alert Gianni had sent us. “Shit.”
Rhys looked over at me, perched at the edge of his chair but I just shook my head, trying not to worry him. He had enough on his plate without focusing on the fact that Gianni and the kids were currently on the run. Trying to weather my expression and still signal Dmitri that we needed to hurry this shit up, I sat beside Rhys and grabbed his hand. I wanted nothing more than to drag him into my lap and protect him from the world but this was neither the time nor the place.
We waited for what seemed like an eternity before I stood up and approached the door. Some guard had led us in here and told us to wait, giving us very little information about who wewere meeting or how long it would take. Just as I opened the door, a small body scurried in, his head on a swivel before falling on Rhys. He charged forward, Dmitri swiping our fourth behind him and growling.
“Hey, whooooa. Don’t attack me!” The intruder threw his hands up, chuckling nervously. “It’s just me. Look, we’re not safe here. We have to go.”
I stared at the young redhead, noticing the freckles splayed along his nose and the deep brown eyes that held a similar promise I had seen in Rhys when I first met him. It took me a minute to realize that Rhys and this guy were the same, however, I didn’t move from my spot, and neither did Dmitri, Rhys smart enough to stay hidden.
“What’s going on?” I barked.
The man sighed, his shoulders falling as he turned to me. “Whatisn’tgoing on is a better question. Hawk International is a very real company with great ambitions but the wrong people got a hold of it and are getting their hands on powerful information. Including anyone smart enough to bring their ideas to fruition. Like Rhys’ product.” He pointed at Rhys standing behind Dmitri, our fourth timidly peeking around him.
“That doesn’t explain whyyou’rehere versus all of those ‘wrong’ people.” I leaned forward, the guy scrambling backward in fear.
“Goddamn.Settle. Rhys, call off your guard dogs. I got you up here so we could talk but we can’t stay here. You’re supposed to arrive at ten and they’ll know very soon that I fucked up.”
I looked around, wondering how we had gotten up here with no one noticing. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
He sighed. “Can we… can we start over? I’m Caiden.” He stuck his hand out for a handshake. I took it. “And I used to write physics templates that would change the way we looked at scientific properties. Well, I helped with them. However, theywere taken and used to unalive people so I’m not keen on giving them any more people with similar sets of skills.”
I still didn’t move and neither did Dmitri, but Rhys did and I was going to fucking kill him when we got home.
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t leave. I’ve sold my soul before I realized. I can’t go anywhere without eventually getting caught but I can make sure they don’t do it to someone else. Look, I can explain everything. We have togo.”
I didn’t fight Caiden again, especially when he led us right back down to the car we had rented this morning, ushering us inside and slamming the door. He leaned over my window, eyes parked on Rhys for several seconds before looking at me.
“You aren’t his bodyguards, are you? God, this makes it even worse. Theywilltake him from you. It always happens but the time you have together until then – make it count.” Caiden sighed, leaning against the side of the car. “I shouldn’t talk to him, right? You don’t trust me. I get it. Those people in there will bleed him dry, will make him give them everything.”
“How did you get suckered into this?” Dmitri asked, his voice rough and tight. He sat forward, covering Rhys, yet again.
Caiden shrugged. “It wasn’t just one thing. Things slowly changed but not before they flew me out here and offered me a contract. I was so excited about everything that I didn’t notice until it was too late. The CEO went from this man with a dream to a man with a single focus. He’s more like a fucking villain at times than a boss. Not to mention that he roped in a few unsavory characters that have reach across the seas.”
I didn’t like the sound of that at all. “What do you mean? You mean people from America?”
“Yeah! There’s one here now, well two. A duo? Only one has reported in and he’s a little crazy if you ask me.”
I stepped up to Caiden, hoping and praying that he wasn’t about to confirm my suspicions. “What does he look like?” I whispered. Caiden’s eyes widened as he looked around the room and then gestured to Rhys. With the way I was standing, Rhys couldn’t see it but I’d have to share this little bombshell with him sooner rather than later.
It made perfect sense that Liam was helping to run the show but it also just cemented how thoroughly fucked Rhys’ support system had been. I stepped back to give Caiden a little space, the guy fishing around in his pocket and handed me a small sliver of paper. “Go to that address tomorrow. I can explain everything. If I’m not there, run.”
“Why?” Rhys’ small voice reached my ears.
I was going to light Rhys’ ass up, that’s all there was to it. Rhys didn’t understand that even though Caiden seemed harmless, Rhys’ continued interaction could only be a bad thing. We wanted to protect him, keep him out of the spotlight, and for some odd reason, he just had to react. When I turned around to give him a stern look to say as much, the fear lingering in his expression told me that he wasn’t acting out. Fear had a hold of our fourth and fuck that just made me feel worse.
Caiden looked tempted to lean over the windowsill and speak directly to Rhys but refrained. “Because if I’m not there tomorrow, that means the fuckers upstairs found out I intercepted you. Be there tomorrow. I’m serious. And Rhys, don’t fucking talk toanyone.”
I didn’t wait for Caiden to say goodbye as we pulled out and left the parking garage. Two seconds out onto the road, I dialed Gianni. It went straight to voicemail so I tracked his location and immediately hated the pace at which it was moving through the streets. He was getting chased, that much was for sure.
“Why’s it moving like that?” Rhys cried. “Tia.”
