I remembered the rage that had ripped through me when he’d told me the story about those kids hurting him and calling him names.
My chest flooded with an aching throb of remorse.
I should have been there to save him.
Shoving the photo back into my pocket and glaring at the hard, steel door in front of me, I let out one more harsh breath.
If I could help it, Ryan would never be threatened again. Especially not because of me and my fucked up baggage.
This was it.
No going back now.
Without giving myself another second to think, I opened the door.
Alexa, play: Cinema - Benny Benassi, Gary Go, Skrillex
“Hello, Mr. Walker.” Damian greeted me as I stepped into the cold, familiar space. He was sitting at his desk, the framed pictures of my sisters’ faces down next to him.
His voice slithered over me like a bad dream, and I shuddered. Flashbacks to him stroking my hair as I shook in that freezing tub slammed into me the moment our gaze met.
My fingers twitched as I slid the Glock 19 out of my waistband, pointing it directly at his head.
He smiled.
“Put down the gun, Callum,” he ordered calmly, and the command hit me like an electric shock.
My mind went completely blank for a second.
When everything blinked back into focus, I was pointing the gun at the floor by my side.
I frowned.
What the fuck?
With a hammering heart, I glanced back at Damian, gritting my teeth in frustration.
Did he have me so brainwashed that I physically couldn’t stop myself from obeying?
Leaning on my newfound rage, I cocked the weapon and pointed it back at his head, snarling.
Focus, Cal. Fucking focus for once in your goddamn life!
Damian chuckled and stood up, slowly circling the desk with his hands in the pockets of his perfectly pressed Armani pants. He pulled out his little black remote, and suddenly, the office was filled with the familiar and now achingly painful beat of ‘Cinema’ bySkrillex.
The music ricocheted through my skull, and suddenly, I was drowning.
McGreggor was spraying me in the face with the hose, and the brand wasburning, burning, burning…
I couldn’t breathe.
“Fuck…”
I blinked, shaking my head again, trying to get the flashback to subside.
My finger tensed on the trigger, and I tried to fight against the strange block in my brain that seemed to be preventing my finger from working.
“You’re not going to shoot me, Callum,” Ryker drawled. He was smirking in such an infuriating way. “But if it makes you feel better, you can keep pointing it at me.”
