Chapter 126
Kyle realized thirty minutes into the dark web that this was a terrible idea. There was no way he could go through with it—not because he was scared, but because he knew things could go sideways. There were men even worse than Mike out there. The last thing he needed was a man like John Wick in his vicinity. He clamped the laptop shut despite the hesitation being present.
“What the fuck am I doing?”
Kyle thought to himself. Mike had fucked him up, but he knew this was something he couldn’t do, regardless of how much he wanted to because this was a point of no return.
Kyle stood out on the balcony, looking down. For a moment, he considered jumping, but he quickly dismissed the thought. It was just an intrusive thought, not because he wanted to kill himself. He couldn’t believe he had even entertained it. He was about to order a fucking hit on Mike? To take his life?
He just needed time to recollect his thoughts. There was something deeply upsetting about all of this because he couldn’t do anything about it. But Kyle also knew there was a chance that Mike would make another attempt on his life. He needed to be out of his reach until he figured out what to do.
“Hello, Jane…”
Kyle called her phone. Jane was surprised to hear from him at this hour but sensed it must be urgent.
[[Kyle? Is everything okay?]]
Jane’s voice crackled with concern. She was ready to rush to the hospital if need be.
“No, silly, nothing’s wrong. I need something from you,”
Kyle responded.
[[Sure, anything you want.]]
Jane replied, eager to know what was going on.
“Can you send me Mike’s number?”
Kyle asked. Jane found this strange. Mike and Kyle didn’t get along, but that was just on the surface. Their relationship must have changed, but she wasn’t going to pry.
[[Absolutely!]]
Jane replied. She didn’t mention that Mike had called earlier that night to check in and see how things were going with Kyle. Ella had told her to exercise restraint in certain situations, and now didn’t seem like the right time to bring up Mike again, even if he was the subject of the conversation.
[[Is there anything else you need?]]
Jane asked, noticing Kyle had gone quiet for a moment. She just wanted to make sure he was still there.
“Jane, do you trust me?”
Kyle’s voice was distant.
[[Of course I do!]]
Jane answered without hesitation.
“I needed to hear that…”
Kyle responded, before the call abruptly ended.
“That was weird…” Jane muttered to herself. Ella, who was awake, perked up and was willing to listen.
One of the perks of signing with this agency was that Jane no longer had to search for jobs herself or work long hours to make ends meet.
“What was weird? Was that Kyle?”
Ella asked, already knowing it must be something serious.
Jane nodded.
“He asked for Mike’s number,”
she replied, her concern evident. The only reason she was worried was because of what Kyle had said at the end of the call. Why had he asked her that question as if he was about to make a bad decision?
“Huh? What does he want with Mike’s number?”
Ella responded. She knew Kyle had always been uneasy about Mike’s name, or maybe she was reading into it too much.
“I don’t know, but he sounded distant, distracted…”
Jane replied. Ella could tell Jane was genuinely worried, and for once, she wanted her friend to trust her instincts.
“How do you feel about it, Jane?”
Ella asked.
“I have a feeling Kyle’s about to do something bad,”
Jane admitted, though she couldn’t explain why. She hoped Ella could make sense of it.
“When was the last time you spoke to Mike?”
Ella asked, trying to piece together what was going on with the limited information she had.
“Uh, tonight…”
Jane responded, sounding almost apologetic, as though she expected to be scolded.
“What did you talk about?”
Ella pressed, urgency creeping into her voice.
“He just asked how Kyle was doing, that’s all,”
Jane answered, though something about it felt off.
Ella had already told Kyle about Mike and what he’d done, so there was no way they would become friends. Kyle would never care about Mike, so why would Mike suddenly start keeping tabs on him?
As she thought it through, Ella realized Mike might be connected to whatever was going on with Kyle. That seemed to be the only explanation for his newfound interest in Kyle. It was no secret that Mike had a thing for Jane, but Ella knew Jane wouldn’t be enough of a reason for Mike’s behavior.
“Jane, I want you to call Mike right now,”
Ella ordered, her tone leaving no room for argument.
But Jane hesitated. She didn’t want to get caught in the middle of whatever was going on between Kyle and Mike. She’d already made up her mind: if things got bad, she’d cut Mike off. Kyle was the one she saw a future with, not Mike.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Jane asked, already dreading the call.
Ella grabbed her phone and dialed Mike’s number. It went to voicemail. She tried again, and this time Mike picked up, though his voice sounded muffled.
[[Hello…]]
Mike greeted, his voice coming from behind a door.
“Jane, hide!”
Ella hissed, but Jane didn’t understand.
“What do you mean? What’s going on?”
Jane asked, confused. Unlike Ella, she hadn’t made the connection yet.
Mike rang the doorbell, and Jane instantly realized Ella knew what she was doing. Without a word, she locked herself in her room. They could have called the police, but that might have only provoked Mike. The last thing they needed was to escalate the situation.
“Mike, what the hell are you doing here at this time?”
Ella barked over the phone.
[[I think you know…]]
Mike’s cold voice echoed, sending a chill through Ella’s spine.