Zane laughed, the sound harsh and bitter. “Word travels fast in our world. As soon as it gets around what I’ve done—and it will—no coven will touch me. Even if I escaped from here, I’d be on my own.”
“Why would you do this?” Max held his hands out to the side. “Explain it to me, because I don’t fucking understand.”
The hurt in his voice reminded me that he and Max were friends. Or had been.
“Because he threatened my family, Max. That’s why.”
“Your coven?”
Zane shook his head. “No. I have a half-sister. She left years ago, not interested in coven life because her magical ability wasn’t strong.” Zane smiled. “She married, had twin girls.” His smile dropped as quickly as it had appeared. “Tombs somehow found her. Sent me a lovely picture of a man with a knife standing over the twins as they slept.”
“Why didn’t you come to me?” Max asked, voice pained. “I would’ve helped you.”
Zane shrugged, helpless. “I couldn’t risk it. Not when their lives were at stake.”
Max’s shoulders tensed. “What about Callum? Or Blake? Don’t they matter? Or Rys and Axel? What about them, Zane?”
“Of course they matter!” Zane shot back. “But I kept seeing that fucking photo in my nightmares. I did what Tombs asked because I was terrified he’d kill them. I’m sorry about the others, Max. Of course I am. But they’re myfamily.”
Silence filled the room until Max let out a heavy sigh. “You know what’s going to happen to you now, right?” He edged closer.
“I know.” Zane swallowed the last of his drink. “I couldn’t say no to Tombs, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life alone and on the run.”
“You’ll be arrested. Most likely sent to prison, depending on what you’ve done.”
Zane blew out a breath and carefully set his glass down. “I’ve done everything you suspect me of doing. But I’m not the one you need to worry about.” He reached for the laptop, opened it, and turned the screen towards us.
“Play it,” Max ordered, and a second later Caleb Tombs appeared on the screen.
“Hello, Gabriel.”
His voice sent a shudder through me.
“It’s been a while, eh?” He hadn’t changed much, a little more grey flecked his temples, maybe a few more crow’s feet, but other than that, he looked the same as when I last saw him. Full of an arrogance that still left a bad taste in my mouth. “I know you have questions.” He grinned. “So many questions, eh, Gabriel? But I really couldn’t give a fuck about what you want. You’re going to come here, on your own, and you’re going to do it now.” He smiled again. “And this is why…”
The camera panned around to show my living room, and slumped in the corner in front of my sofa lay an unconscious Axel. Blood pooled on the carpet underneath him, and Talis’s low growl echoed in the room around us. He moved like lightning, grabbing Zane by the throat and lifting him off his feet. “Where the fuck are they?”
“It’s my house,” I whispered, heart hammering so loudly I could hardly hear anything else. I pointed at the screen just as the camera moved again, showing an unconscious Rys, covered in chains with someone holding a knife to his throat.
One ofmyfucking kitchen knives.
“No.”
My vision swam. Only Nick’s hands on my shoulders kept me upright. Then anger kicked in, flowing through my veins like lava, igniting a rage so fierce I vibrated in place.
I made a grab for Max’s keys but Tombs’ voice rang out in the room, stopping me in my tracks.
“Come alone, Gabriel. Or I’ll cut his throat the moment you step through the door.” He shook his head, a sad look crossing his face. “And even an alpha will struggle to heal from a wound like that.”
The video ended, leaving silence behind. It lasted all of a second before the shouting started.
Talis dropped Zane to the floor and turned to Max, fire in his eyes. “We need to go get them.Now.”
“No!” I grabbed for Max’s keys again, but he was ready for me this time.
Holding them out of reach, he shook his head. “No fucking way.”
I jabbed a finger at the screen. “You heard what he said. He’ll cut his throat—” My voice broke as the image of it flooded my mind. “I can’t risk it.”
