Page 75 of His Coveted Obsession

“He’s not here.”

“Clearly. Answer my question.”

“I-I don’t know where he is.”

I was fucking over this as my mind started to see only red. Blood red. All my instincts screamed at me that something had happened to Thomas, and somehow, this prick was involved. I hadn’t originally thought it likely, but now I was certain of it.

“Where is he?!” I boomed.

Mr. Lauder jumped from my outburst before his head fell into his hands and let loose a guttural sob.

“I don’t have fucking time for your tears. Tell me where Thomas is. Now! Or I’m going to start inflicting pain.”

He lifted his head, his thick brows furrowed in confusion. “Wh-who are you? Every time I see you, you’re different. At first, you were so polite and kind, then you started threatening me. Now, you come in here and break into my house!”

I ignored his question, jumped the coffee table, landed on him, and drew a blade to his throat. The man reeked of sour sweat and beer. “You disgust me. Something happened to Thomas, and you know what. Tell me now, or I’ll start cutting.”

His bloodshot eyes watered, and his lip trembled. “Th-they’ll kill me and my kids. They said I can’t tell anyone.”

“You should be more worried about whatI’mgoing to do to you. Thomas belongs tome. If anything has happened to him, there’s going to be hell to pay. That’s not a threat. That’s a promise.”

He stared into my eyes, testing me, testing the truth of my words. Then he sagged. “C-can you save my kids?”

“Yes.”

Mr. Lauder jutted his chin at the coffee table. “There. It’s a ransom note.”

This was all his fault, and he needed to pay. If I didn’t need to find Thomas so quickly, or if he wouldn’t be angry with me if I killed his father, I would’ve done so already. I removed the blade from his throat, climbed off him, and grabbed the note to read. That was the only reason for me holding back as much as I itched to make him suffer.

After reading it, I set the paper down and glared at the man, using all the self-control I never thought possible to keep from killing him. Still, the rage consumed me enough that my heart beat too heavily in my chest, and I couldn’t stop stimming my fingers.

A half million dollars. As if Mr. Fucking Lauder had that much money. He would never be able to pay that off, leaving Thomas in the hands of those thugs, who would probably put him to ‘gooduse’ to repay their investment in his father. I knew all too well what men like that enjoyed doing to their victims.

I swore to fucking god, if one of them touched Thomas…

I began to pace the small living room. “This is all your fucking fault! Your addiction has come to collapse all around you, and subsequently,me! You’ve taken Thomas from me!”

One hand twirled the dagger while the other kept tapping fingers.

“I know…” he sobbed. “I know.”

“You know?You know?! Andstillyou gamble!” I rushed at him again, and he scrambled away from me, but I was faster. My knife was at his throat again, and my hands trembled and itched to sink the sharp blade into his skin. “You’re a waste of a human. You blow through money that can feed Thomas, you sell all your belongings and theirs, and you lose your job. You’ve forced Thomas to adapt and take his time away from me. And I’ve been forced to cover for you financially.”

“Y-you gave him money?”

I growled. “Money you will never see.”

“But… you can pay off the kidnappers, right?”

“I’m not giving you a fucking dime.”

“But…”

The man was fucking hopeless. Beyond reason.

“I give you money and you’ll just bet with it—and lose. Oh, no. I’m going to get Thomas back.”

“They’ll kill my kids if anyone intervenes! No! Please… just loan me the money.”

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