He didn’t look frightened, just resigned.
Josh noticed it too.
He cleared his throat softly from where he still stood near the doorway. “Before we start,” he said carefully, “can someone maybe take the tape off their mouths?”
One of the accountants let out a desperate, muffled noise of agreement.
Hudson leaned forward in his chair. “Oh, absolutely fucking not.”
“Hudson,” I warned.
He whined, reminding me of earlier times, “But they’ll scream.”
“They’re already crying,” Lane pointed out mildly from Greyson’s lap.
“That’s different,” Hudson sighed. “Crying is quiet. Screaming is loud. I already have a headache just from imagining it.”
Greyson rested his chin against Lane’s temple, watching the accountants with that analytical look he’d inherited from hisfather. “They’re not going anywhere,” he decided. “Let them talk.”
Ronan tilted his head thoughtfully. Across from him, the hyperventilating accountant made a hopeful choking sound.
Ro looked at him, then he smiled. “Alright.”
Both men visibly sagged in relief.
“Lane?” Ronan called.
“Hmm?”
“You have the gentlest hands,” Ro said sweetly. “Would you mind?”
Lane slid gracefully off Greyson’s lap. “Of course.”
Greyson watched him go with the kind of fond patience that made me think maybe I hadn’t been a completely terrible role model.
Lane walked around the table and crouched beside the first accountant like he was helping a nervous patient instead of a kidnapping victim. “Okay,” he murmured kindly. “Don’t scream.” He peeled the tape off in one smooth motion.
The man sucked in a huge breath—
—and immediately began shouting.
“Please—”
Hudson sighed as Hayes moved faster than most people could track. His hand shot across the table and closed around the man’s throat.
The room fell silent as the man’s eyes widened in sheer panic.
Hayes smiled pleasantly, speaking sharply through his teeth, “Stop fucking screaming, or I’ll shatter your goddamn windpipe. Got it?”
The accountant nodded frantically.
Hayes released him.
Lane patted the man’s shoulder. “See? That went well.”
He moved to the second accountant.
Behind me, I heard Josh whisper under his breath. “This is insane…”
