28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Axel

M y entire body ached. There weren't any windows for me to judge by, but if I could guess, I'd been here for at least twenty-four hours. After I hadn't ooh'd and ahh'd the way Nathaniel West wanted me to when he showed me all of his little experiments, he'd promptly taken me to a new holding cell with a bed and a bucket. His guard came back into the room while he and Otto stood in the corner and watched.

This time, his muscle hit me a little harder. I was pretty sure my ribs were bruised, and my lower lip had blossomed into a mess of blood and an impression of my teeth.

As much as I was waiting for Xavier to burst through the door to save me, a small part of me hoped he just… didn't.

I knew it would hurt him, but at least it wouldn't kill him. Being here? Around Nathaniel West and his blank-but-charming smile, around Otto who looked like he'd just as soon shoot anyone as shake their hand? Around the muscle who seemed to enjoy coming into the room and trying to break me?

Well, he was better off being anywhere else.

I would still hold out for him for as long as it took, for as long as I could. There were a million and one ways in the room they'd thrown me into that I could easily take myself out of the equation, if it came to that. Hell, I probably could have goaded the asshole who was beating me into breaking my neck before Nathaniel could call him off.

But I would wait, because I knew how it felt to lose the person you loved. I would wait, because I knew Xavier would find his way here eventually… and the last thing he needed was to find me dead on the floor.

I knew how that felt, too.

It didn't mean a small part of me didn't want to cringe when my door opened again. I lifted my head, expecting to see Nathaniel there with a bullshit-grin on his face. It was just Otto, with his hair down in soft curls that fell over the shoulders of his loose black sweater.

He didn't even try to hide the gun holstered at his hip, but I suppose there was no point to it when I already knew how dangerous he was.

He looked me up and down where I was stretched out on the bed, then jerked his head behind him.

"Boss wants to see you." He didn't hesitate to add, "You know, if you want to die quick, you'd be better off just telling him whatever you know. Or telling him you don't know a damn thing. If you're lucky, maybe he'll just pump you full of drugs and see who you were in a past life."

I stared at him for a second, wondering if I wanted to give him the silent treatment too, or if there was something to be gained from having an actual conversation with him.

"I understand revenge, but what do you think he's going to do when you're finished, and you want off your chain?"

"I'm not worried about that," he answered quickly. There was no hesitation in his words, no hint of concern.

"Really? It's not like he's going to just let you go. I've met men like him before." My father had been like him. When he thought I was going to go my own way, he'd done everything he could to keep me complacent at his side. Everything.

I managed to force another vision of Xavier's body from rising to the surface and turned my attention back to Otto.

"We've all met men like Nathaniel West before, Axel. They're the entire reason people like us exist—they're too weak and afraid to handle problems themselves."

He sounded so… ambivalent. Disgusted even.

"And what are you going to do when he realizes you've noticed that? When you're done with…" What, torturing the men who'd killed him before? Playing along with this when I was beginning to realize it was just a game to him?

"When I want out of here, I'll get out of here. When I'm done with Nathaniel West, I'll make sure he knows I'm done with him. Can you say the same?"

No. I really couldn't, but I could read people well enough to tell that Otto wasn't loyal to the man who held his leash.

I'd keep that in mind.

For now, though, I'd probably do well to be cooperative, even if I wasn't helpful. I had no doubt that the man in front of me would incapacitate me if he thought it would benefit him.

"Lead the way." I gestured to the door behind him, and he snorted.

"You really should just give it up, Axel." The warning came again, but he turned without saying anything else and led me out of the room. We were going in the opposite direction they'd shown me before, into a hallway deeper into the facility.

"Exactly how big is this place?" I wasn't sure if Otto was going to answer any questions I asked, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Not sure, I haven't seen the entire place. I know where London is, where my room is, and the ways to get out. That's all I need." He sounded so nonchalant, like his little list didn't make him sound like a prisoner.

Then again, he knew where the exit was, so maybe he didn't feel trapped.

"Does Nathaniel West trust you that much?"

Otto paused, and when he turned, he did so with his gun in hand. I let him put it beneath my chin, let him lean into me so his lips were pressed against my ear. "He trusts me because I want him to trust me. He thinks because he brought me back and offered me revenge, that I owe him everything. He's arrogant, and it makes him weak."

The metal of the gun bit into my skin for another second before he pulled back with a charming smile that looked absolutely unnatural on his face. He ran his fingers through his hair and jerked his head toward the end of the hallway. "Nathaniel is in his office. Go on."

He waited until I stepped in front of him, then followed behind. I wasn't sure if his words had been a threat or some hint on how I could keep myself alive.

