Page 104 of Collide

“Don’t you dare look at her.” Kai grabbed Toby’s chin and yanked hisface away so that he had to look at Kai, his body swayed from the movement. “I’m going to give you ten fucking seconds to start talking Stag.”

He didn’t need to say, ‘or else’, the threat was crystal clear.

“I… I don’t know everything, I’m not high up enough in the chain to befully clued in on everything,” Toby started, and Kai dropped his hand from Toby’s chin before taking a step back and folding his arms across his chest, waiting expectantly for Toby to talk. He didn’t take his eyes off Toby the entire time he spoke.

“About a week ago, I was at a warehouse that belongs to The Stags. Iwas only there to pick up some more gear, but I overheard Markus, he’s the leader of our quarter. He was talking to his second-in-command about the big boss rallying everyone to take over another gang in another city. I didn’t pay too much attention, you know how it is, man, gangs always try to take over turf.”

He paused as if waiting for Kai to respond but Kai continued glaring,a neutral expression settled on his face. Toby sighed before taking a deep breath to continue.

“They carried on talking and I didn’t pay any attention until I heardMarkus say the name, Riley Bennett. I didn’t know they were looking for her, I swear, man.”

“What happened?” I found myself saying quietly and taking a tinystep forward, desperate to know what happened next and why the hell my name was being bandied around by a gang I’d never heard of, in a city I’d never been to.

Toby risked the wrath of Kai and looked over at me, meeting my gazewith a shamed expression on his bruised face. “I stupidly said I knew you from old, and then before I knew it, I was in front of the leader of The Stags, Carlos, and he was telling me the big boss wanted Riley, and that I was going to help get her.”

I stared back at my old friend, a million thoughts rushing through myhead as his words churned around.

Was Kai right?

Had Toby lied to me?

“What does he want with Riley?” Kai asked through gritted teeth,asking the question that was on the tip of my tongue. Kai was calm but I could tell it was taking a hell of a lot of self-control to keep himself from snapping Toby’s neck.

“I don’t know, honestly I don’t. They knew a lot about her though, thatshe was living with you, and supposedly working for you. Carlos said Riley was going to be the key to bringing the wolf down, I didn’t know what he meant at the time, it was only afterwards that Markus told me who you were and it was your organization the boss wanted to bring down.”

Silence filled the room for a minute and all eyes were on Toby. Iglanced out the corner of my eye at Danny to see his brows had narrowed and his jawline was tense. He was processing everything Toby had said as I imagined Kai was.

If this Carlos person knew stuff about me, how was he getting hisinformation? Kai hadn’t wanted to believe that one of his closest associates had betrayed him, butsomeonewas feeding information to this gang.

“What were you to do with Riley?” Kai asked, breaking the silenceand asking the question I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer to.

I wanted Toby to look at me, for me to see that he never intended tohurt me, but he didn’t dare. He closed his eyes briefly and when he next spoke, his voice was full of pain.

“They wanted me to find her and act like it was an innocent meetingand then get her to meet me the following day.”

My gullible, naïve heart sank further, and tears pricked the back of myeyes. It was stupid, I hadn’t seen Toby in years, he didn’t owe me anything, and yet the betrayal I felt now was like a knife to my gut.

“How did you know she was in the club?” Danny spoke when Kairemained silent. I wondered if he was feeling guilty, it was him after all who had taken me to the club last night.

“Markus. He knew Mr. Wolfe was out of town and I’d been sent towait in Hollows Bay for an opportunity to arise to approach her. He texted me last night to say he had it on good authority Riley was at the club,” Toby replied, stabbing the knife and twisting it into my wounded soul.

There had been so many people in the club, any one of them couldhave informed this Markus person I was there. I tried to cast my mind back to anyone who had been acting strange but with the alcohol I had consumed and the events of what happened after Kai had arrived, I couldn’t think straight.

“And what was going to happen when you met with her the followingday?” Kai asked flatly, breaking me out of my thoughts as to who could be letting information out.I wanted to get the hell out of this room, but my feet were rooted tothe spot.

Despite Kai’s warning, Toby dared another glance at me, his mouthpressed into a thin line of disappointment.

Disappointment in himself.

“They were going to kidnap her,” he muttered.

Kai’s response was not something I expected.

He laughed.

But there was no humor to it, and that sent chillsdown my spine.

“Did Markus really think I would be dumb enough to let Riley go andmeet you the next day unprotected? Give me a break,” Kai said. He had a point, after what happened with Anderson at the charity ball, I wasn’t even allowed to go for a piss on my own.

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