I must say, their protocols for checking minors were a little out of whack. They really needed to work on that. Retrieving the bobby pins, I fiddled with the lock. It was more complicated than I thought. Every time I thought I got it, the pin would slip, but eventually, I got it to unlock. Cursing under my breath, I tried until finally, I heard the lock click, and I could turn the lock.
See? All that time lock picking and breaking out of the school came in handy. Thanks to my mate, I haven’t found a lock yet that could beat me. Walking out of the cell, the door groaned as I pushed it open, and I stopped listening for Jacob to see if he’d noticed.
The cell next door was wide open, and I walked over to the bench, jamming a knife in its pouch down the side of my pants on my hip before grabbing another.
This blade was thinner and razor-sharp, drumming my fingers on the steel bench. I had an arsenal at my fingertips as I looked over everything before finding what I was looking for. A needle and plunger. Quickly ducking over to the sink, I ripped the plunger out before pouring the syrupy liquid from the balloon into it, squeezing it out before using some hot water to melt it a bit more, and jamming the plunger back in. I shook the steel needle, watching the liquid change color and turn into metallic silver.
The pipes rattled inside the walls, and I could just make out the sound of the shower running upstairs as I stared at the ceiling. I hoped it was Reika and not Rayan, that little shit I needed to get my mate back. Creeping up the steps, I listened for any noise, trying to work out where everyone was located. The TV could be heard in the living room, and I gripped the door handle and pushed the door open just enough to see into the foyer.
I could hear Jacob talking to Rayan as they discussed Rayan’s game in the living room. Slipping out the door, I made a dash for the coatroom. It was next to the hall beside the stairs and across from the conference room. Jacob returned to the basement door, and my heart raced as I slipped out of view just in time before he spotted me when taking his place by the basement door. He took his seat beside the door and pulled out his phone.
I was trying to figure out my next move and how I would get to Rayan on the other side of the house. Ryden cried out upstairs; I knew this place like the back of my hand, having spent so much time here with Lucy, her family was picture perfect. I was always a little jealous of how she would go home to them every holiday, and she always took it for granted. Whining and groaning about not wanting to come back here. The shower was still running before I heard Jacob sing out.
“I will get him, Reika,” Jacob called out to her just as I heard the water shut off upstairs, only for it to turn back on again. This was my chance to catch him off guard. Jacob took the steps two at a time, and I quietly sneaked after him, the needle in my hand as I crept up quietly before sneaking up behind him and getting ready, my other hand clutching the knife.
Chapter seventy-four
AsIliftedtheknife, Jacob whipped around in time, hearing my approach behind him. Still, I jammed my knife into his neck before he could mutter a word and alert Reika. Though, Ryker would notice when he eventually bled out and his tether died, but for now, I still had a few minutes to set my plan in motion.
Blood sprayed across my face as it spurted out of his neck, his life liquid spilling out violently and splashing the walls scarlet. His mouth opened and closed in shock as he stared at me, and I gave him a brief wave, and a smile spread across my face.
Jacob collapsed at my feet, gurgling and choking on his own blood, his horrified eyes staring up at me as he clutched his throat, trying to stem the bleeding. I stopped when I saw Jacob's eyes glaze over to the mind link. I would need to be quicker than I thought as I slapped him, making him break the connection. He choked and gurgled some more, and I plunged the knife into his temple. He died instantly, and his body went slack along with his face.
Not wasting any time, I rushed up the steps, following the sounds of the crying baby before walking into a bedroom; by the stench, I could tell it was Reika and Ryker's room. The scent was suffocatingly strong in this room, and the cries were louder.
Reika was humming in the bathroom, and I rushed over to Ryden's bassinet removing him from his bed, only to then rush out of the room and back toward the stairs. Walking down the steps, I hushed Ryden and stepped over Jacob's dead body, his eyes vacantly staring off at the wall as his blood seeped into the carpet.
I knew instantly when Jacob's tether was felt breaking; Reika screamed before rushing out. The noise immediately alerted Rayan as I reached the bottom step in time to see Reika look down at me from the landing above.
I waved and smirked when she spotted her son in my arms before holding him up for her to see. A growl escaped her before she rushed for the stairs, only to stop, a strained expression on her face that looked pained.
Ryker's command prevented her from leaving upstairs, and she was stuck without him there to remove it. I knew it, and she knew it, and she knew she could not help her defenseless children.
Her furious scream rang out through the house, and I turned to see Rayan staring at Jacob's dead body on the stairs before he turned to glare at me.
"Now, you little prince will be coming with me," I told him. He glared at me and went to take a step forward, and I continued down the last two steps toward him, his baby brother in my arms, babbling quietly and eating his hands, unaware of the danger he was in.
"Ah, ah, ah. You wouldn't want your sweet baby brother to get hurt now, would you?" I asked Rayan, and he finally spotted the needle in my hand resting gently on his brother's chest, the needlepoint at his neck.
"Try anything and bye-bye, baby brother," I warned him, and I saw his eyes dart to his mother and his lips part as he stared at her wanting to know what to do. Turning slightly, I looked up at Reika who was watching me in just her towel. The shower was still running, and she clutched the banister staring down at us helplessly.
"Mom?" Rayan called out behind me, and I smirked.Not so big and scary now.
"Do what she says," Reika told him before her eyes glazed over. Reika tried to command me, but her aura was easy to resist without her wolf, and I laughed.Pathetic. To think this was our Queen. It was laughable.
"You hurt my kids—"
"You'll what?” Reika screamed at me from the landing upstairs. “You and I both know you are in no position to make threats, but go ahead, alert your mate. We will be long gone before he finds us. Besides, you have more pressing things to worry about," I told her.
I nodded toward the kitchen. "Move, now," I told Rayan, and he growled before stalking off down the hall and standing next to the bench where I followed closely behind.
I used to love this kitchen. I had often sat around this dining table and enjoyed spending time with Lucy. It would be sad to lose those memories, but you have to do what you have to do. I grabbed the lighter that was always kept on the range hood above the gas stove. I then reached into the third drawer and retrieved the lighter fluid. Rayan was watching me, his eyes glaring daggers at me.
"Don't try to be brave, little prince. You will only get your brother hurt," I reminded him before nodding to go back the way we came. He did as he was told, and it was almost too easy. Reika called out to Rayan, and I heard her sigh when he walked into view again.
I flipped the lid on the lighter fluid, squirting it on the drapes in the entryway and then the carpet on the staircase. Moving to the room adjacent to the foyer, I sprayed the couch with what remained in the bottle.
"What are you doing?" Rayan shrieked, reaching for the now-empty lighter fluid, but I shook it, showing him it was empty.