“Thanks,” I said. “Yeah, it’ll be nice to have with me.”
I folded the paper carefully and tucked it into the pocket of my jacket before I reached over and gave Alex a quick hug. He squirmed a little, and then he ran back to his toys. Raine had stood off to the side, watching our exchange with a bemused look, but now that Alex was occupied again, her expression changed.
“You’re going now?” She already knew the answer to her question, but I nodded anyway.
“I’ll be back before you know it.”
She nodded as she brought her hands up around herself and held onto her arms. She looked over to Alex and sniffed.
Glancing at Landon, I saw him tap his watch twice as he turned and exited through the open door, giving us a moment of privacy. I stood and crossed the kitchen and took Raine’s face in my hands. Bending down, I placed my lips against hers, kissing her slowly. When we parted, I could see the beginning of tears rimming her eyelids.
“Before you know it,” I whispered as I stared into her eyes.
“Please be careful,” she said.
“Always,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”
She nodded her head and gave me another squeeze. I kissed the top of her head, then took her chin in my hand and placed another firm kiss on her lips.
“I love you,” I told her.
“Love you, too.” Raine’s eyes moistened as she looked up at me, bit down on her lip, and ran her hands down my arms. She grasped my fingers with hers for a moment before stepping back.
I took a long breath, committed her face to memory, and turned to go out the door. Landon was waiting outside for me along with Roger, Franks, and two of his bodyguards.
“Let’s go,” I said, and Landon tilted his head in acknowledgement as Roger pulled the key to the padlock out of his pocket to lock my family securely inside until all of this was over.
Before the door managed to close, Raine shoved her way past Roger and grabbed my arm. She pulled me to her and wrapped both arms around my neck. Her grip on me tightened so much, my air supply was limited.
“Don’t go,” she said, her voice breaking. “Don’t do it, Bastian—please. Just don’t…don’t…”
“Oh, baby.” I held her shoulders. “I have to. You know I have to.”
“No, you don’t!” she said, her voice rising. “You don’t have to do this! Stay here! Please!”
“Fuck, Raine…” I could feel her tears against my skin as she begged and sobbed. It couldn’t have hurt any more than if she shoved her fist through my ribcage and ripped my heart straight out of my body.
“You might die,” she cried. “Oh God, Bastian, please, please just stay here!”
I held her as tightly as I could and tried to come up with anything to say to calm her, but nothing was working.
“Sebastian,” Landon said from behind me. His hand tapped my upper arm as he spoke my name.
“I know,” I said. I shrugged his hand off of me and grabbed Raine’s shoulders, holding her back a bit so I could look into her face. I brushed tears from her cheek and touched my forehead to hers. “I have to go.”
“No,” Raine said, shaking her head rapidly. “We can just leave…go far away…please!”
“You know I can’t do that, baby. You just have to hold on a little longer. This will all be over soon, and then we’ll go. We’ll find the perfect place for all of us to live together, and everything will be normal again. I promise, Raine. Everything is going to work out.”
“You don’t know that.” Fresh tears spilled down her face as her head shook slowly back and forth. “You might get hurt; you might…you might…”
“Shh…” I brought her against my chest once more, which was probably a mistake. She’d latched onto me so tightly I wasn’t sure how I was going to get her back inside so I could leave. Talking sense into her wasn’t working. “You have to let go, baby. I have to leave.”
“No!” She wouldn’t let go, and though it nearly killed me, I pushed her arms away from mine as Roger grabbed onto her and kept her from grabbing me again. I stared into his eyes for a second, silently warning him to be gentle with her. I could tell by his expression that he understood my meaning—he’d pay for a single bruise.
I looked back at Raine. I knew she was trying to get herself together, but it just wasn’t working.
“I love you, babe,” I told her. “I’m going to be back soon.”
“No! No, Bastian!”
I closed my eyes as I turned around and followed Landon. Raine’s cries tore into me with every step.
I could still hear her as we drove away from the quarry and through town. I could hear her pleas echoing in my head as I boarded the first plane and buckled myself in. In my mind, I could see Roger holding her back as the plane took off into the early morning sky. Her tears continued to burn my skin through the entire journey north.
Landon glanced over at me from time to time, but he said nothing.
My mind was in a daze the entire trip. Even as Landon went over strategy and technique for the hundredth time, I was barely responding to him. I already knew it all, anyway. It was as committed to my soul as it was to my brain.
Despite Raine’s fears and the imminent danger, as we switched planes near the frozen northwest side of the Hudson Bay, I began to tingle with excitement. My muscles flexed and released as I thought of past tournaments, blood, and victory.
I wanted to fight. At least for now, I desired blood.
Chapter Twelve
I carefully descended the stairs out of the plane and looked around at our final destination. Other small prop planes were unloading passengers, and I could see a bunch of people bundled in fur-lined parkas heading over to a large, obviously recently constructed building with smoke coming out of several chimneys.
Franks and his bodyguards headed for the building, and Landon motioned for me to follow the group. As we approached, I began to recognize all the people who had been present at the initial meeting. Each family was represented, but also along with them were many others.
Investors.
These were the people who tossed in all the cash to make the tournament happen, bet on individual players, and ultimately reaped the rewards through our bloodshed. Each of us would be fitted with a camera, and the gamblers would watch on closed-circuit television as we slaughtered each other for their amusement.
In the past, I hadn’t thought about them much, but now I did. What kind of people considered this entertainment? What sort of society spent all their illegally earned cash to watch us fight to the death so they could feel power through our bloodied hands?
Sick fuckers, that’s who.
We walked through the wide doors and into the building. Inside was ridiculously luxurious, especially considering the location. There were fireplaces along every wall to warm everyone with ambiance. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and every table was decked out with fancy linen and centerpieces filled with flowers and colorful LED lights. There were several open bars set up around the edge of the room, and it even had a dance floor with a DJ in the back. People milled around in suits and cocktail dresses like they were at a ball following a Hollywood red carpet event.
Except it wasn’t a movie—we were the event. I was equally disgusted and electrified by it all.
It was still early evening, and most of the groups were divided by their loyalties to a particular family. Landon and I milled around with Franks’ people near one of the bars, and I got myself a glass of water when Landon ordered a scotch. I scanned the room to locate the other tournament players. They were easy to spot because they stood out in the center of every group.
Though it wasn’t my style, tournament players usually dressed for their parts. Erik Dytalov and Reaper looked like they came out of Blade Runner or some violent computer game. Both were dressed in black, and she had eye makeup painted over her lids in bright colors and studded jewelry around her wrists and neck. It made sense, in a way. We were essentially a live video game to the people around us. Dressing for the role came naturally to a lot of players. Erik displayed his knife skills to anyone willing to watch, and Reaper posed for pictures with some of the men in suits.