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"I don't care what you do to me. I'll never tell you." Felix spat blood into Kai's face and grinned, showing a row of broken and red-smeared teeth. "I'm not like you, Kai."

'He's right,' Kai surmised. 'I was begging for mercy at this point, and he's not even broken a sweat.'

Becoming frustrated, Kai grabbed the hammer. He raised it in a tight fist, gearing it toward Felix's skull before turning and bashing the molars he'd painstakingly extracted.

'Good luck reattaching these now.' He smirked to himself, feeling his recently removed teeth with his tongue. They felt different to before, and he couldn't stop pushing his tongue into the gap.

"How is this not hurting him?" he muttered to Damien. "I remember it well. It was torture."

"One sec," Jamie uttered. His fingers tapped away at his laptop keyboard as his eyes darted about the screen. After finding what he was looking for, Jamie turned the screen to face him. "Congenital Analgesia. It's a rare genetic disorder, and his dad has it, so I'm guessing he inherited it also."

"You don't feel pain?" Kai asked. "You fucking prick!"

This knowledge enraged him for reasons he couldn't fathom. Maybe it was jealousy, frustration over his inability to hurt the boy, or perhaps it was the fact Felix dished out punishment so readily to others. He was able to inflict pain without fear of reciprocation.

"Okay. So he doesn't feel pain. We can still cut his dick off," Kai seethed.

"Okay, Ramsey, calm down." Riley rolled his eyes.

"You got a better idea?" Kai asked his love rival. He was half tempted to punch his teeth out too, but it wasn't the time for petty scraps. Finding Jenna was the only thing that mattered, and he'd work with Riley if it increased his chances.

"Where is she?" Kai asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

Felix sighed and shrugged. "No idea. I haven't seen her."

Thus far, Felix had sent them on three wild goose chases. He was enjoying himself. Laughing at them.

"Just tell me the truth," Kai urged. He knelt by the wooden chair, leaning over the layers of tape to grasp the lad's bloody head in his hands. "I don't want to maim you. I just want Jenna."

As he stared into Felix's eyes, he was sure he saw some semblance of reason. There was a person in there somewhere—there had to be. He couldn't be completely soulless.

"Tell me," Kai pleaded. He pressed his thumbs into Felix's cheek and wiped away the blood as it began to dry. "Tell me what you did with her."

"Come closer," Felix whispered.

Kai moved his ear to meet his lips, worried he might try to bite it off.

He didn't.

"This is the closest we've ever been," Felix muttered, barely audible.

Kai couldn't control his facial reaction, pulling away in confused revulsion. What did this freak want from him? What had he ever done to make him so bitter and twisted?

He could understand why Damien hated him. He'd tortured the poor lad on an almost daily basis. But he'd barely had any interaction with Felix, aside from telling him to get lost that one time.

"Whatever I did to make you hate me so much... I'm sorry." Kai shook his head in desperation. Felix stared at him with blank, unfeeling eyes. Clearly, an apology wasn't what he desired. But what did he want?

"What do you want from me?" Kai cried. He grabbed the boy by his shoulders and shook so hard the tape began to work loose. "What do you want?!"

"I guess you have a couple of days to figure that out... if you want to save your little girlfriend." Felix smirked and raised his eyebrows.

"This isn't a game!" Kai screamed at him. He felt an iron grip on his arm, pulling him away, and went to lash out until he saw it was Kenny.

"Let Riley take over," Kenny advised. "He knows the guy better."

As Riley shuffled over from behind the chair, Damien stood and raised his hands. "No need. I know where she is."

"You do?" Kai frowned.

Everyone in the room turned to face him, breath baited in anticipation.

"Well?"

"I cross-referenced all the buildings owned by his father with ones due for demolition in the next two days. Felix was pretty specific when he said she only had a couple of days, right?" Damien explained. "The whole Garrison complex is about to be paved over to make parking for the new shopping centre."

Kai asked the only question he needed to know. "Where is it?"

"You won't find it." Riley stood and motioned to him. "Come on. I know that area like the back of my hand."

As Kenny followed without a word, Damien offered to stay back and keep an eye on Felix.

Kai shrugged and shook his head. By staying to watch Felix, he was playing to his strengths, which wasn't too shocking. The guy was smart.

Trying to keep up with Riley and Kenny wasn't easy.

'Why you gotta walk to dam fast? he seethed but couldn't get too angry since they were both helping him. Plus, they probably didn't know how much pain he was still in. He'd made such a fuss about his teeth he hadn't bothered to complain about the broken ribs.

When Kenny looked back over his shoulder, he must have read the pain in Kai's expression, because he slowed his pace, stopping to light a cigarette.

"Cig?" he offered the others.

Both Riley and Kai reached to take one at the same moment, their fingers touching for a second. In that fraction of a second, Kai knew the outcome of this seemingly inconsequential interaction would shape their relationship from this point on.

Whoever took their cigarette first would be crowned the 'alpha male' in his mind and would probably end up with the girl.

As he glanced up at his rival, he wanted to smash the guy's face in and warn him to stay away from Jenna. At this point in time—with her life on the line—it wasn't appropriate, but that fact didn't quell the rage bubbling in his veins.

Kai guessed those notions had taken less than a second to spark through his brain but figured he was wrong when Riley let out an impatient tut and plucked a cigarette from the carton.

'Crap,' Kai thought, seeing Jenna slip away. It was all inside his head—a fabricated reality—but at that moment he felt defeated.

Then Riley popped the little stick into Kai’s mouth and raised his lighter to spark it up before going back and helping himself to one.

What did it mean?

"Y—you and Jenna?" Kai asked him. "Is... is there something... you know..."

Riley chuckled. "You love her?"

The question startled him. He hadn't thought about it. Love—it wasn't something that guys like them typically discussed. But when he thought about her flattened beneath tonnes of tarmac, he knew it was love. Even if he couldn't have her—even if she never forgave him—he still wanted her to be safe and happy.

If that wasn't love, what was?

"Yeah." Riley nodded, grinning a smug half-smile. "You love her."

When the taller boy stopped and turned to face him, he figured he was about to be teased.

"I know that look because there's a girl I love," Riley revealed, his smile becoming sad. "We're going to save your girl. Come on."