“My name’s Padraig,” he continues, taking one careful step forward. “I’m a friend of Kane’s.”
The name hits me like a slap. My knees nearly buckle.Kane.
Of course. Of course this isn’t a coincidence. The sinking feeling I had when the BMW first appeared crashes over me fully. This isn’t Davey’s emergency service. This is Kane’s world reaching out and grabbing me even when I tried to run.
Davey’s grip on my arm tightens. “How do you know we’re here?” he demands, voice braver than I feel. “What do you want?”
Padraig keeps his hands visible. He looks… surprisingly non-threatening up close. Handsome in a rough way, with bright blue eyes and an easy posture, but I can tell he’s dangerous. The kind of man who moves like he’s used to violence.
“Kane got worried when he couldn’t reach William,” Padraig explains. “He asked me to check on him. Saw the car stalled on the tracking… don’t ask how. I was nearby. Figured you boys might need a ride before some real creep shows up.”
I swallow hard.
My thoughts are a whirlwind.
Kane has been tracking me? Or my phone? The single question mark message suddenly feels even more ominous. He didn’t accept my “never see you again” text. Instead, he sent someone after me.
Davey looks at me, clearly torn between fear and the practical need for help. The woodland rustles again. Another owl hoots, closer this time. We’re two Littles, stranded on a dark road, with a man who just admitted he works for the dangerous stranger I’ve been running from.
I don’t know whether to feel terrified… or strangely relieved that it’s not a random predator.
Padraig waits patiently, giving us space.
“Look, I get it,” Padraig says. “You’re scared. But I promise I’m just here to get you home safe. Kane would skin me alive if anything happened to you, William.”
The casual way he says it sends another shiver down my spine.
I glance at Davey.
He looks back at me, eyes wide with the same mix of panic and confusion I’m feeling.
Our perfect, peaceful escape is over.
Kane’s world has found me again.
And this time, I’m pretty sure that running isn’t even an option…
Chapter 11
Kane
I sit in the leather chair of my study, the only light coming from the green banker’s lamp on the desk and the endless glow of the city beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The apartment is quiet except for the low hum of the city far below.
Something inside me stirs, a feeling I cannot ignore.
Then, suddenly, my phone flashes on the polished wood.Padraig….
PADRAIG: Got them. William and his friend. Both safe.
A slow smile spreads across my face. I type back without hesitation…
KANE: Drop the friend at his place. Then bring William straight to me.
I set the phone down and push back from the desk. Energy crackles through my veins as I stand and begin to pace the length of the study. My bare feet are silent on the dark rug.
Outside, the city pulses: neon veins, rivers of headlights, towering buildings full of people living small, safe lives. It looks beautiful from up here.Alive. But I know better. Beneath the lights there is blood, betrayal, and endless hunger.
