“Check the printer in your office, Samson,” Thomas’s voice continued over the intercom.

“The contract is there. Sign it, you, Gabriel, and Amaury. When you’re done, let me know.”

There was a click, and silence descended on the floor. All Eddie heard was Amaury’s heavy breathing as he continued to try to pry the doors apart.

“The elevator doors won’t open,” Kasper’s voice suddenly sounded over the loudspeakers.

“There’s no use in trying. And the manual release you’re looking for has been disabled.”

Then a loud sound from the elevator, coupled with a shriek from Nina, tore through the hallway. Within a second, the sound stopped, but Nina’s crying could be heard through the doors.

“Sign the fucking papers, or next time I won’t just drop her half a floor. I’ll drop her all the way to the basement,” Kasper announced.

“I’m going to kill that fucking bastard!” Amaury screamed.

“I’ll sign the papers,” Samson’s voice came over the loudspeaker.

Eddie charged to the open door of Samson’s office, watching as his boss took several sheets of paper from the printer. “Don’t!”

Samson spun around. “You heard him. He’s going to kill your sister if I don’t give in to his demand.”

“And he’ll also kill her once you sign. If this man is really Kasper—and I have no idea how that’s possible—but if that man in the basement is Thomas’s maker, then he’s evil to the core.

He will kill any and all of us just because he can. He’s toying with us, don’t you see that? He’s enjoying the power Thomas gave him over us. We’re the mice, and he’s the cat. The only person who can stop him is Thomas.”

Samson slammed his fist on the desk. “Thomas is under his thrall. I could feel it when I confronted him at the house earlier. He’s not himself. He said he’s got nothing left to lose.

Thomas won’t help us. We’ve lost him. All we can do is try to save Nina ourselves.”

Eddie gave a slow shake of his head. “There’s one other way.” He walked around Samson’s desk and reached for the microphone. “I’ll bring him back to us. Because I’m the reason he left us.”

Samson stepped aside, a look of curiosity on his face. When Eddie looked past him, he noticed his colleagues at the door.

“What’s going on?” Zane asked.

Eddie sat down in Samson’s chair and leaned over the microphone, then pushed the button.

“Thomas, it’s Eddie. I know you probably don’t want to listen to me right now, but there’s something I’ve got to say to you and to everybody here at Scanguards.” He paused, collecting his courage. “I’m gay, and I’m not ashamed of it anymore. Because of you, I’ve finally found who I really am.”

He noticed the surprised looks on his colleagues’ faces, but continued concentrating on his speech. “Thomas, I’m sorry for what happened at Oliver’s party. I was wrong to reject you. I was afraid. But I’m no longer afraid. Thomas, I love you. Not just as a friend. I love you as my partner, my lover, my forever. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I beg you to forgive me. You once said that for the right person, you would fall on your knees. Thomas, if you’ll come back to me, I’ll fall on my knees. Because you’re the only person I ever wanted and needed. I love you.”

Eddie clicked the button to mute the intercom and looked up. He sensed moisture in his eyes, but felt no embarrassment when he looked at his colleagues. With understanding in their eyes they looked back at him.

41

“. . . I love you.”

Eddie’s words echoed in Thomas’s mind, ricocheting inside him like a stray bullet. Was he hallucinating, or had he really just heard Eddie confess his love for him in front of all of Scanguards? Eddie had to have known that the intercom would broadcast his words into every room in the building. Still, he’d said them. He’d come out publicly.

“You can’t possibly believe what he’s saying!” Kasper sniped next to him. “It’s clearly a ploy to get you to surrender control over Scanguards.” He pointed his finger up to the loudspeaker from which the words had echoed. “He’s lying to you. As soon as you give up, he’ll recant. His colleagues probably put him up to it since they know how you feel about him. It’s all a lie. He doesn’t love you. Not like I do!”

Thomas recognized desperation when he smelled it. And Kasper was desperate to save the day. It meant Kasper too had heard the sincerity in Eddie’s words. They were true. Thomas felt it in his heart. As it warmed and pushed against the dark power that surrounded it, he suddenly felt an invading force. It was subtle, yet he recognized it: Kasper had slipped into his mind and was hiding within the layers of Thomas’s dark powers. He recognized it so clearly now, almost as if feeling Eddie’s love had opened his eyes and lifted the veil that had hung over him for the last few days. Just as Eddie’s love now gave him the strength to push the dark power away.