Chapter 20 Untitled Chapter
Kendrix’s jaw worked.
“You don’t even like him,” Kylie said quietly. “That’s the interesting part.”
Kendrix scoffed. “You dragged me here to talk about my feelings?”
“No. I brought you here because you changed him.”
Kendrix frowned. “You’re insane.”
“I’ve heard that.”
Kylie looked down at her manicured fingers. “I’ve known Roberto for a long time. He’s dangerous, but not predictable. Killing didn’t affect him. Threats didn’t. Nothing personal lasted.”
She looked up. “Then you showed up.”
Kendrix looked away. “Sounds like his problem.”
“It became mine.”
Kendrix realized it wasn’t jealousy. Kylie wasn’t emotional enough for that. She was calculated, like she needed an answer badly enough to drag somebody off the road for it.
Kendrix stood. “Well, congratulations. You’ve met me. Can I leave now?”
Kylie held her gaze. “No.”
Kendrix dragged both hands through her hair. “You know what’s crazy? I can’t tell who’s more psychotic between you and Roberto.”
That almost got a reaction.
“What makes you think he’s not gonna come for me?” Kendrix asked.
Kylie’s face tightened, just for a second.
A tiny crack appeared in her eyes, and Kendrix caught it immediately.
Kylie wasn’t afraid Roberto would kill her.
She was afraid he wouldn’t care enough to.
Kendrix stared at Kylie a beat longer.
“You know what I don’t get?”
Kylie lifted her glass. “A lot of things, probably.”
“If you know Roberto so well,” Kendrix said, “then you should know he’ll come for me.”
Kylie’s fingers paused on the glass. “There it is.”
Kendrix frowned. “What?”
“That confidence.”
Kylie looked at her properly now.
“You still think he’ll tear the city apart for you?”
Kendrix scoffed. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t need to.”
Kendrix shifted against the dresser. She didn’t know why she cared what Kylie thought. The woman was too calm for someone kidnapping people.
Kylie took another sip. “You know your problem?”
Kendrix deadpanned. “Which one?”
“You think being chosen means you matter.”
That hit a nerve.
“I never asked him to choose me.”
“No,” Kylie said. “That’s why it gets under my skin.”
Kendrix glowered.
“You don’t want the things people would kill for,” Kylie said. “That’s why he notices you.”
Kendrix rolled her eyes. “This conversation is insane.”
“Probably.”
“Seriously, I can’t believe you kidnapped me because your ex has issues.”
Kylie’s face flattened. “He doesn’t have issues.”
Kendrix laughed short. “Right. Totally healthy.”
Kylie looked down at her wine. “You don’t know what he’s like when he stops caring.”
Kendrix folded her arms tighter. “Well, he cared enough to dump you.”
Kylie looked up. Still calm, but colder now.
“Careful.”
“Oh, now we’re sensitive?”
Kylie started circling the room slowly. “Roberto’s always been cold and empty.”
The room felt quieter after that.
Kylie glanced toward the window. “Then you showed up. Suddenly he’s paying attention. He even came to your college himself.”
Kendrix frowned. “What do you mean?”
Kylie ignored it.
“He watched you long before you knew he existed.”
Kendrix’s stomach turned. “No.”
Kylie met her eyes. “You really think a man like Roberto got obsessed overnight?”
Kendrix opened her mouth and closed it.
“Shit,” she muttered.
She wasn’t sure what Kylie meant, but she wasn't buying it. “Just…stop saying nonsense.”
A sharp urgent knock cut through the room. Kylie’s eyes snapped to the door. One of the guards stepped in, face tense.
“Um…ma’am.”
“What?”
“He’s here.”
Everything paused. Kendrix saw it. The flicker in Kylie’s face. Fear.
Kendrix straightened. “He came faster than you expected, huh?”
Kylie didn’t answer. Footsteps echoed down the hall. The silence after wasn’t empty. The whole building knew who walked in.
The guard by the door shifted his weight once, then again. Like he wasn’t sure who he answered to anymore.
Kylie noticed. Her face didn’t change, but her fingers tightened around the glass.
“Tell them to hold their position,” Kylie said quietly.
The guard hesitated a beat too long.
“Now,” Kylie said, sharper.
He left. But it felt delayed, like the order didn’t hit the way it used to.
Kendrix tilted her head. “You’re gonna lose all of them.”
Kylie didn’t look at her. “That’s not what’s happening.”
Kendrix let out a short laugh. “It kind of looks like it is.”
Kylie turned slow. “You don’t understand what’s walking into this building.”
Kendrix crossed her arms. “No, I think I do. I just don’t think it’s you.”
Kylie’s teeth grounded together. She looked away in annoyance.
Outside, footsteps multiplied in different coordinated directions. Like the whole place was rearranging itself.
Kendrix frowned. “Why does it feel like your people are confused?”
Kylie didn’t answer. That said enough. She was thinking fast now.
Kendrix scoffed.
Kylie moved toward the door, less certain this time.
“He won’t take you out of here,” she said without turning.
Kendrix leaned back. “You said that already.”
“And I was right then.”
Kendrix scoffed again.
Kylie glanced over her shoulder. “There are things he can forgive. And things he doesn’t negotiate with.”
“And kidnapping me falls into which?”
Kylie’s thumb brushed the rim of the glass once. “We’ll see.”
Kendrix’s stomach shifted. Not fear, just that feeling right before something breaks.
Outside, a door shut. Then another.
Then another.
Kendrix straightened without meaning to.
The guard in the room stepped back, away from Kylie.
“Coward,” Kylie muttered.
One of the lights near the staircase flickered out. The guard near the door straightened immediately.
Kendrix kept her voice low. “That’s not you, is it?”
Kylie didn’t answer.
A knock hit the door. Kylie didn’t move. Neither did Kendrix. The guards swallowed hard.
The door opened slowly and Roberto stood there. Black coat. Rain clinging to the edges. Face unreadable in that way that meant something had already been decided before he walked in.
His eyes passed over Kylie immediately and landed on Kendrix.
Then he said calmly, “Step away from her.”
The room went dead silent after Roberto spoke.
Kylie stood near the vanity with the wine glass still in her hand. Kendrix stayed near the bed, pulse uneven but hidden. The guard by the door looked trapped between loyalties.
Roberto stepped inside and shut the door behind him. Rain darkened the shoulders of his black coat. His expression gave nothing away. No panic, no rage.
Kendrix swallowed before she could stop herself.
Roberto’s eyes moved over her quickly, checking. No blood. No bruises. Breathing steady enough. Only then did he look at Kylie.
“Move,” he said calmly.
Kylie didn’t.“You came faster than I expected.”
“You involved yourself with her.”
The words landed cold and precise.
Kendrix’s eyes narrowed. Roberto ignored it.
Behind him, footsteps echoed before Bash appeared at the doorway. He lowered his gun with a tight expression.
His gaze moved across the room. Kendrix alive. Kylie standing. Roberto calm. Somehow that seemed to worry him more.
Kylie set the wine glass down slowly. "You brought people for one girl."
"You knew the consequences before you took her."
"And yet I still did it. Isn't that impressive?"
Bash's jaw ticked. The tension between them felt odd and familiar.
Kylie folded her arms. "Tell me something honestly, Roberto. If it were me in this room instead of her... would you have come yourself?"