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CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
KAIN
Minutes pass before anyone comes to check the warehouse. A screeching sound fills the space, and light streams across the concrete floor as two men step inside. The first is a behemoth of a man, so tall he has to duck beneath the frame of the door to get inside. I recognize his cropped blond hair and ugly, square features as one of the merger “party” attendees who formed that useless circle around me.
The other, I don’t recognize. Shaggy black hair frames cruel, icy-blue eyes, though his mouth looks stuck in a perpetual smirk. He has a leaner build than the other, but the air he holds himself with is twice as deadly, twice as cunning—which is surprising, considering he can’t be more than sixteen.
I let out a low hiss, dreading the moment I’ll have to put a bullet in his head. He’s just a child. He doesn’t deserve it, but…
I kill that shred of mercy living in my chest with the reminder that it’s my life, or his—and there’s only one person in this world I’d give mine up for.
The men balk at the sight of Bear’s lifeless, crumpled body, at that perfect red circle between his eyes. The linebacker-sized one turns to the other, the shadows making his expression appear that much more furious.
“I told you we shouldn’t have left him alone!”
The boy just shakes his head. “Dumb bastard wouldn’t hear it. Wanted to take care of it himself.”
“Callum’s going to—”
“I’m not worried about Callum right now,” Blue Eyes murmurs, scanning the vast darkness of the warehouse. “He’s still alive.”
Square Face mirrors his partner, throat bobbing as he tries to scan the space for threats. “Maybe… maybe he’s bleeding out back there. There were so many shots. Maybe Bear was able to—”
“He’s alive.”
Silence ensues between the two, neither saying what the other is thinking. That they’re going to die. That I’m going to kill them.
The next couple of seconds seem to play out in slow motion. Square Face turns and takes a step forward, his back turned to the boy. There’s a flurry of movement, a sequence of strikes too fast for my eyes to catch, and Square Face crumples to the ground like his bones are made of jelly.
What the actual fuck?
The boy stands over the body, his head tilted at the heap at his feet. That smirk is unnerving compared to the cruelty in his eyes, so abnormal for someone his age.
“I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to do that.” The voice that echoes off the walls is not that of a boy. It holds an undercurrent of viciousness, a lifetime of experiences no person this young should have.
He lifts his head, staring at no spot in particular. “I was told you respond well to acts of service. Well, here’s my service.” He gestures at the heap just behind him, still staring blankly at the shadows. “Although, between the two of us, that would’ve happened eventually. He was just so dull.”
I shift from my crouched position, and the boy’s head whips toward me, a slow smile spreading his lips. “Ah. There you are.”
I cock the hammer of my pistol, letting him know he shouldn’t make any hasty movements. I don’t want to kill you, kid. Please don’t make me.
“Testy.” He tilts his head, his grin spreading so every one of his teeth are visible. Even though I know he can’t actually see me, a chill raises the hair on my forearms. Creepy-ass kid.
“Leave. Or I’ll have to fire.” Do the smart thing, Blue Eyes. You have your whole life ahead of you. You could leave now, start over, and actually live.
He clicks his tongue. “That would be unfortunate.”
That sound. That gesture—it’s so familiar. The way he walks, the way he talks, that brutal sheen in his eye… it’s one I’ve only seen once before.
The phantom in my father’s basement.
“Ghost sends his apologies. This was not supposed to happen.” All at once, the smile drops from the boy’s face. “He asks that you spare me and return to the cabin as soon as possible.”
A growl leaves my chest. You’re just as insufferable as he is.
“Who are you?” I demand. Why should I trust you?
“They call me Orion. I’m Ghost’s… apprentice, for lack of a better word. I’m also the one who got you all the information about Drew and Sandra.” That creepy-ass smile is back in place as he bends at the waist in a deep bow. His smile drops when I don’t lower the weapon, and he straightens with an eerie calm. “He was afraid you wouldn’t believe me. Said to give you this if you gave me any trouble.”
