Page 106 of Collide

I didn’t say anything, just glared back at Kai, the pair of us facing offagainst the other.

“Didn’t he tell you he was back in the area seeing family? He couldhave told you the second he bumped into you the real reason he was in the club, but he didn’t. He lied to you like he is doing now.”

Fuck.

My eye twitched as the truth of that statement settled in. As much as Ididn’t want to accept what Kai had said, he had a point. Toby had lied to me, so how could I be so sure he was telling the truth now? Could I be so sure my trust wasn’t misplaced?

“I only did that because I didn’t want to scare you, Riley. I promise Iwas going to tell you,” Toby pleaded, drawing my attention away from Kai and on to him.

My throat clogged with thick emotion and another tear slid down mycheek. My head was swirling and I needed a minute or two to think things through.I wanted to believe Toby so badly and as I stood staring at him, I wasreminded of the first time I had seen him five years ago when he had given me a boyish grin and told me everything would be okay. I had believed him then, and I believed him now.

Besides, he was telling Kai the truth now, why would he do that if hegenuinely didn’t want to help?

“Why are you helping us now, Toby? Why are you telling us all ofthis?” My voice shook as I spoke and I held my breath, waiting for his answer.

“Because I couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to you,Riley,” he replied softly. The tension in the air was so thick I could hardly breathe. “Even if I was going to do what they wanted me to do, the second I saw you last night, I knew I’d never be able to go through with it. You’re my girl, Riley.”

Smack.

I jumped back in surprise when Kai’s fist connected with Toby’s face,his head snapping to one side and for a second, I thought he’d been knocked out.

Kai grabbed Toby’s jaw and yanked his face up, fresh blood pouredfrom his nose. Based on the crack that echoed around the room, I think it was fair to say Toby’s nose was broken.

“She is notyourgirl, you hear me, you little cunt. She willneverbeyour girl,“ Kai hissed, his voice low and deadly. Toby’s eyes watered and for a moment, he seemed dazed, but he managed to mumble his agreement.

“Kai, please don’t,” I whispered. I needed to get out of this room,away from what was happening right now. Mixed emotions had wrapped around me so tight I was choking on them, and I couldn’t bear to see Toby hurting any longer.

“We’re done here now anyway,” Kai said, dropping Toby’s face, hishead lolled forward almost as if it weighed too much to hold up.

Kai turned to Danny and held out a hand, and Danny obliged bytaking a gun from the waistband of his trousers and handing it over to Kai.My eyes widened at the sight as panic spread through me at the gunin Kai’s hand.

“Kai, wait.” I reached over to touch his arm, hoping to placate him.“Please don’t kill him, he’s told you everything he knows, please let him go.”

“Riley, he was going to lure you into a fucking trap so they couldkidnap you. You might be foolish enough to believe he was going to help you, but I’m not. He was going to hurt you and I won’t stand for that.”

Kai didn’t take his eyes off Toby’s limp body, the air of finality wasback in his voice, I was fighting a losing battle.

So, I did something that seemed to be becoming a stupid habit.

A really fucking stupid habit.

I stepped in front of Toby, earning me a murderous look from Kai. Danny cursed under his breath and glared at me. But I held my ground.

“I may be a fool, but I know Toby. He helped me before and I believehe was going to help me again. Regardless, he’s got a daughter, Kai, you can’t take her dad away from her.”

It was my final shot at getting Kai to stop this madness, if anythingwould get him to change his mind, it would be the mention of family.If I had learned anything about Kai Wolfe over these past weeks itwas that he was fiercely loyal when it came to family. He may have been a cold-hearted murderer, but family was at the top of his priority, and this was the last thing I was sure I could use to get him to let Toby go.

But when his lips turned into a cruel smile, I knew I had lost.

“Do you know where his daughter is now, Riley? I bet he didn’t tellyou that, did he?”

Toby groaned from behind me, and my brows furrowed in confusion.

What in the ever-loving fuck was Kai talking about now? When I didn’t say anything, Kai continued.

“The message I received when we were in the elevator earlier wasfrom Miles. I had him do some background checks on your friend here. I bet he didn’t tell you he hasn’t seen his kid in over two years, did he? Or that he hasn’t paid a penny in child support? Or did he tell you he doesn’t even know where his kid is? He couldn’t give two shits about his precious daughter, it was just another means of drawing you in so you’d agree to meet him.”

Embarrassment, betrayal, and rage all mixed together and churned inmy belly.

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