The Strongest Catalyst
~~HUNTER~~
I had expected Mateo to retaliate after I turned down his request to turn against Knox—but not this quickly, and definitely not with a swarm of armed men breaking into my house at night.
How they managed to get past the two security guards Knox hired for me is still a mystery. No struggle I could hear. When they dragged me out, I caught a glimpse of the guards—slumped in the hallway. No blood on the floor. No holes in their clothes. Just stillness. I hope they were just asleep.
Now, I’m tied to a chair in my damn pajamas. My ankles are bound to the chair legs, wrists tight behind me, the rope biting through my skin each time I move.
And I’m not the only one dressed for comfort.
Soraya’s beside me in a silk robe. Serena’s at the other end of our semicircle with the hem of her top riding up her thighs. Finn sits just before Serena, the only one in an actual outfit. Jeans and a T-shirt. Only one of his arms is tied. His broken one is left untouched, mercifully.
What I can’t wrap my head around is the random-ass group of people Mateo dragged into this basement—and that comment he made about us leaving in body bags.
“You mean you’re going to kill us?” I ask, keeping my voice steady.
Mateo turns his head slightly. “That’s one way to put it.”
“It’s a yes or no question.”
“I don’t have a straightforward answer for you, Hunter.”
“If this is about Knox,” I say, “why isn’t he here?”
“Because I don’t want him here.”
“Oh, so you take everyone else but the one person you actually have a problem with? That’s logical. Some of us have actual lives. Things to do. We don’t have time for your little revenge soap opera.”
Mateo doesn’t respond. His eye, hidden behind those glasses, seems to scan deeper than just the surface. He takes his time, moving from one person to the next like he’s reading a damn menu. Soraya looks pissed. Serena, weirdly enough, looks calm. Too calm. And Finn… Finn looks like he still hasn’t caught up to the fact that we’ve been kidnapped. If Mateo’s plan really hinges on using us as leverage to get to Knox, then bringing Finn was a dumb move. Guy’ll be the first to die if Knox has to choose who to save.
“Why didn’t you just take Hunter and me hostage at your house if this was your plan all along?” Soraya says. “Why lie about helping me get my kid back? Why deceive Hunter with a job? Why go through all the theatrics when you could’ve just kidnapped us from the start?”
“The time wasn’t right,” Mateo says. And then he snaps his fingers once.
One of the masked men nods and heads up the basement stairs.
“And now it is?” I ask.
Mateo sighs, fingers drumming lightly on his cane. “You all and your questions. I came to this city with only one thing on my mind—revenge on Knox. That was it. I did my research. Dug deep.”
He shifts in his chair, then nods toward Finn.
“That man with the broken arm? That’s his brother. They have the worst relationship, of course. Practically strangers. But somehow, he winds up in Serena’s apartment on the exact night she gets taken. If that’s not fate, I don’t know what to call it.”
His eyes turn to me next.
“You’re his closest friend. Weird dynamic, if you ask me, but that’s your business. That’s why you’re here.”
Then he points at Soraya.
“You. You’re the woman he married. The one he kept safe for years. Finding out about you wasn’t easy, by the way. But I did. I know who you are. I wasn’t lying when I said I had information about your family. Your father’s dead. Your child’s safe. And you better relish that news, because chances are you won’t see that child again.”
His gaze finally settles on Serena.
“And you… you might be the most important part of all this. You’re Knox’s girlfriend’s sister. He might be able to stand by and watch everyone else burn, but Sloane? She won’t let anything happen to you. If I have her attention, then I have his.”
Finn breaks in. “Back up a little bit. First of all, who the hell are you?”
Mateo smiles. “My name’s Mateo. And your brother ruined my life.”
“Knox?” Serena says, frowning.
“Haven’t you been listening?” Mateo asks.
“I have. And I’m trying to understand why you don’t just exchange blows with the man who actually hurt you. I’ve met him once. Why am I being punished for something I didn’t do?”
He leans forward on his cane, tone condescendingly soft. “Because, pretty, I don’t want to harm a single hair on Knox’s head. From what I’ve heard about his lifestyle since he came back, he might just end up enjoying it. You know he had this… strange relationship with the former owner of that club he owns. And his wife.” He raises his brows like it’s some inside joke. “The wife was a sadist. Got off on inflicting pain. Real piece of work, from what I gathered. And sometimes, she took it too far.”
His fingers tap twice against the cane before he goes on.
“Knox pretended to work as a security guard at the club. That was just a front. He wanted proximity. Got close to the husband. Offered himself as a… let’s say, volunteer masochist.”
He chuckles under his breath.
“Creepy story, isn’t it? But he was already broken by then. Traumatized. You see, the things we went through overseas can mess with anyone's head. And even though he had a plan to blackmail them—had footage, dirt, leverage—he enjoyed it while it lasted. Every moment of it. All the blood. All the bruises. That’s why people are afraid of him now. Not because he’s dangerous—no. Because he’d walk out of that room bloodied… and smiling.”
I’m sure whatever’s running through my head is written all over my face, because Mateo smiles, a knowing smile, like he’s enjoying every second of this little horror show.
“I really admire his ability to find a way to heal,” he says. “Took me a while to figure out how to fix myself. Those therapy sessions? Barely did a damn thing. All that breathing and journaling… waste of time.” His grip tightens on the cane. “I don’t want to harm Knox. That’s never been the point. I want him to admit he was at fault for what happened to us. I want him to say it. Out loud. And then I want him to apologize.”
“That’s it?” Soraya says. “You could’ve done this over brunch. Hug, cry, move on.”
“You don’t know Knox like I do. To get an apology from him,” Mateo says, gaze locked on Finn, “one of you may have to die.”
Finn squirms in his seat like someone just poured cold water down his spine. I don’t blame him.
I want to shut it down, want to argue, to tell Mateo he’s wrong about Knox. That he’d never let it get that far. But the truth creeps in—Knox isn't exactly big on apology. Not when he’s wrong. Not when he’s lost. Not even when it might cost him something.
So I say nothing. Because denial would be a lie.
“So he apologizes and you let us go?” Serena asks.
Mateo sighs. “He apologizes, and I let one of you go.”
“What does that mean?” Finn blurts.
“It’s simple. I have three requests to make of your brother. The things that are most valuable to him. His pride. His club. And his girlfriend. Then we’ll be even.”
I let out a short laugh. “You want his girlfriend?”
“I don’t want her,” Mateo says. “I want him to leave her. To die alone. I don’t want him to have peace in this life or the next.”
“Knox is going to kill you,” Finn says, no trace of a joke in his tone. “Whoever the hell you are. I don’t care what Knox did to you or what this is about, but you really shouldn’t have involved Sloane.”
There’s a pause in the room. And then footsteps on the stairs.
The masked man who’d gone up earlier appears again, descending slowly into the basement. In his gloved hand is a phone—an iPhone in a pink case.
He walks it over to Mateo, who takes it from him.
“It’s safe,” the man says.
Mateo nods and presses something on the screen.
“Is that my phone?” Serena asks, sitting up straighter.
“Yup,” Mateo replies. “We’re about to call your sister and tell her you’ve been kidnapped. Then she’ll get Knox on the line. And the real party begins.”
“Why not just call him directly?” Soraya mutters. “You're really doing everything you can to waste our time.”
Mateo doesn’t look up as he taps on the phone. “And risk him keeping it from his girlfriend? No, thanks. A distressed lover,” he says, “is the strongest catalyst for a man in love. This is the part where you should all start reflecting on your lives, maybe find God in the process—because the next few hours are going to be extremely painful for every single one of you.”