Aiden pulled his wrists, but the cold handcuffs bit against his skin.I wish I had a needle.If I had a needle, I could get myself out of this.The humming in his head continued.
Breaths quickening, heart racing, and his legs jittering, he pulled at his tied hands without thought, clanging the cuffs against the metal beam.
The kidnapper turned around at the sound.
Stupid! Why didn’t you recite your lessons first before doing something so brainless?Aiden wished he could bang his head against the metal column to kick the regret away, but the kidnapper marched, breathing even heavier than him. In the first second, the kidnapper bore holes into Aiden’s forehead, but at the slightest noise, a gasp escaped from his lips. His eyes roamed his surroundings like a spinning top. His knees shook, and the softness that the man originally spoke in when posing as the apartment’s employee now gave away the shakiness.
Aiden should feel reassured at the shared level of terror if it wasn’t for the fact that the kidnapper held a gun.
“I know you know about the Guo family.” The man knelt, pressing the gun to Aiden’s head. “Tell me about them. Now.”
The metal barrel felt like ice against his sweating forehead. Aiden bit his lip to stifle a whimper, but he knew his eyes would give away his pure terror.
The lessons. Remember the lessons.
No matter how badly his lips quivered, he forced himself to breathe through his nose. He counted five breaths. He took one deep sigh for the sixth. His hands stopped shaking.
He remembered.
If people start demanding, you go cold.
“I do not have time for this!” the man barked. “If you do not tell me about the Guo family in three seconds, I will put a bullet through your head!”
Act like you don’t care.
He closed his eyes to force them to stop twitching. He snapped them open.
“Go ahead. Pull the trigger.” Aiden stared at the man.
The kidnapper jammed the weapon harder against Aiden's forehead. The man's hot breath fell against his cheek. Still, Aiden concentrated only on breathing and keeping his eyes on the kidnapper’s.
“So youdoknow about the Guo family. Tell me, and I’ll let you free.”
Act like you’ve been through this.
Aiden glanced at the gun. He leaned back with a sigh while his hands continued to dig into the cuffs, fingers tapping away at the metal. “I think I’ve met kids more threatening than you.”
Act like everything’s a joke.
“Your plan’s dumb. First, you don’t actually know if I know anything about the Guo family. Second, no sane person would let me walk free even if I did know and could tell you. Third, I’ll be torn apart by my own family if it’s something they don’t want others to know. Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. Why would I have any logical reason to give you what you want?” Aiden pulled out the smirk perfected in the mirror after days of practice under his brother’s tutelage.
Suddenly, the metal column vibrated. Footsteps approached, moving across the concrete with purpose. Aiden's breath quickened, and he drew his legs close to his chest, shutting his eyes.
The kidnapper cocked the gun with a terrifying click, but another shot cracked through the air, piercing his hand. Blood spurted onto Aiden’s face. He clamped his mouth shut to avoid swallowing it, inwardly screeching at the sensation of it dripping down his lips. Fresh blood was always warm.
The gun dropped to the ground, and the kidnapper howled. The man crawled behind Aiden, but another shot pierced his leg before he could get far. His cries of pain bounced around the abandoned building, amplifying his misery. Aiden flinched at the sight of blood sputtering out from the kidnapper’s leg wound.
“Xiao Hui!” Wang Xing called, dashing over.
Shaky air released from Aiden’s squeezing chest, but his body tightened a second later upon meeting eyes with the person following Wang Xing. Hui Ye approached the writhing man with eyes still and breathed so softly that Aiden couldn’t even see his chest rise and fall without concentrating.
“Wang Xing, give him music,” Hui Ye instructed, and Aiden didn’t recognize the cold voice coming from Hui Ye’s mouth.
The chauffeur set Aiden free.
“Ge—” He reached for Hui Ye.
“Come, Xiao Hui.”
