NOVEL NEXT Chapter 283: Hunting for Kael
They moved slow, Ryn leading like he owned every backdoor and broken stair in the block. Xavier followed tight, watching where Ryn's boots touched the ground, how he checked shadows and the spaces between buildings like reading a page. The alleyways were a mess of rust, puddles, spray paint, and metal scraps — the perfect maze for someone who knew how to vanish.
Ryn pointed without talking: a scuff on the wall where someone had hooked a shoe to vault a ledge, fresh rubber on a drainpipe, a strip of torn fabric snagged on a rusty bolt. Kael had been sloppy in his hurry; he'd been fast, but he'd left a trail. A crushed energy bar wrapper, the faint smell of the cologne Kael always wore, a smear of mud on a railing — small things that meant movement, direction, and time.
They followed the thread through a service yard, under a half-collapsed loading dock, past a shuttered repair shop where a rack had been knocked over but not quite cleared.
Xavier kept his visor up now, scanning, pocket-light swinging in the dark. The city above pulsed with news screens and sirens, but down here it was all drip and echo and the soft hiss of distant traffic.
They found more signs: a sneaker print nearly washed out by a gutter, a cigarette still warm in the ash, a smear of sweat on a low wall where someone had braced to catch their breath. Kael was pushing himself — taking risky lines, leaving marks only someone who'd run these routes a hundred times would know how to make and how to miss.
Ryn slipped through a broken fence and peered down a narrow gap between buildings. Xavier crouched beside him and saw it: a shadow moving past a boarded-up doorway, then flattening against the wall. Kael's breath hitched, seemingly baffled to see that he was found.
"There!"
They closed in.
Ryn signaled two quick cuts with his hand. They split, one on each side of the block, squeezing the space Kael had been using as a shortcut. The bastard tried another fake turn — ducked into a narrow passage and vaulted over a low ledge — but Xavier was already there, cutting the angle, running the line Kael had taken seconds before. The sound of boots and a scuffle, and then Kael hit a dead end: a rusted fence and a high wall, with no easy way to climb and no clear exit.
Kael spun, chest heaving, eyes wide. He saw Ryn on one side, Xavier sliding up behind him, and for the first time his confident face cracked into panic. He reached for the rail, tried to vault again, but Xavier's hand closed on his shoulder and yanked him back hard. Kael stumbled, almost fell, fingers scraping metal.
"Told ya, bitch!," Xavier smirked.
Kael looked at them, tried to bargain with words tumbling out. "Listen—please—I didn't mean—" He tried to shove past, to wriggle free, but Ryn hooked an arm under his and pinned his other side. The two of them were like a wall.
Xavier kept his grip. "Why did you run, huh? I told you I would find you." He leaned in, voice low. "You said things you shouldn't have.Now we talk."
Kael's back hit the fence, dirt smearing across his cheek as Xavier's grip pinned him in place. The man's words came out in gasps, desperate, frantic— "They— they gave me no choice! You don't get it, man, I had to testify against you! If I didn't, they'd have killed me, they said they'd go after my family, you hear me? My family!"
Xavier stared at him, eyes dark, unblinking. His voice came low, cold. "And you forgot to mention the part where that's my problem."
Kael's throat bobbed. "Anyone would've done the same thing I did!" he snapped, trying to sound brave, but his voice cracked halfway through. "You think you're some saint? You weren't there! They— they dragged Mira out and raped her right in front of me! Four guys, man. Four. And I couldn't do shit! They said keep my mouth shut, take the deal, and they'd make it right—money, security, new life, all that. You'd have done the same!"
Xavier's jaw tightened. He didn't say a word. He just watched Kael's mouth move, spewing filth like he was trying to clean guilt with excuses. And then his fist slammed into Kael's face.
The crack echoed through the alley. Kael staggered, hit the ground, blood dripping from his lip.
"Mira was your girl," Xavier said, his voice rough, trembling under the weight of fury. "You don't get to stand there and talk like that. You don't get to say her name after selling her off for a damn payout. How could you betray her like that, and if only you had supported her afterwards, she would still be alive."
Kael spat blood and glared up. "You think I wanted her after that? You think I could touch her again after she was used by four bastards like that? Hell no. Even if she hadn't killed herself, I'd have dumped her anyway." He gave a hollow laugh, bitter and ugly. "At least I got something out of it. Money, freedom. Her parents did too. They took the hush money, didn't they? So why the hell should I act all noble?"
Ryn took a step forward but stopped, watching Xavier. The silence between them stretched, filled with disgust.
Xavier's fists clenched so tight the knuckles cracked. His eyes burned with something deeper than rage — disappointment, revulsion, pity all bleeding into one.
Kael sneered weakly, "Don't look at me like that. You would've done the same if you were in my shoes. Don't pretend you're better than me."
Xavier stared down at him for a long second, then finally spoke. "You had one job — to protect her. Even if you couldn't protect yourself, you should've stood for her. That was your duty." He stepped closer, his shadow swallowing Kael. "You remember why they took her? Why they picked her?"
Kael blinked, silent.
"Because you beat Ethan in that sprint," Xavier said. "Because he couldn't keep his ego in check. Mira paid for it with her life. She was dragged off, violated, broken — because of you."
Kael's mouth opened but nothing came out.
Xavier leaned down, eyes cold and sharp as glass. "You want to talk about who's in whose shoes? Try standing in hers for a minute. You won't last a breath."