He will no longer look at me. My gaze has lifted to catch his as he asks for death, and yet his eyes stay locked on the blood-covered concrete between us.
Joseph sighs in irritation. “You’re such a waste of resources, dumb child.
I can’t let him die. If he wants to hate me forever, never speaking to me again, then fine. But Ican’tlet him die.
“Joseph, we can find Benji on our own,” I try to reason, but the man just glares at me, bringing the knife to Landon’s neck once more.
“Wewon’t be doing anything. You massacred the council, Nathaniel. You’re out.” His glare fades into an expression ofdisinterest as he peers down at Landon again. “But he serves me no purpose anymore. I’ll dispose of him.”
Landon releases a relieved sigh; his eyelashes flutter as his eyes slide shut, and he relaxes into the chair. Ready for it. Craving it.
“No,” I shout, taking a step forward. “I’ll hunt you to the ends of this earth if you hurt him.”
Joseph laughs, giving me an incredulous look. “You won’t be doinganythingonce the rest of the repressors arrive. They’ve already been called, and when they get here, they’ll lock you up.”
As if on cue, the door on the other side of the warehouse swings open, and Joseph grins.
“See? I told you—”
A gunshot rings out, one unrelated to me, and as blood begins to pour out of the gaping hole in the side of his head, Joseph crumbles to the floor.
Landon screams. He’s covered in the man’s blood, shaking out of his own skin as he sits there, eyes wide and locked onto the door.
I’m moving a moment later, falling onto my knees in front of him.
“Lanny,” I breathe out, reaching for the restraints on his legs.
“NO!”he screeches, struggling in vain to get away from me. “Don’t fucking touch me! Ihateyou! Stay—” His words are cut off by a choked, wet sob that leaves his throat.
“Please, Landon,” I beg gently. “Just let me get you out of here.”
“No.” This time it’s a whispered plea, something broken and exhausted. “Just leave me here. Go away. You’re… you’re a… a monster.”
And then Landon is out, slumping forward as his snot runs free and his mouth hangs open.
“It looks like he passed out,” Calum says, coming behind me.
I startle, whipping around to stare at him.
“What are you—”
“Joseph called in for backup,” he interrupts. “Gave a brief description. Honestly, he shouldn’t have sent the other repressors away in the first place. He got too cocky.”
“And you came?” I ask, breathless. “Instead of calling backup, you…”
“Killed him?” Calum stands tall, but he’s just a little slip of a thing, and his fingers are shaking around the gun he’s holding. “You can lie to me all you want, but I can see it—how you care for this boy. So, yeah. Instead of calling backup, I showed up myself. I’m just thankful you took out the others before I arrived.”
He runs a hand through his thick blond hair, his brown eyes darting around to see the carnage. An immense respect fills me, and I’m just about to tell him how thoroughly he’s helped me when a soft whimper leaves Landon’s passed-out body.
I untie his restraints, scooping him up and into my arms.
“About the bodies,” I start, looking around the warehouse. “Should I—”
“I’ll handle it,” Calum interjects. “A few other repressors are on the way, and they’ve been filled in. The council probably should have been a bit nicer if they wanted more than a handful of lackies.”
Relief floods my system, and I give him a grateful look, as close to a smile as I can manage.
“Thank you, Calum. Really.”
