DON'T BREAK THE RULES

Chapter 35 - I Know Who Took Him

"Why are you so difficult to meet nowadays?"

Connor smirked, sending a few fingers through his sleek black strands. He hadn't expected to receive this sort of note from his secretary and had initially ignored it. Except that there was no end to it, and eventually decided to accept this meeting.

He reached for his cabinet, retrieving a bottle of hard dark liquor. "Want a drink?"

"No," Fred shook his head, waving his hand dismissively. "This is a serious matter."

"Well, you're here, right?" Connor rolled his eyes, grabbing two glass cups. "Might as well try to make yourself comfortable."

He paused for a moment, observing the cocky smile that played on the ends of Connor's lips; although there was no degrading comment made, the way Connor held himself was enough to feel condescended upon.

But he needed him and Fred swallowed hard. "Then yes, I'll take one."

Craig poured a bit of his whiskey in each before filling them with soda. He handed one to Fred and after a moment, raised it in the air for a cheers before downing his entire drink in a gulp. As for Fred, he took a sip and watched Connor refill his drink.

"My secretary mentioned that you called almost two hundred times in the past two days, not to mention my inbox is full from all your spam mails that eventually ended up in my main mail." Connor's eyes narrowed slightly while he took a sip of his second drink, shuffling in his seat until he felt comfortable.

"It's about Joe."

Connor lifted his palm, stopping him immediately. "I have no desire to talk about Joe, to be frank with you."

Fred leaned forward. "This is serious—"

"He hasn't returned any of my calls since the last time I spoke to him, hasn't reached out to me either."

"He hasn't reached out to me either. That's the whole point of this—"

Connor hadn't really listened to him, rolling his eyes as he took another sip of his drink. "That other boy he fancied trick him and now, I have no idea where he is."

"And that's the problem." Fred finally caught his attention, Connor frowning and meeting his gaze when he heard that. The look behind his eyes was enough to make Connor straighten his spine. "Joe's missing."

A few seconds of silence built tension within the room, Fred feeling a drop of sweat slide on the side of his face. Connor had turned away, his eyes locked with the white walls, as if the entire world had paused for a second. His blank stare was frightening enough that Fred almost jumped from his seat when he finally moved to reach for his glass.

And when he did, he felt cold shivers run through his back, noticing the fury that instantly built behind Connor's gaze.

His fingers gripped around his glass for a moment before he downed the rest of his drink. Fred noticed how stiff Connor's muscles had become, and when he settled his glass back on his desk, it tipped over and landed on the floor. He did not bother picking it up and folded his arms instead, and in a low quiet voice, he growled, "I know who took him."