Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

LUKAS

" T his is the place?" I ask Finn as we walk toward the small building along the water, moonlight shimmering on the surface. The sloshing of the water tries to tug my mind back to the pool and the searing connection I just shared with Maci. It was… hell, magical . It was perfect. I wish we'd had longer to exist in that moment together, to savor our connection, instead of having to end it all too soon.

"Yeah," Finn says miserably. "That blank-faced prick will be inside, I bet, with Ashley."

"And Sebastian," I growl, with the same edge in my voice.

Finn has described how vague Nobody's features are. Apparently, he could look like anybody. I know that Gabriel and his men are stationed nearby. There's a boat on the water, curtains drawn, no lights on. They're peeking through the curtains with their night-vision goggles. There are men posted farther up, too, ready to move in.

We're almost at the building when, suddenly, somebody collapses out of the door. We recoil as the man starts crawling toward us, covered in blood, his face a mishmash of punishment.

"What the fuck?" Finn says. "Lukas, that's him. That's Nobody."

"I h-had n-no ch-choice," the man says. Finn was right. Even through the blood, I can see how plain his features are. Picking him out of a lineup would be difficult. "Please."

"You better get in here," a voice calls, and my blood turns to ice. I've heard that voice so many times, countless times. I've celebrated with the owner of that voice—laughed and joked. It's Sebastian. "Or the same will happen to you."

I swallow, walk around the bloody man, and enter the building. A naked bulb throws harsh light onto the chair in the middle of the room. A young woman is tied to it, a rag stuffed in her mouth, looking sweaty and terrified but unharmed so far. Behind her, a man stands with a gun aimed at her head.

The man has a deranged grin on his face. He looks wild, feral, crazed. He has the same bones, eyes, and facial structure as my old friend, Sebastian, but there's something different—his aura. I've never seen Sebastian as a sadist before.

"Seb?" I whisper.

Three more men are in the room, all wearing masks. I don't see any other guns, just the one Sebastian is holding.

"You painted a black eye on your face," Finn mumbles. "You pretended to be a hostage. You forced that man to hurt me, drown me, and manipulate me."

"I knew you'd go to Luke," Sebastian says, sighing. "Oh, Finn, my dear boy, we could've done some really impressive things together."

"Was it you the entire time?" Finn asks.

"Yessir," Sebastian says proudly.

"What did you do?" I growl, wanting to run, to cry, to tear him to pieces all at the same time.

"Jealous, Lukey?" my old friend laughs. I'm tempted to think he doesn't seem like himself, but that would be an easy out. I've just clearly never known who he really is. "I've been pushing you around like a goddamn chess piece ever since the VR stuff."

"Wait, what?" I snap, my hands clenching into fists. "You were behind that? Why?"

"Don't ask stupid questions."

"Jesus Christ, Seb. Because I gave some interviews about the VR? Because I was proud of it?"

"You've always been so clever," Sebastian says, chuckling. "Always so high and mighty."

"We were friends ."

"I have no friends," Sebastian snaps. "This little rat …" he says, nodding at Finn, "thought he was a master manipulator and one step ahead of me, but nobody is ahead of me."

Finn narrows his eyes. "Is anybody else in here armed?"

"Finn," I say, trying to get him to settle down.

"It's just… I guess you don't know firearms very well, sir. That gun has the wrong round in the chamber. It's jammed. I can see the gap."

Sebastian's face crumples. Right away, I see that Finn is right from the panic shivering into my old friend's face. No, I mean this sick fuck's face. All three of the masked men pull out weapons, but not guns. One has a gleaming knuckle-duster, another a knife, and the third picks up a metal pipe from the floor.

Suddenly, Sebastian reaches into his pocket and takes out a knife, holding it above Ashley's head.

"Okay, you got me," Sebastian laughs, "but let's see if you can get me before I stick this bitch."

"This is madness," I growl. "All of this because you're jealous? I told you that you can give the interviews. You can be the face of the company. Let the girl go, and I'll sell my half to you. I won't even be involved in it anymore. I'll give you everything."

