The Senator swallows, his throat bobbing. “What do you want?”
“The complete instruction manual to this Prometheus’ plan would be nice.” I shrug, picking up one of the knives and using it to clean my nails. “For starters.”
He shakes his head. “All I know is that he’s developing the drug to nullify designations. Nothing else.”
I huff, stabbing the knife back into the table, making him flinch. “Well that’s not very helpful, is it? Let’s try again. How many members are there in your little Beta Liberation Union?”
His lips purse, and he shakes his head. It’s not an answer we need, because Declan has already uncovered the information, but it gives me an indication on how hard it’ll be to get him to crack.
Sighing, I tilt my head. “Here I thought we struck gold, but all we got is a little beta boy desperate to suck a pretend god’s cock.”
“Fuck you, omega bitch!” His face turns red as he struggles against his ropes.
“Nope,” I click my tongue, standing from the table. “That honor goes to your son. Your wonderful, carin’, sweet, protective son.” I make my way next to him, and squeeze his cheeks with one hand. “He’s ten times the man you ever had any hope of bein’. You say that alphas and omegas are oppressive, but you’re the one who hates him due to his designation.”
“I can’t wait until alpha and omega scum like you are just like the rest of us!” His face is red, his cheeks squished under the force of my hold, and I can’t help but think how pitiful he looks.
“Oh, Dick.” I sigh, shaking my head before patting his cheek. “Even if he does succeed, you’re not gonna be alive to see it.”
“You’re going to kill me?” he cries, thrashing again. “Wait! I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
“Too late,” Kole taunts, taking the knife I had just used to clean my nails from the table as Sam hands him a vodka bottle. He dips the blade in the alcohol, thoroughly coating it.
“What are you doing?” Dick sputters, his eyes widening in panic as Kole passes the knife to West, who passes it to me.
“We’re about to take advantage of the fact that you spilled a bottle of brandy all over yourself and then left a candle burnin’.” I grin, watching as Hayden takes out his lighter, and eyes hard,flicks it open.
“It’s ironic, Dad, that the lighter you gave me is engraved, ‘Your Choice’,” he tilts his head, “when your choices are the ones that led you here.”
The flame engulfs the blade, and Dick doesn’t even have time to scream before the knife is flying from my hand and hitting him straight in the eye. He’s dead before the flames hit, the bright orange inferno quickly taking over his body.
Of course, with the knife sticking out of his forehead, the whole “left a candle burning” cover kind of loses its credibility, but I’m not about to burn my hand trying to get it.
“Shit,” I mutter as the flames jump from him to the table, where brandy had splashed when I broke the bottle over his head. We knew it would help act as an accelerant, but the fire is burning faster than I thought it would.
“We gotta go.” West grabs my arm, but Sam throws me over his shoulder and starts running out of the room.
But my eyes are fixed on Hayden. On the way he can’t stop staring at his dad’s body, or the pure euphoria and relief that’s emitting from the bond. The flames have spread to the table and the couch that was behind his seat, and the curtains are close behind.
I don’t know if it’s the work of the flames, or the fact his daddy is gone, but Hayden is stuck, entranced.
He’s going to get burned alive.
“Hayden!” I screech, but it’s like he doesn’t hear me. “Somebody get him!” My voice is shrill when Sam doesn’t stop moving. Kole reaches him, jostling his shoulder, and finally,finallyhe snaps out of it, shaking his head, and nodding to Kole.
I let out a sigh of relief when they both follow, and when we cross the foyer, now filled with smoke, a fire alarm starts to go off.
“Fuck, that’ll call the fire department,” West hisses. “We’ll have to be far away by the time they get here.”
We burst out of the front door of the house, coughing and gasping for air.
This apparently was not one of my more thought-through plans.
Sam puts me down, and I realize we are in a very nice neighborhood—like, East Coast nice. “We need to get away from this house,” I rasp, nodding towards the property gate. “Kole, will you help me up?”
It takes three minutes for all of us to get over the wall, and then we’re on the side of the road. We need to start running, but I have no idea what direction to go. Before I can voice that concern, however, an SUV comes rolling down the road.
“Everybody act natural,” West hisses, pasting a smile on his face. I nearly snort. We’re all red and sweaty from the heat of the fire, and I don’t doubt there’s soot everywhere.