I couldn't get a read on him, and I didn't have time to try.

I walked forward and found Nathaniel West sitting behind a large, dark desk. Plastered all along the wall were screens, and on each of them were different photos.

I recognized some of them—Kade and Seth, Xavier… though the man that I looked at in the picture clearly wasn't Xavier. There was something too sweet about his expression, too open and warm.

Marshall, then.

Otto's picture was there, along with his little torture partners, and the twins who'd been injected while I watched yesterday.

There were others, though. People I hadn't seen. At least half a dozen. Nathaniel gave me time to take in the wall behind him before he turned to look at it, too. The pride on his face was palpable, almost tangible. He was still trying to sway me to his side with his egomania and accomplishments.

"They're all in different locations, just waiting for us. Some of them aren't even in facilities. Can you imagine how interesting it would be to see the reaction to a killer suddenly waking up in the middle of a family home? What would they do? The potential is limitless. I really wish you could see that, Mr. Fetterman. Wouldn't it be so nice to progress science instead of hindering it?"

This wasn't about science, though. It wasn't about anything but lining the man's pockets and stroking his ego. He'd already made that point. It was probably why he'd let someone like Dr. Northman run wild—he was too arrogant to realize that a person would betray him.

"Not interested." I offered him my best bored expression, and he let out a soft sigh before leaning back in his chair.

"I suppose I knew that after our first attempt to persuade you. Don't worry, I'm past thinking you'll provide any useful information. You have another purpose now."

Something in my chest tightened. That was exactly what I was worried about. That was what I'd been concerned with all along.

If he realized I wasn't going to give him what he wanted, and he knew Xavier was here, I was nothing more than bait.

"You're better off killing me. He's too smart to waltz in here on his own on a suicide mission."

"I'm pretty sure you're wrong."

I was, too. Coming to rescue me was exactly the kind of thing I knew he'd do.

I had a few options—I could try to bullshit my way through this, tell him something in hopes that he would think it was true. I could try to convince him that Xavier put the flash drive in some kind of safety deposit box…

Or I could turn around and rush Otto—if I did that, there was a good chance he'd shoot me to make sure that he kept himself safe. At least then, they wouldn't be able to use me against Xavier.

He'd already proven to me we could find one another even through death—did I have faith that I'd be able to find him this time? I knew he would wait for me, but…

There was a crackling sound, and the screens behind us went blank. When a voice spilled through their speakers, all thoughts of rushing headlong into death fled.

"You know, I thought that some big, fancy facility would have better security than this. I don't know what I was expecting… Robots, maybe? Something better than a few shitty guards who couldn't even stop me from getting through the front door. The future is not everything they promised."

Xavier's voice had to be an auditory hallucination. I hadn't been here long enough for him to find me. We'd driven for hours before turning into some kind of underground parking garage and popping up in a place that didn't have windows.

But it was his voice, coming through the speakers on the screens behind Nathaniel West like he was some villain in a movie, ready to monologue his way into disaster.

Only… weren't we fighting the villains? The bad monologue was Nathaniel's job, wasn't it?

"I was wondering how long it would take him to make his way here. I thought he'd come running along after you right away… but here we are, almost twenty-four hours later." Nathaniel's voice was so confident, so pleased when he spoke. "It's almost like he doesn't care as much as you were led to believe, Mr. Fetterman. Then again, what can you really expect from a killer? They never change their spots, so to speak."

He didn't know Xavier at all. He sounded casual, cheerful even, but I could clearly hear the undertone of danger and worry in his tone.

"Now, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to start raining fire all over your fucking parade unless you make the smart decision and… Fuck, how do they say it in the movies? Come out with your hands up?"

My brows snapped together. He sounded a little too casual. Which meant that Kade was probably with him. But why had he given his position away?

Nathaniel West turned to the computer in front of him and hit a few buttons on the keyboard—the sound of the door behind us locking in place might as well have been a gunshot. Not only had he given away his position, but he was giving his target time to barricade himself behind closed doors.

I'd hoped he would find a way to sneak in and get me out of here without putting himself in danger… not put himself in the line of fire as…

What?

A distraction?

"He's not very bright, is he? It's no wonder he died so young."

It took every ounce of self-restraint I had not to throw a punch at his smug face. The only reason I didn't was because I didn't know if Otto had been given orders to shoot me if I made a move. It wasn't like they had a purpose for me anymore. I'd been bait, and I had to wonder if that was what I was supposed to be all along.

"Xavier…" I had no idea if he could hear me. "Unless you have an amazing plan, you need to get the fuck out."

Fuck. I really hoped those weren't the last words I said to him.

Again.