"You're lying," he says, but I can hear the hope in his voice.

He's right. There's no way in hell I'm giving him anything. I can't believe I ever gave him my friendship. I can't believe this is the same man who ran around with me, insane with excitement, in the early days when we were making a name for ourselves.

"I don't want it," I tell him. "I just want?—"

"I know what you want," he snaps. "You want that fat little piggy. You want Kayla's chunky best friend."

My blood was ice before. Now it's even colder than that. I almost shatter my teeth from clenching them so hard. If it weren't for the knife that he's holding above Ashley—inches from the top of her head, not right at her throat—I'd dive at him. I still might. I'm shaking.

"You should've emptied Finn's apartment," Sebastian goes on. "I heard the recording. Tsk-tsk, Lukey. Not such a paragon now, are you?"

"There's a way out of this," I tell him.

"I couldn't believe it," Sebastian says. "I heard the recording, and then I had to look her up, see what she was like. You're not exactly a ladies' man, after all. Then I saw her— it . I saw it! " He cackles cruelly, and I start calculating the distance between us, wondering how power-drunk he is, wondering how he'd react if I rushed him. "You could have any woman you wanted, and you pick… that?"

"Shut your fucking mouth when it comes to my woman," I snap. "I swear to God, you say one more word about her…"

"Lukas," Finn mutters beside me, but I can't listen. Too much rage is rushing through my ears, and anger is pulsing in my system.

"Oh, sorry," Sebastian says. "I'll speak her language then, shall I? Oink, oink, oink… "

I snap. My head gets hazy. I don't have time to think. I don't do anything, exactly. It's more like this primal fire fills me up, melting the ice, a drum beating deep inside telling me to protect my woman, always protect her, even when she's not here.

Rushing forward, I throw myself over Ashley, tackling Sebastian and crashing him into the wall. I've crushed his arm against his body, trapping the knife. I roar and smash him against the wall over and over and over. His head slams into it. His eyes go empty, and he falls like a rag doll.

When I turn, expecting to fight, I see the three masked men staring. Their eyes are pits of terror. I kneel and grab the knife from the floor. Finn is standing near his sister, his hands on her shoulders.

I gesture with the knife, almost wanting them to attack. I'm flooded with an instinct that must be ancient, an instinct men have felt for as long as there have been people. It's like I'm some barbarian ready to kill dozens of men to protect my family.

"I'll gut you like fucking pigs," I tell them, shaking all over. "Say something about my woman. Say it ."

The men turn and run, crashing through the door. A moment later, I hear Gabriel roaring, "Get down! Put your hands on your head!"

Sebastian starts to moan from the floor. I kneel and put my knee on his back, not hard, but with enough pressure so that he knows not to move. He twists his head, trying to look up at me.

"All I wanted was… a story of my own."

I shake my head in disgust. I never knew this man, but I know one thing. I'll never let anybody insult my woman.

"It was a mistake," I tell him as the mercenaries fill the room. "Talking about Maci."

"Yeah, no shit," he says grimly.

I stand up, letting the mercenaries cuff him. They drag him from the room. Finn has untied his sister, and they're embracing, both in tears. I wish Maci were here. I wish I could hold her. Now that the fight is over, I feel this strange, deflated feeling. Hollow, like I want there to be more fighting, and I want another chance to defend my woman.

"What now?" Finn asks, looking up at me with tear-streaked eyes. This kid wanted people, and himself, to believe he was some unfeeling monster.

"Now, we make sure these pricks do time. We'll tell the public you got a call from Sebastian, and you came to me for help. You were scared about going to the police, so I hired Gabriel and his men. Since you're technically dating my daughter, it's feasible you'd come to me." I turn to Gabriel. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, it'll work." He lowers his voice. "Have you served, Lukas?"

"Served?"

"In the military. Or are you trained?"

"No," I tell him. "I just… Sebastian said some things he shouldn't. It got me riled up."

"That was a stupid mistake on his part," Gabriel says, shaking his head, almost like he's awed. "Those men are terrified. They're shaking. They'd rather be in cuffs than have to fight you."