Chapter 46
Ugh!
He hasn’t spoken to me since he found out I’m with Cole.
What the hell does he want now?
I’m not in the mood for one of his lectures.
I cancel the call and resume typing my message to Cole.
Immediately, it rings again.
Killian.
I freeze. A ripple of unease shudders down my spine. Instinctively, I place a protective hand over my bump.
Beckett code—if we call twice, it’s an emergency.
But before I can answer it, a figure catches my attention from the corner of my eye.
A man stalks towards my office. He’s wearing overalls and a baseball cap, carrying a small box of what must be tools.
Must be the tech guy, but he has no business being up here.
My eyes narrow, taking him in as he continues to approach. He looks oddly familiar.
Where have I seen him before?
It hits me then like a train.
He looks exactly like the homeless guy with the dog.
He couldn’t be though, could he?
That’s crazy.
Maybe they’re related?
I’ll ask Louise at reception. She’ll have validated his credentials before she clocked out for the evening.
My phone vibrates in my hand again, but I don’t even glance at it. I can’t tear my eyes from the tech guy striding into my office with the weird, cruel grin lifting his thin lips. I try to scream for Tate, but words won’t come.
Who the fuck does this guy think he is?
‘Hello Zara.’ The stranger steps inside, shutting the door behind him with a menacing click. He strides towards my desk and places the slim toolbox down, then he dusts his hands together with slow satisfaction—like he’s just finished a dirty job.
‘Your bodyguard is a big bastard,’ he says casually. ‘Not the sharpest tool in the box though.’ He pops open his own tool box then glances up towards the third floor, where I sent Tate to look for a fucking fan.
My stomach plummets.
I reach towards my top drawer, where a handgun sits. Killian gave it to me as a gift when I started here. I’ve never had to use it before, but I know how. My brothers made certain of that.
‘Don’t even think about it.’ He pulls out a pistol. So that’s what kind of tools he carried into my building.
‘There’s cash in the safe.’ I nod towards the cabinet behind me. ‘Take whatever you want p>
He laughs then, long and low. ‘I don’t want your money, Zara. I want to burn your world down p>
He reaches into the case again. This time, he produces a lighter. His thumb rolls over it, and that tiny flame sets my insides alight. The sickening reality of my situation slams into me like a sledgehammer.
Killian’s phone calls.
Shit.
‘Jack O’Connor.’ I exhale heavily. He looks nothing like the pictures Killian circulated. But then again, between the baseball cap and the beard, it was impossible to see much of his face at all.
‘Very good.’ He nods patronisingly as if addressing a small child.
‘I assumed you were dead.’ If I can just keep the crazy bastard talking until Killian gets here. He must know his men monitor all of our CCTV. Clearly, he was trying to warn me. Or maybe my new client—Slater—could raise the alarm bells.
‘That was the entire point.’ Jack’s nostrils flare.
‘But how? It’s been months.’ Every cell in my body screams at me to buy time. Stall him from doing something catastrophic.
‘You all thought my sons skipped the country too. Meanwhile, they built an entire world beneath the woods, waiting for me to make my move.’ There’s a psychotic smugness to his tone. ‘The sons that your family didn’t put in prison, that is.’ His eyes drop to my bump. Panic pulses through my blood, but I remain still, rigid in my chair. ‘The next generation always pays for their parents’ mistakes in the end. Pity really p>
Fuck.
Where is Killian?
I peer over O’Connor’s shoulder, silently willing someone, anyone, to help me.
He laughs then, long and low. ‘You’re not stupid enough to think Slater is actually coming? That was just a ploy to keep you here after hours. There was no point in killing your sweet little receptionist. Not when she’s been so kind to me and my dog these past few months p>
Fuck.
My eyes dart to the tiny camera mounted in the top corner of the room.
‘Disabled.’ He offers me another slow, cruel smile and flicks the lighter again. ‘I had to give them a reason to come down in person p>
Fire.
That’s the mad bastard’s preferred method of killing.
Shit.
What the fuck has he done in my server room?
He strolls toward my window and looks out at the quiet street below, arms loose at his sides.
‘I spent the afternoon getting to know your building,’ he says absently.
Every muscle in my body tenses, turns to ice.
‘What did you do?’ My voice cracks.
He turns back to me. Cold bright eyes bore into mine.
‘Locked every exit. Cut the alarms. Tied your bodyguard up with cables upstairs. That way he’ll hear your dying screams and know that he failed before he joins you in hell.’ He makes a point of checking his watch. ‘In about seven minutes, this place goes up like kindling p>
My pulse slams violently.
Bodyguard. Not bodyguards, plural. Is there a chance Felstead and Nico made it out of the building? If they did, and they return to find the doors locked, they’ll break me out? Won’t they? My hands hover protectively over my stomach.
‘Why?’ I choke.
‘Because.’ He tilts his head. ‘You, princess, were the easiest to get to. You’re also how I get them all in one place. I would have preferred to start with Scarlett, my darling step-daughter, but your brother’s place is like Fort Knox. This, on the other hand, was too easy. And I thought it was rather poetic—all this glass. Kind of like the cage your family put me in for the past five years. Child’s play, really. I want them to watch when I burn down not only the next generation of Becketts…’ His eyes home in on my bump again. ‘The following generation too. I told you it was a blessing p>
My mind flashes back to the day I gave the mad fucker money to feed his dog. I assumed he meant my baby was a blessing to me. He meant for him. Another Beckett to take out.
Vomit lurches up my throat, but I force it back down.
He wants my family to come.
He wants them to watch.
Oh God, and Cole.
He’s already on his way.
No. No. No.
‘You won’t get away with this, you know p>
‘I don’t plan to.’ He flicks the lighter again. ‘I’m staying right here with you, princess. I want a first row seat on your trip to hell. And I’m taking as many Becketts with me as possible.’ The grin that lifts his lips is fucking terrifying. ‘I set a little delayed incendiary ticking under your server rack. When it pops, this building turns into a fireball—and anyone stupid enough to rush in to save you gets taken out with it. Your brothers, your staff, your boyfriend. I’ve had a lot of time to think about this moment. Years staring at a blank wall in a shitty cell. You can probably tell p>
The man is a fucking psycho.
My phone vibrates violently on my desk—Killian again.
‘We’ll let that ring out,’ he says smoothly. ‘Wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise p>
He steps closer.
‘Now,’ he purrs, reaching into the slim tool case. ‘Be a good girl and put these on p>
When he pulls out the cable ties, my blood goes cold.