He took a rifle butt in the head, another in the kidneys. He bent, but didn’t go down. X said, “Enough! That’s enough!” Armed men stepped away, fingers on the triggers. X took Jason by the arm, and straightened him up. “I can help you, but time is short. Are you able to focus? Good.” X led Jason past the men who’d struck him down. The car was a Mustang, but not like Gibby’s. A hardtop. “The keys are in it.” X handed Jason an envelope. “Reece’s address. His floor plans and alarm codes, plus a full set of security schematics. That’s where you’ll find your brother.”

Jason opened the envelope, and flipped pages. Numbers. Diagrams. Sight lines. “How did you get this so fast?”

“I’m a paranoid billionaire. I bought Reece’s security consultant the day after the system was installed. The system is good, but not perfect. You can get inside.”

“Why are you doing this for me?”

X ignored the question. “Reece won’t hurt your brother until he knows I’m dead. The boy’s an insurance policy. It’s not personal.” He looked at his watch. “It’s almost four. You can be at Reece’s house in eighty minutes. Don’t drive fast enough to get pulled over. If your name’s not out yet, it will be. You’ll find weapons in the trunk. Reece will want to be at the execution. He’ll need that. He’s planned for it. I can promise that. If you can bear to wait, the house will be yours, and you can get your brother out, easy. If you can’t wait, you can’t. I know the boy matters.” X paused for a beat. “I’m sorry about this, Jason. I truly am. I did not foresee this behavior from Reece.”

An armed guard approached. “Sir, we don’t have much time.”

X gave Jason a searching look. “You should go.”

Jason got in the car, his thoughts running hot. He started the engine; turned on the headlights.

“I do have one request.” X stooped at the window. “Don’t kill Reece unless you have to. Protect yourself, save your brother. But Reece has become … meaningful to me.”

“In what way?”

“The kind he will not like.”

Jason stared into the night, jaw clenched. “I can’t make you that promise.”

“And I could have left you in prison.”

That was the X Jason knew—hard edges and expectation. Jason’s fingers tightened on the wheel. The big engine was talking. “Tell me why it matters.”

X tilted his head, black-eyed and not quite smiling. “Do you remember Christmas as a child? Well, this is very much like the night before, like Christmas morning is right around the corner, and you just know there’s something special under the tree.”