“They’ve been trying for decades,” Sven replies. “Still no luck.”
He walks over to me and brings it to my lips. It’s one of those expensive, Cuban cigarettes. The ones you have to kill for to get a box. I remember those. I turn away.
“I’m trying to quit.”
“Too bad,” he shakes his head. “It might be your last one.”
“So, are you finally going to reveal the big pinnacle of this fucking Shakespearean drama you’ve got going?” I snort, having had enough of this already.
Also, Sven prides himself on being calm. That’s when he’s most cruel. But, you get him angry, and you get him careless. That’s my plan here.
“The twist is to die for, you’ll see,” Sven is cracking up at this point.
I look over at Maddie. She’s scared. She’s so scared that I see tears glistening in her eyes. The thought of her being tied up there, and even more, Sven touching her the way he did, brings me to the edge. I just need one little thing to push me over it.
“But, of course, I’ll start explaining,” Sven says. “I believe we all know why we targeted little Miss Sunshine over here.”
He walks over to Maddie an
d gives a big kiss on the forehead.
“Fuck you!” she growls at him.
Good girl.
“Real feisty,” Sven pinches her cheek. “I can think of a few scenarios where that might come in handy, but I stray. We all know her father, Hugo Holloway. We also know who he owes his vast fortune to.”
I’m listening to Sven talk, and I see the confusion on Maddie’s face. She knows something, but probably not all. But, from the looks of it, we’re both in the dark.
“Do you remember, Fynn?” he asks me.
“Kayne,” I reply.
“Exactly!” Sven gives me a mocking applause.
“But, Kayne is dead,” I remind him. “He’s been dead for 15 years. What the fuck does he have to do with anything now?”
Sven gives me one of those oh-oh looks.
“It seems that someone here hasn’t been brought in on the news yet.”
“What news?” I snort.
“Kayne is alive.”
“The fuck he is,” I hiss at him. “I saw him burn in that house with my own eyes.”
“Correction,” Sven shakes his index finger at me, as the other one is still busy holding his half-finished cigarette. “You saw a house on fire. You saw someone was inside at the start of the fire. But, have you seen his body?”
“He burned.”
“He did burn, somewhat, yes. But, you know the wonders of modern medicine. They take a little bit of skin from one part of your body, or from someone else’s body, that also works apparently, and they just replace the burned area with new, rejuvenated skin. And, they can also change your profile a little, so you don’t look like yourself so much. And, when someone who once knew you sees the new you, they can’t even recognize you.”
“What the Hell are you jabbering about?” I’m fuming at this point.
If what he’s saying is true, than it all makes sense. If Kayne is back, there will be Hell to pay. He’ll be out for revenge. For blood. My blood. Anderson’s blood. Hugo’s blood.
“I still find it funny, you know,” Sven chuckles, takes one last satisfying puff of his cigarette, and then throws it onto the cement floor. He doesn’t even bother to extinguish it, and it just remains there, flickering powerlessly, until it dies out on its own, without any help. “You couldn’t recognize him.”