Benedict's eyes flew open.
With a frantic gasp, he drew air into his lungs as though he had only just escaped death. His gaze shot around the room, instinctively searching for a threat, an attacker, any sign that the nightmare was not yet over.
But all he saw was a ceiling.
His breathing slowed only reluctantly. Above him stretched dark blue wallpaper, adorned with an old-fashioned pattern of silver vines. He had only seen the room briefly before, yet he recognized the wallpaper immediately.
He was in the bedroom he was forced to share with Vincent.
His mind was not fully working yet, but he was aware that he was definitely not in the kitchen.
Benedict blinked several times. Then he sat up abruptly.
The attack! The Viper Syndicate! The poison!
How had he survived all of that?!
His chest tightened painfully. He could still feel it, as if an iron hand had wrapped itself around his lungs. He remembered how every breath had become harder than the last. How panic had seized him when his body could no longer take in oxygen despite his desperate struggle.
The poison had prevented any oxygen absorption. Little by little, he had suffocated.
For a brief moment, his hand drifted to his chest, as if he needed to convince himself that his heart was actually beating.
No... that wasn't important right now. If he was in the bedroom, then it meant Vincent had found him and saved him. His gunshot wounds ached; Vincent had probably only neutralized the poison.
A cold stab shot through his stomach.
Isaac.
Isaac had been kidnapped right before his eyes, and he had been unable to do anything about it! He had hit his head on the table. Benedict hoped he was really alive, just as that bastard Levi had claimed.
He had to get him out of there.
"Finally awake, Sleeping Beauty?"
The icy voice made him spin around.
Only then did he notice the figure beside his bed. Noctis was sitting on a chair in the shadows of the room.
He was still wearing his full combat gear, equipped with all the weapons he normally used to kill people. His face looked tense, and every fiber of his body radiated deadly restraint.
This was not ordinary anger. This was the kind of rage that was being held back from erupting into raw violence only through extreme self-control.
Benedict shifted his weight. Pain immediately shot through his shoulder and thigh. He grimaced and suppressed a groan.
Guiltily, he lowered his gaze.
"Noctis. I—"
"Shut your damn mouth!" Noctis snapped.
Noctis briefly closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. His fingers gripped the armrests of the chair so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He was obviously fighting with all his strength to keep himself under control. His eyes bored into Benedict.
"I don't want to hear a single damn apology from you. I want to know how the hell this happened!"
Benedict swallowed.
From Noctis's reaction, Benedict drew two conclusions. First, they had no idea where Isaac was. And second, not much time could have passed since the attack. At least Noctis did not look like someone who had been waiting for long. He was impatient and seemed to be standing right on the edge of exploding.
"Ashe poisoned the cookies, and some of your men ate them, including me," Benedict began.
"We read your message," Noctis replied through clenched teeth.
A pained expression crossed his face.
"Did Isaac eat any too?"
His voice had suddenly become quiet and fragile. All at once, Noctis no longer sounded like the feared killer whom even seasoned soldiers respected.
He sounded like nothing more than a man terrified for his lover.
"Did he...?" Benedict began, then shook his head. "No. He said he wasn't in the mood for cookies, and Ashe seemed to know he wasn't particularly fond of almonds."
Noctis closed his eyes for a moment.
When he exhaled again, some of the tension left his shoulders. Not much. Just enough for Benedict to realize how great the fear was that he had been concealing until now.
What happened after that...?
Oh, right.
"He made us coffee with the espresso machine. He had almost finished his cup while Ashe was in the kitchen proudly advertising her cookies."
Noctis's expression immediately hardened again.
"And that didn't strike you as suspicious?! In a safehouse full of killers, you trust someone we don't trust? How stupid can you be?!" he snapped.
"I didn't know. The note only said the cookies were for everyone, but there was no name on it. I only found out after I'd already eaten some."
Noctis ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
"Trust no one," he hissed. "Has nobody ever taught you that? Especially not a gift basket with a ribbon on it!"
There hadn't been a ribbon on the plate of cookies, but Benedict understood with bitter clarity what Noctis was getting at.
"I'm aware that this wasn't exactly my finest moment," Benedict muttered. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Anyway, he dropped his coffee cup shortly after she left. Maybe there was something in the water or the beans, too. If Ashe planned all of this, she wouldn't have left Isaac conscious. Not with his combat abilities. My guess is a sedative, because he was having trouble staying on his feet."
He waited a moment to see if Noctis would say anything, but he remained silent and simply stared at him. So Benedict continued.
"Then the attack started. You probably saw what Isaac did to them. He took them down so fast that I barely had a chance to help him," Benedict sighed. "But they got him. They shot him. I couldn't see exactly where. From that moment on, he couldn't fight back anymore. Someone landed a hard kick on him, and then he hit his head on the table and ended up on the floor. By that point, I could barely breathe because of the poison."
He looked away.
The pain reflected in Noctis's face was one Benedict knew all too well himself.
