Page 77 of Merciless King

I watched as London cried, so scared, shaking in terror. My heart felt like it had been torn from my chest. Adrenaline with no outlet pumped through my veins. I was on the verge of losing my mind.

The camera tilted suddenly, the picture shaking before shifting so it was aimed at the ceiling, like it’d fallen over. It was quickly righted but not before there was a flash of something big and blue, lit up bright, through the window to the side of the room. “Did you see that?”

“That flash of blue through the window? Yeah, there was something reflecting a lot of light as well. Zephyr Towers. I’m positive of it.”

The blue skyscraper had been built the year before by some eccentric billionaire. London wasn’t far from us. “Let’s go,” I barked. “Neco, I need a floor, room number, now.”

“Go,” he said, focused on what he was doing. “I’ll text it to you as soon as I have it.”

I didn’t bother waiting for the elevator and pounded down the five flights to the parking garage below, with Hunter and Zeke right behind me. We jumped in and gunned it out into the street.

Traffic was insane, and a few minutes later we were locked in. “Fuck this.” I laid my hand on the horn and drove up the curb, scattering people, bypassing the lights, and making it into the next street. We were still several blocks away and traffic wasn’t getting any better. “I’m going on foot.”

I parked in a loading zone, jumped out of the car, and sprinted down the street. I heard Hunter’s and Zeke’s boots pounding on the pavement behind me.

“Wherever he has her, it was the north-facing side of the building. The Zephyr sign is fucking big and it’s silver. I’m sure that’s what caused the reflection.”

I didn’t wait. I sprinted to the north side of the building, shoving people out of my way. God, what if it’s too late? What if I was too late? There was the sign Zeke was talking about. I stared up at the opposite building, scanning windows. Apartments, by the looks.

I’d kick down every fucking door in the place if I had to.

But by then it could be too late.

I pulled out my phone as I ran across the street. Zeke went straight to the doorman to question him while Hunter and I sprinted for the elevator.

Ruby answered Neco’s phone. “He needs a few more minutes,” Ruby said.

“We need it now,” I gritted out.

“Fuck,” Neco spat in the background.

“What?”

“Definitely Zephyr Tower,” Ruby said.

“We’re here now. I need a room number.”

“Third floor, apartment 244,” Ruby said urgently. “Hurry, Van.”

Going by the edge to her voice, something had changed. Something was about to happen in that room.

“Get to her now!” Ruby all but screamed down the line.

18

London

Terrence tugged me out of the chair and grabbed me by my hair. He was breathing heavily, skin flushed, clammy. He was excited, performing for the camera he had aimed at me, getting off on being watched.

“Stuart Coombs was the composer and London was the final note in his opus. I’m going to fulfill his destiny. Here, today, I will finish what he started.” He looked down at me. “You should be flattered, thankful he chose you for his important work. Thankful that I decided to give you the end you were born for.”

He smoothed his fingers down the side of my face, and I tried to jerk away, but his grip on my hair was too tight, and I was still dizzy, still recovering from the drugs he’d given me. “You should have died, London. You were meant to die. That’s how it was supposed to be.” His eyes were bright with emotion. “My brother sacrificed his life for this, for you, so I could do what needed to be done.”

I couldn’t answer. The gag was stuffed so deep in my mouth it was almost choking me. My eyes watered as he tugged on my hair again, forcing me to look at him.

“Owen would do anything for me, anything, no questions asked. Him and I, we’re the same in a lot of ways. Killing came easy to us. But my brother wasn’t meant to die, not him. Your boyfriend, then you…but never him.” He hissed and shook me. “Don’t look at me like that!” he screamed, even though my expression hadn’t changed. “I know what you’re thinking, that I set my brother up. But I had no choice. I had to do this. Prison time—Owen was only supposed to go to prison.”

A sharp wail escaped him, so loud it hurt my ears, a soul-deep cry full of agony. He was fracturing before my eyes, in front of whoever was watching this play out. And very soon they’d watch as he plunged the knife in his hand into my body, I had no doubt about that. They’d sit in their homes, behind their computers, and watch as I bled out all over the floor.