Page 146 of The Finish Line
“You called fucking Ryan and didn’t tell me?” I grit out.
“He’s my partner in crime, good at finding out who the leeches are, and you and I have had quite the failure to communicate on this front, haven’t we? But don’t worry, your old business partner has introduced himself.”
“You hid her well, Tobias.” Antoine’s eyes rake over Cecelia, who stands stoic beside me, alert and ready, before she returns her gaze to Greg, a defiant lift to her chin. Antoine’s eyes drift back to me.
“Let’s save each other some time by stating the obvious. You were expecting me.”
“At some point, but I was hoping you would spare me the headache. However, I knew you would come when you found the right leverage.”
“My leverage is beautiful.” He sickeningly assesses Cecelia, and it’s all I can do to keep from lunging at him.
“She was never a part of our arrangement.”
“Ahh, that’s where you’re wrong. My body may be turning against me, but my mind has not, Tobias. I remember our conversation well. You broke our agreement a long time ago, and my trust.”
“Our business has been over for some time. You aren’t here because of broken trust.”
“No? Then do enlighten me. Why am I here?”
“Because you’re close to your expiration date. Because you have nothing left to live for now, other than your bitter grudges, and you’re inventing them at this point.”
His eyes flash with fury as Cecelia bristles next to me, her hostile eyes on Greg, who only smirks.
“I’m disappointed in you, Antoine... after all I’ve done—” I look toward the men standing behind him—“this is the best you’ve got?”
“You shouldn’t be so smug. It was far too easy to get through your front door and Cecelia’s been such a good hostess—well, aside from those first few minutes.” He glances down at the dead man at her feet. “For you to go to such lengths to keep her from me all this time tells me all I need to know.” He clicks his tongue. “The daughter of your sworn enemy. You went against everything you believed.”
“Worth it,” I swallow. “And you can end me right now. You can end me right now by taking her away. I’m not denying it.”
“A punishment that seems fitting of the crime.”
“What crime? You’ve always been so fucking delusional, and that’s why you never got my allegiance. I’ve broken no arrangement. I owe no debt to you. Why is she such an insult to you?”
“Because my nephew and men died while you indulged in her all those years ago. I had wondered what kept you. Now it makes sense.”
“A nephew and men you cared nothing about. I’ve never crossed you. You’ve lived a long life, and your safety was never my priority. But here you are, alive and breathing because of me. That should tell you enough.”
“You’re so quick to point out how you educated me and my men, yet you let your dick make your decisions, which is fucking pathetic, according to you.”
“And what would I have to live for if I would have taken my own advice? I realized the error of my ways. And my number one goal was never to become a clone of you. No one to remember me. No one to take over my legacy. No reason to fucking live other than for the game, and later, to exist alone only to reflect on my evil deeds. I chose a different way. You take this from me, and then what? Who will you go after? Is this what you truly want?”
“Don’t insult me with your bleeding heart, Tobias. You know I can’t be persuaded.”
“Do you want me to beg for her? Because I’m not above it.”
“Tobias, don’t,” Cecelia whispers softly, as Greg’s lips curl into a fucking feline smile.
I pull Greg’s gun from the back of my jeans—a gun they didn’t bother to check for after securing my Glocks—and know that there are at least six others trained on us. Four in the kitchen, and the two I passed in the entryway. Even if we get a few shots off, we’re going to lose this fight. Rage thrums through me at the idea that this is how it all ends. I’ve been bested by a man I detest, an unworthy man, and he’s about to take the one thing I can’t live without.
“For her, I’ll give you every cent I’ve earned. I’ll hand it all over. Take my money, take my life, but let her go.”
He scoffs, “There’s that nobility. I’m afraid it’s going to cost you a lot more this time.”
I keep my ready insult to myself, hoping that at least I can somehow negotiate her to safety. If I can just get her away from this house, there’s a chance she can make it to my birds, but I see no option, no chance of that.
Antoine has always been merciless when doling out his punishments, and that’s one thing he’ll always have over me.
Hope disappears as resolution covers me. I’ve got nothing, absolutely fucking nothing. There’s no scenario here where one or both of us doesn’t die.