Page 103 of Collide

He must have been in utter agony hanging all night, but I resistedasking, accepting I needed to pick my battles, and I had one hell of a battle coming up if I wanted Toby to walk out of here alive. He’d have to cope with the pain for now, surely that would be worth doing if it meant he still had a life to live.

The position I chose in the room gave me the best view of Toby and Ihoped that maybe I could silently communicate with him, letting him know he would be okay.

At least, I hoped he would be.

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know, man, please don’t hurt me,”

Toby begged.

Kai’s lips curled up into a cruel smile, making the unease in my gutchurn more. “I’m glad to hear that, Stag. Let’s start with an easy one. How the fuck did you get into my club?”

Toby licked his lips and then his eyes flashed to me. He was terrifiedand my heart broke for him.

“I was let in through the back,” Toby said.

“By whom?”

Again, Toby’s eyes flashed to mine, almost like he was asking forpermission for some bizarre reason, I gave him a subtle nod and he grimaced.

“By one of the bartenders, Terry Robson. He...he owed money to TheStags. Carlos agreed to wipe his debt if he let one of us into the club when we needed to get in.”

Kai was silent for a minute, his eyes fixed on Toby, determining if hewas telling the truth. After a minute, he looked at Hendrix.

“Deal with Terry. Take Jacob with you,” Kai ordered.

“Yes, Boss,” Hendrix replied and both he and the goon, Jacob,walked out of the room without saying another word, not needing to clarify how Kai wanted Terry to be dealt with. From the look of guilt etched across Toby’s face, he knew he had just signed Terry’s death warrant, the price to be paid for betraying Kai.

Nausea swam in my belly. I didn’t know who this Terry person was,yet I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. But if Toby was giving Kai information that helped weed out rats in Kai’s organization, that had to go in his favor, right?

“Was last night the first time you came into my club?” Kai returned tohis interrogation after the door had closed behind Hendrix and Jacob, Danny had taken guard at the door.

Toby closed his eyes and when he reopened them, there wasa steely resolve in them. “Yes.”

“And what was the reason for your visit to my club?” Kai’s tone wasdeadly calm and controlled, making him seem all the more intimidating.

This time, Toby didn’t look over at me, but I saw him swallownervously.

“I....I was there to see if Riley was there,” he stuttered, still notmeeting my eye.

My heart dropped into my gut and a feeling of betrayal crept over me.

What the actual fuck was he talking about?

The muscle in Kai’s jaw ticked and his whole body tensed. Thiswasn’t good.

“I...I’m sorry. I came to warn her, honestly,” Toby cried loudly, hisvoice laced with desperation.

As quick as a flash, Kai leaped forward and wrapped his big handaround Toby’s throat. I didn’t need to see Toby’s eyes widen in fear to know how hard Kai was squeezing, and as he did so, a memory sprung to life of the time Detective Anderson had his hands around my throat, squeezing the life out of me.

It’s funny, Kai had wrapped his hand around my throat the eveningbefore when we were in the club, and he’d been angry, but I hadn’t felt scared. Quite the opposite in fact, it had turned me on.But with the menacing way Kai was gripping Toby, the only thing Icould feel was fear.

Without realizing it, my hand lifted to my own throat, and I rubbed thearea where the last of the bruises were fading and a soft sob ripped from my throat.It was loud enough for Kai to hear, he looked over his shoulder and amomentary flash of guilt crossed his face before he hardened again, but he at least let go of Toby who gulped in a huge breath.

“You better start fucking explaining yourself, Stag, or I swear to allthat is holy, I will break every single bone in your body before skinning you alive,” Kai growled.

Toby finally met my eyes, shame, sorrow, and regret marred his face. Now I could see him properly in the harsh lighting of this cold room, Icould see how exhausted he was. Dark bags lay underneath his eyes, and he looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

I wanted to reach out and comfort him, just like he’d done when hefound me five years ago, but I was pinned to the wall by fear that Toby was about to reveal something that was going to shatter me.

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