Deadly Silence (Blood Brothers #1)(44)

“Bugs,” Denver corrected, pushing away from the reception area.

Ryker kept a line on the knife Greg hadn’t put down. “This is Denver, and that’s Heath. They’re my brothers.”

At the word, the kid visibly blanched before going stone-cold again.

Brothers.

Ryker’s heart thumped for the lost kid. His pain was palpable in the wide room, yet he stood so bravely and faced the three of them.

Able to read minds, Heath caught the look. “You have family, kid?”

“No,” Greg said, his free hand folding into a fist. He reminded Ryker of Heath as a child…so scared and angry and willing to fight.

Heath grimaced. “I have a rare talent of knowing when somebody is lying their ass off to me. Just so you know.”

Greg backed away, knife out, keeping all three of them in his sights. He sidled to the left—toward the stairs, which led up to the apartments and down to the parking garage.

“Stop moving. I don’t want to take you down, but if you go for the stairs, I will,” Ryker said calmly, planning how to do it without bruising Greg. No way was he going to harm Greg.

Greg eyed him and then stopped moving. “Where’s Isobel Madison?” His voice shook. “I have to find her.”

“Tit for tat,” Denver said, taking a couple of steps toward Greg, awareness in his gaze. “Who is Isobel Madison?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Greg lowered the knife but kept a firm hold on the handle.

“Smart move,” Heath said, his body still on alert. “Now we can talk. Who is she?”

Greg shook his head. “I just want her location, and I’ll go. She’s none of your business.” A thread of vulnerability wound through his tone.

“Now, that’s where you’re wrong,” Ryker said. There had to be a way to get through to this desperate child. “You’re not going anywhere, so you might as well work with us.”

The kid’s shoulders rolled, and he drew out a small box from his right pocket. “I brought insurance.”

Ah hell. Ryker squinted, horror spiking through him. “What the f*ck?”

The kid turned the box around, and a green light flickered. “Place is wired.”

Heath coughed, fury darkening his face. “You’re shitting me.”

“Nope. Give me the intel on Madison, and I’ll leave this nice little box on the front curb. It’ll only take ten minutes to defuse the bomb. I promise.” Greg retreated until his back was against the wall.

The kid had planted a bomb. Anger swept through Ryker on the heels of panic. His lungs seized. He’d brought Zara right into danger. Locks on the doors wouldn’t save her from an explosion. His hands started to shake, and temper roared in to coat his vision.

Greg turned and eyed him. “I doubt you want the pretty lady sleeping upstairs to end up in pieces. She will if you don’t do what I say.”

Ryker snarled and took a step toward Greg, his back going rigid. “You can threaten me all you want, but you mess with my woman, and I’ll rip your head off.”

Greg blinked. “I really don’t want to hurt her.”

Truth. Definitely the truth. Ryker forced himself into a calm state before he drove the kid to push the button. “Then you probably shouldn’t have planted a bomb that’ll take down where she’s sleeping. Let’s defuse it and now.”

“That’s up to you.” Greg’s jaw visibly hardened, his emotions all over the board and difficult to read. “You’re in perfect control, and it’s up to you if she lives or dies.”

Something wasn’t quite right in the statement, but Ryker couldn’t get a bead on Greg. Was he lying? If so, he was trained to do so.

Heath moved to make sure they all but surrounded the threat. “I did not see this coming.” He sounded more bemused than angry, as if surprised that anybody could surprise him, but it was an act. Ryker knew his brother, and he was livid. “You’re impressive, kid.”

“Thanks. Do you want to die?” Greg asked, his voice calm, but raw desperation swirled in his eyes. He had a good hold on the box.

“How about we all live.” Ryker ran through possible scenarios in his head, the need to go cover Zara nearly overwhelming him. Heat coated his throat and made it hard to breathe.

Greg shook his head wildly. “You can’t get to me before I push the button.”

Ryker kept his hands at his sides. “Do you want to die?”

“I don’t know.” Greg looked down at the trigger. “I mean, I was supposed to die, you know? But I didn’t, and now I’m here, and I just want to go back home. But there is no home, so maybe dying is the option.”

Well, f*ck. Definitely not what Ryker wanted to hear. “I can get you home.”

“No.” So much pain sizzled in Greg’s brown eyes that Ryker’s chest hurt. “My home no longer exists.”

“Then why Isobel?” Ryker asked, trying to slide forward to get that box. “Did she study you?”

Greg’s head reared back. “Why do you ask that?”

Holy land mine. “She’s a doctor, right?” Ryker murmured, angling a little bit more. If he could just reach the boy before he pushed the button, he could end the threat to Zara.