“But why my mum? What do they want with her?”
He eased back with the knife, dark eyes glinting with delight. “You don’t know, do you?” he chuckled. “Greta Sonne isn’t who she says she is.”
I went to ask another question, but there was a click of the front door. Before I could react, Cedric yanked me to my feet, one arm crushing me against him while the knife bit cold against my throat.
Ryder froze in the doorway, eyes flicking over the scene in an instant, calculating and assessing. Then, as if I wasn’t just being held at knife point, he let the door swing shut behind him.
“You alright, mate?” he drawled, head tilting. His gaze slid to me, then back to Cedric. “Already called in another man, blondie?” He clicked his tongue, pressing a palm to his chest as he feigned insult. “Honestly, I’m hurt.”
“The price on your head has doubled,” Cedric explained, his arm like a vice around me.
“Onlydoubled?” Ryder scoffed, lips curling into that infuriatingly dimpled grin. “Fucking hell. I clearly need to up my game. I’m worth far more than that.”
Oh my God, my only chance of surviving this was aman who could put Narcissus to shame. I had to force myself not to move, not to breathe though my pulse hammered violently against the blade’s edge all while Ryder carried on like this was all some kind of joke.
Cedric’s grip shifted, easing just enough to make it more unnerving than reassuring. “This has been a long time coming, Ryder.”
Ryder
Seriously, is there no honour among thieves?
Cedric threw Violet to the side, hard enough that she fell against the cabinet which then toppled to the floor. I didn’t have time to check whether she was okay, as Cedric jumped at me with a fucking knife with the actual intention of killing me.
The blade barely missed my nose, his arm immediately rearing back ready to swipe again.
Could you believe it? It was ridiculous that anyone would want to killme, never mind in such a barbaric way.
I took a page out of Violet’s book and grabbed the closest object, which just happened to be a glass of water. It hit Cedric in the face, shattering beautifully.
“You really want to do this?” I caught Cedric’s wrist mid-swing, twisting hard enough that bones creaked under my grip. He screeched, dropping the knife to the floor which I quickly kicked away.
With his left hand he managed to grab my T-shirt, hauling me against him as if we were lovers. If I ignored thestench of sweat, cheap aftershave, and the fact he wanted to kill me, it might’ve almost been tender.
“Easy, tiger,” I muttered, “I’m not that kind of guy.”
My grip on his wrist broke, but I managed to rear my arm back, ramming my fist into his stomach with as much momentum as I could with such little space.
The air left him in a grunt, but the bastard clung tighter, dragging me off balance.
We slammed into the TV with a bone-cracking thud, the screen shattering against my back as my skull cracked against the wall. Pain shot through me like lightning, sparking down my spine and detonating into a pounding headache.
But I didn’t have the luxury of reacting, not with Cedric’s hand already clawing for my throat, nails raking fire as he fought to crush the air out of me. I shoved my forearm under his chin, snapping his head back, then drove a fist into his face. My knuckles throbbed, but Cedric barely flinched.
I hated fighting, especially when it put my face at risk.
But fighting was pure instinct, my body moving before my brain had a chance to catch up.
Because if I hesitated, if I actually stopped to process what was happening, panic would perforate every one of my cells and leave me frozen. Helpless.
I wasnothelpless.
With a guttural roar, Cedric latched onto my shoulders and hurled me down. I slammed against the floor, air ripping from my lungs as his weight crushed me. I barely got my arms up before his punches came raining down, blow after blow pounding into my ribs until they screamed with every breath.
Panic locked my muscles. I fought to keep the past fromslamming headfirst into the present, fought not to flinch, recoil, or to let the old terror leave me vulnerable.
Then, suddenly, he stopped. His breath stuttered out in a gasp, hot and ragged against my skin. For a second, I didn’t understand.
Until I saw her.
