Page 55 of Playing with Fire

"The security team at Grant Memorial has been tripled," Maxime replied. "No one will reach Mr. Laskin."

"Like no one reached him in his car?" I challenged.

Xander lunged at Maxime with a primal scream that made even the guards flinch.

"YOU DON'T GET TO DECIDE!" he shrieked, the sudden intensity of his emotion filling the entire room.

Ash moved quickly, wrapping his arms around Xander from behind. This wasn't the first time he'd had to contain one of Xander's episodes.

"He's all I have! He's the only one who never gave up on me!" Xander's voice cracked as he struggled, emotions cycling so rapidly across his face it was impossible to track them all. Rage to desperation to betrayal and back again in seconds. "I trusted you, Maxime! We trusted you!"

The guards' hands moved to their weapons as Xander's emotional volatility escalated the situation from tense to potentially lethal.

"I swear to god, I will fucking kill you where you stand," Xander hissed, his entire body trembling, tears streaming down his face even as he threatened murder. The black-and-white thinking of his condition had fully taken over. Maxime was no longer a person doing his job, but an absolute enemy standing between him and someone he loved.

"Xander, baby, breathe," Ash murmured, pulling Xander's head against his chest. "You can't help your father if you're dead."

We all stood there awkwardly while Xander sobbed into Ash's chest. I glared at Maxime and took a step forward. The armed guards tensed.

"If he dies while we're stuck here," I said, my voice suddenly eerily calm, "there won't be anything in this world that can save you from me. Not Algerone, not that stupid little tablet in your hands, and not your armed guards. Do you understand me?"

Maxime's response was cold. "Mr. Etremont was clear: your safety outweighs your comfort or autonomy in this situation."

"So we are prisoners," I concluded, anger burning cold in my veins.

Maxime's expression remained professionally neutral. "You are assets being protected."

"Assets," Shepherd echoed, a dangerous edge in his voice. "How interesting that Algerone views his family as property to be secured rather than people with agency."

"I am simply following orders, Dr. Laskin."

"Following orders," River repeated, his usually expressionless face showing the first signs of genuine anger. "Classic justification for unethical actions throughout history."

Leo moved closer to me. "There has to be a compromise. Maybe a small team could go with Algerone's security as an escort?"

Maxime shook his head. "I'm afraid that's not possible. The security protocols are absolute until the threat is neutralized."

"And who determines when that happens?" I demanded. "Algerone?"

"Precisely."

I clenched my teeth. "I want Algerone on the phone right fucking now."

Maxime nodded. "I'll relay your request."

"It wasn't a request." Xion cracked his knuckles.

The tension in the room remained palpable, a live wire ready to spark at the slightest provocation. Every instinct screamed at me to fight, to force our way past these obstacles and reach Dad. But the tactical reality was unavoidable: we were outmaneuvered.

"I'll relay your request with urgency," Maxime said. "And I promise you I will make sure he understands the gravity of the situation."

"You had fucking better," I replied. "We'll be in the media room, waiting to take his call."

As we walked away, I caught a glimpse of Maxime speaking quietly into his comm device. I reached for Leo's hand, linking our fingers together. His grip was strong, steady, a silent reminder that whatever came next, I wasn't facing it alone.

The intensity of my need to protect him, to keep him safe, had grown exponentially since I'd admitted what he meant to me. I'd spent years calculating risks, neutralizing threats, and delivering justice through fire. But now the stakes were personal in a way they'd never been before. Phoenix had targeted my home, my family, and worst of all—had tried to kill Leo.

When Algerone finally called, he'd better have something to say worth listening to, or I was going to burn this entire fortress to the ground to get to my father.

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