Armen is already at the bar, grabbing three glasses and pouring three generous fingers of whiskey. I walk over and take one. Ray does the same. The silence is almost nice for a moment… just the clink of glass, the burn of liquor, the shared exhaustion. Then the door bangs open against the wall so hard it makes us all jump, even I flinch at the unexpected sound.
Armen flinches. “Fucking hell!”
Ray lets out a short laugh at Armen’s reaction before we all turn.
Luke stands in the doorway, breathing hard, tablet in hand. He nods at me. “It’s time, boss.”
I nod once, inhaling sharply. “My boy better still be alive…”
They all follow me as I take the stairs two at a time, heading straight up to my office.
I push through the office door, positioning myself in the middle of the room, arms crossed over my chest, jaw locked, ready to deal with thischildof a man.
Selina runs in a moment later, breathless, eyes wide with worry. “God, he better be okay…”
I lick my teeth, tension coiling tighter in my gut, as Luke connects the call.
Finn’s immature, taunting voice fills the room. “Well, well… here we are for thefinalshow. You know…”
He pauses dramatically, leaning back onto the table in the middle of the room. Kit still isn’t in sight. My heart is racing, a sick, frantic thud against my ribs.
I don’t have patience for his games. I snarl, “Where the fuck is Christopher?”
Finn laughs, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “Patience, Your Highness.”
I exhale heavily through my nose, barely holding back the urge to reach through the screen and rip his throat out.
Finn laughs again and shouts, “You know I wasn’t veryhappyto find out all of myfuckingpropertieswere destroyed!”
I cut in, voice low and lethal. “That was thepoint, youfucking…”
I stop myself, biting back the rest. I can’t trigger this unstable child further, not while Kit’s life is on the line.
Finn keeps laughing, clearly enjoying himself. “Okay,okay… here he is. Alive…for now.”
He moves to the left of the table, still looking straight at the camera, not even bothering to turn toward Kit, like he’s not worth the effort.
My heart lurches violently. A horrible, deep ache rips through my chest as I see Kit’s head dropped forward, chin resting on his chest. For one horrifying second, I think Finn’s lying… that Kit isn’t alive at all. He looks lifeless, pale, and broken. I close my eyes for half a second and take a deep, steadying breath, trying to keep the panic from swallowing me whole.
Someone nudges my arm. I open my eyes and look down. Armen’s beside me, discreetly flicking his eyes toward the screen.
I look back just in time to see Kit slowly lifting his head. His dark curls fall messily into his eyes, dirty and tangled. He flicks his gaze up at Finn, then toward thecamera. I exhale sharply with relief, the air leaving my lungs in a rush.
Finn continues talking, voice smug. “I wasso closeto putting a bullet in him, but… Christopher reminded me we could do thisliveand haveso much morefun. Watching your face as you watch his life drain before you.”
As Finn speaks, Kit’s mouth curves into a small, wicked smile of his own. With the fresh scar cutting across his cheek and forehead, he looks almost dangerous… like a completely different boy from the shy, terrified one who was taken. Like something inside him has finally cracked and hardened into steel.
Then…oh, then… Kit makes me extremely proud. He slowly lifts his hands to his sides, showing us that he’s not tied up at all. Did he…actuallymanage to get himself free?
Armen leans in close, murmuring only loud enough for me to hear, “Am I seeing things or is our kid a genius?”
Kit stands, slow and unsteady, and reaches down for something off-screen.
I keep Finn’s attention forward by feeding his ego. “You know, Finn… you’ve played aprettygood game.”
Finn’s eyes widen with delight and he laughs. “Finally! My potential is recognised!”
I want to roll my eyes so hard they fall out of my head.
