He gave King a trembling smile, just to feign his agreement, but then walked off down the corridor despite his legs being made out of lead, and his heart weighing him down like an anchor.
He’d been sent here to kill Beast.
Chapter 25 - Laurent
Laurent could swear he’d been walking the endless corridors forever. The thumping of the loud music in the party room became dull as he went farther away from the walls that over two hundred years ago had contained Fane’s home. The newer additions to the structure built by subsequent owners of the property were bleak, simplistic in their form, with many walls shedding plaster, whole corridors and rooms disused and cold despite it being summer.
After searching for Beast in their apartment, the garage, and other places where Laurent could have expected him to be, he simply went on, examining each empty room full of broken furniture. The silhouette of the narrow building sandwiched between the two long wings of the former hospital and connected to them with skywalks loomed beyond the window, cold and empty like Laurent’s own chest.
He couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid as to not push King for an answer about his pact earlier. He never assumed a father would sentence his son to death.
Laurent ran his fingers along the damp wall, walking without a purpose and with not much hope to find Beast anymore. He hadn’t spent much time exploring the complex that made the clubhouse, but this particular area seemed familiar somehow.
Even now when he could see so well, the estate was no less of a maze than it had been. Just like the pact he’d made with the devil, the corridors were made to trap him. Give him no way out no matter how long he looked for doors.
At 33, as long as Beast was within these walls, he would die, his life force an unwilling sacrifice on the altar of King’s greed and selfishness.
If King died before that, Laurent would be taken back to Fane’s still-warm body.
If Laurent told Beast about the details of his pact, he would be taken back.
If Laurent killed King, he would be taken back.
If Laurent made sure Beast wasn’t there for his birthday, he would be taken back.
If Beast died, King wouldn’t even be the only one at fault. Laurent would share the blame in equal measure.
He hugged himself, fighting tears as he searched for an answer in the dark and dusty corridors. No wonder this infernal building belonged to the devil, because it had the power to completely drain him of hope. If there was a hell, he was already in it.
The dull sound of wheels screeching over a dusty floor caught his attention, pulling him out of his own head. He swallowed when he spotted Martina marching toward him—hair in a mess, and traces of black tears staining her cheeks—tugging behind her two large wheeled travel cases.
“M-Martina? Are you all right? Have you seen Beast?” Laurent asked, noticing the bruise blooming on her forearm.
She curled her shoulders, as if expecting aggression coming her way, but she shook her head. “No. I haven’t.” She then took in Laurent’s appearance and added, “You look like shit.”
Laurent rubbed his face. Martina never minced her words. “I’m just tired. I’m sorry about what happened back there with King. I’d love to hear you sing one day.”
She stalled, staring at him before her tense face softened into a smile. “I will send you an invitation. And you know what? I’m happy King behaved like an asshole. They all seem so cool at first, but all they do is chew through you and control your life. All of them, no exception. I can’t believe I wasted so many years of my life on a biker.”
Laurent took a step back, and her words slapped him in the face. She’d known King for years and this was her ultimate conclusion. King treated her as his property, which was exactly what Laurent wanted to avoid in his own life. And yet here he was, looking for Beast like a lovesick puppy.
“You’re leaving?”
Martina glanced at her two cases. “Like you can see, after five years with King, that’s all I have. Not a very good deal, but hey, I’m still young enough to find a man who will treat me with the respect I deserve. There comes a moment when you need to put yourself first, no matter how much you love someone.”
With that, she turned around and continued her walk down the corridor, emanating determination Laurent had never seen in her before. It made his mood sour further when he thought back to the moment when Beast put him on the spot, demanding an impossible choice of him. Why couldn’t things just stay the way they were?
He continued his search in growing frustration, unable to stop the pounding of thoughts in his head from drumming a rhythm for a funeral procession.