“Hey, it’s going to be fine,” I tell him. He meets my gaze but quickly looks back down at the floor. I kiss him on the cheek so he looks me in the eyes.
“Everything is going to be fine,” I repeat, my hands clasping around his.
“I wanted to keep you away from all this,” he says, his eyes glassy.
“I’ve spent my life being haunted by them. Today it ends, for all of us,” I tell him, inviting him into a hug. We hold each other for a moment as the reality of our situation sinks in.
I need to stay strong.
I am strong.
I can do this.
“Let me just grab my bag, then we can head to the police station. You ready, Eli?” I ask, looking over to him. He gives me a nod as I go to the back of the store. After a few steps, the bell sounds again. I dart round. My eyes go wide as my heart sinks.
“You got a seat for your old man?” I hear a man say. I rush to Teddy and Elijah, standing beside them. Teddy’s brothers, Elliot and Stanley, stand beside the man. They’re wearing backpacks, and something tells me I don’t want to know what’s in them.
When I get a clear view of the man in the middle, I gasp.
“Dr Satin? What are you…?” I say, lost for words. “You’re…?”
“Yeah, I kinda lied to you, Noah. I do apologise for the insincerity,” he says, a small smile dawns on his face. Elliot and Stanley are sniggering behind him.
“Why would you do that? I told youeverythingabout myself. I told you mytrauma, why would you…” I trail off, my heart aching. This whole time, I’ve been sharing my secrets with the enemy.
“I wanted to learn more about you, Noah. I knew Isabelleverywell. I wanted to know what kind of man she birthed into the world,” he explains, stepping closer to us.
“Bullshit. You didn’t know her at all, all you did was murder her,” I spit as I feel my face heat up. My hands form a fist as I grind my teeth together. How dare he say her name? He has no right.
“She was the love of my life. Then one day, she decided I wasn’t good enough for her. All of this was for her. I wanted to have money to support her, to support the family we were goingto have, but she threw it all away for thatfuckingpoliceman,” he says, rolling his eyes.
Mum was in a relationship with Mr Bronze?
Teddy stands in front of him, but his father throws his hands into the air.
“Oh, c’mon, Edward, I haven’t even done anything yet. All we’re doing is talking. God you think I’msoterrible don’t you.”
“Well, you are,” Elijah pipes up, joining Teddy to cover me. Mr Bronze moves closer to him and bends down to talk to him.
“Oh well, if it isn’t Mr Hero. You think you’re so amazing, don’t you? I remember the day he ran away to yours. Did he ever repay you for that?” Mr Bronze asks, his gaze locked onto Elijah. Elijah glares right back at him, his demeanour calm and composed.
“He doesn’t need to, it’s what friends do.”
“Don’t make me sick,” Mr Bronze gags. He sighs loudly and scratches his temples. He looks between us all, breathing through his nostrils.
Then, in the blink of an eye, he’s grabbing Elijah by the neck and pulling him away from us. Mr Bronze pulls out a switchblade from his pocket and holds it to Elijah’s neck.
“Don’t fucking move,” he grunts, pointing at me and Teddy with the knife. We give each other a look, not knowing what to do. I can’t let him die. I can’t. This was never meant to happen. We were just about to end this. But they got to us first.
We took too long.
“Tie them up, boys,” he says to Elliot and Stanley. They move towards us.
“Surely you have chairs in this fucking place,” Elliot complains, looking around. Stanley finds some and places them in the centre of the room, across from each other.
“Please take a seat, and if you don’t, little Eli’s neck gets slit,” Mr Bronze threatens.
We take a seat begrudgingly. The brothers take rope out of their backpacks and tie me and Teddy’s arms to the chairs.
