Page 62 of Destroyer

"Nico, come here baby boy." My voice cracks as I call to him.

"Don't cry. My plan is so good." Nico smiles.

"People are dying, Nico, this isn’t a game."

"If it isn't a game, why are you all sitting here? Why aren't any of you doing anything about it?"

"Because all we do is tell our men to fix it," Knox confesses.

"Because you are the kings and if you move from your bloody thrones, the game is over."

"What do you want out of this?" Edward demands.

"I want you to realise there is more to life than money and power. I want you to love something more than money and power."

I rise up, drawing the gun, and I tap it against Nico's head. It's only when he goes down and his head knocks against the table that all the chess pieces fall.

"Don't hurt him!" Knox cries out. "We need him to work out what the hell the Russians have agreed to."

"I won't hurt him." I drag my boy back into my lap and hold him against me, the gun pressed to his temple. He is so tiny as he lies against me. This small vulnerable child who grew up without love. I want to protect him from everything that is going on, and this is my desperate attempt to do that.

"Dad, if you're going to just sit here and do nothing, then let me go and try to fix this."

"Of course. Go bring your mother home." Edward dismisses him, his eyes keeping a close watch on my gun. If Nico dies, he has nothing.

"Caeo, Porter and Nico are coming with me."

"You will need the brat to dig your way out of this." Balen agrees to Knox's demands. The gun is proving very powerful when pointed at this innocent boy. Well, not completely innocent.

"Enjoy your chess," Porter huffs as he allows Knox to drag him from the room.

"What the hell do you plan to do?" I ask Knox as we get out of the room.

"Gregory was messaging. We go to him and get a feel for what is going on." Knox hurries out of the house, sharing the urge to get as far away from here as possible. "I don't think Nico is really the ringleader here."

I'm glad he believes that. Nico has been played as a pawn when he was a child. That goes very much against the unwritten rules, but in truth, that rule is only there to protect those who are loved by the players in this game. No one loved Nico, so he wasn't protected. But I love him now. His days of playing and being played are over. I want to protect him as my spouse, to love and protect him.

"We could just leave. Go far away and live as very rich people for the rest of our lives?" I know it would never happen. Even if Knox agreed to my crazy suggestion, we would have to spend the rest of our lives watching over our shoulders. Without even answering, Knox gets in the driving seat. Porter takes the passenger seat and I ride in the back with my floppy boy. He is the only thing I care about. I would happily climb in a taxi with nothing but the clothes on my back and take him away from here. I would start over with nothing more than my love for him.

"Why did they take the rooks?" Porter ponders.

"Am I one of those rooks?" Knox questions.

"I don't know. You and Edward did the castle thing." Porter

"You're a quick learner," Knox praises, but we all know it was the teacher not the student.

"Caeo, phone Gregory and arrange to meet up outside of the city." Knox glances in the rear-view mirror. There are so many words spoken between those words.

This is all going exactly as Nico predicted, except the missing wives. He's dead right about this. No one suspected a thing, and someone definitely had Nico wrapped around their finger.

This all started with Gregory.

Now it all ends with him too.

'I've got away. I'll meet you. Can you fill me in and plan?'I text a quick message to Gregory.

'Sure. Got anywhere safe in mind?'

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