Noctis still said nothing. He had Benedict's full attention, so Benedict decided to get the most unpleasant part over with. With his gunshot wounds, he would hardly be able to defend himself if things went badly.
Hopefully he keeps himself under control...
"Then Levi showed up and took him away. He didn't say where he was going. Just that, thanks to Isaac, every door would now be open to him."
For a moment, absolute silence filled the room.
Then Noctis slowly rose to his feet. The chair scraped across the floor.
His face had become completely expressionless.
Which worried Benedict far more than any display of anger.
Without a word, Noctis pulled his phone from his pocket, dialed a number, and held it to his ear. When someone finally answered, he spoke with a calmness far more dangerous than any shouting.
"Vince. My suspicion was correct. Isaac was unconscious. They had to carry him. At his height, someone must have noticed."
Noctis fell silent for a moment and listened.
His expression grew steadily darker.
"Your favorite cop thinks it was a sedative in the coffee machine's water supply."
Noctis rolled his eyes.
"Yes, he's awake, and no, I haven't done anything to him. Yet."
Benedict didn't react.
Noctis rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.
"Tell me you have new information..." he muttered in agony.
Suddenly, he sprang from his chair and shouted, "How is it possible that our network isn't working?!"
He stopped himself and let out a frustrated groan.
"I know only two hours have passed!"
Noctis dropped back into the chair.
"They'd better hurry the hell up, or I'm tearing this entire city apart," he growled.
He lifted his gaze and looked directly at Benedict.
"I treated his wounds, even though I still can't understand why you want to keep that useless idiot alive."
Apparently, Vincent said something on the other end that at least stopped him from throwing his phone against the wall.
Noctis briefly closed his eyes.
Benedict didn't really dare interrupt the conversation. If only Noctis knew how hard Isaac and he had fought. It wasn't as if he had simply stood by and let them take him. He had killed three of those men himself!
That didn't mean he didn't understand Noctis.
He would have reacted the same way.
Even so, the arrogant bastard pissed him off. Whatever Isaac saw in this man, Benedict certainly couldn't see it.
So instead of saying something that might make the situation worse, he picked up the phone lying on the nightstand beside him and opened his contacts.
After a moment's thought, he sent a message to his informants. He didn't mention any names, but he described Levi, Isaac, and the man who had carried Isaac away. He wanted to know where they had been seen and which building they had entered.
Isaac had been kidnapped only because Benedict had eaten those cookies.
All of this had happened because of his stupidity.
Because of his stupidity, he hadn't been able to fight properly.
He sent the final message and locked the screen again.
Benedict would do whatever it took to set things right.
Hopefully, someone had seen something.
Either way, his people would be keeping their eyes open now, and they would contact him immediately if they spotted anything.
By now, silence had settled over the room beside him.
He turned back to Noctis, who had finished his call with his brother and was staring at him openly.
"Who were you just texting?" he asked in a threatening tone.
Benedict let out a breath.
"My informants," he replied. "If your people didn't see anyone, maybe mine will have better luck."
Noctis studied him for a moment, then gave a curt nod and stood up.
"I want to know the second your people get back to you. I probably don't need to explain how important it is that we get Isaac out of there. Do I?"
Benedict shook his head.
He had learned everything from Vincent, and he didn't want Isaac to remain in Levi's clutches any longer than necessary either. Though he doubted Levi would physically harm him—not if he was after Isaac's abilities.
The real question was whether Isaac would comply with Levi's demands, and what would happen if he refused.
After all, he was now in the hands of his nemesis.
The worst man he had ever encountered.
Benedict didn't even want to imagine how Isaac would react once he discovered where he was.
He got to his feet and sucked in a sharp breath. Gritting his teeth, he pulled a shirt over his head.
"Where's Vincent?"
"In his office. What are you planning?"
"To find Isaac," Benedict answered.
There were still a few strings he could pull.
Then he looked at the assassin.
"What about you?"
Something cold flashed in Noctis's eyes.
"I'll do whatever it takes to get him out of there," he promised darkly.
Benedict nodded slowly.
"Then pack up your ridiculous bread knives and come with me. We've got work to do."
Noctis snorted.
"Bread knives? That's rich coming from someone whose pistol isn't any more dangerous than a water gun."
Benedict rolled his eyes.
"You have an unbelievable sense of humor. I'm sure that's exactly what Isaac misses about you while he's terrified for his life," he hissed.
He left the room and headed straight for Vincent's office.
Vincent would have to heal him if he was going to get Isaac out of there.
Behind him, he could hear Noctis's footsteps.
"If you have a plan, you'd better start talking before I make you," Noctis threatened.
"Let's just say I might have a plan," Benedict replied. "Either way, what I'm about to do will help get him out of there as quickly as possible."
Noctis let out an amused snort.
"And that coming from a third-rate cop."
Benedict's jaw tightened. He stopped and shot him a look over his shoulder.
"If this third-rate cop manages to find Isaac, I expect an apology from you on your knees."
"Challenge accepted," Noctis growled.