Page 31 of Vengeful Lies

So, these men weren't just afraid of what he might do to them if they weren't careful, they were terrified. The chains weren't overkill, even with his wrists and ankles bound, he would have made a move when the time presented itself. But even restrained as he was, he would wait and watch, and when that moment did present itself, and there was always that one moment when people let their guard down, he wouldn't hesitate to strike.

There was still a lot of rage boiling inside him. Now that Essie and Gabriella were safe with his brothers, he was more than ready to find an outlet for it.

What better outlet than the men who had taken them from him?

For now, there was still too much of whatever drug they’d given him to knock him out in his system. He might be awake, but his limbs were still heavy and there was a foggy feeling in his head. That would fade and his strength would return.

Besides, he had to make sure they believed he intended to follow through on the bargain he’d made.

His life for Essie and Gabriella’s.

The picture of Gabriella’s beaten and battered body had been the final straw, and he’d known if he didn't tell them what they wanted to hear, he was going to lose her. After that, he’d lose his daughter, and without Essie he was nothing. Without Gabriella he was … drifting in the wind. He needed her to ground him, and he didn't want to imagine his life without either of them in it.

So, he emailed back and said that he would make a trade. Him for them. He said he was the one who knew what they’d learned about the men who had raped his mom so far, sohaving him as leverage was better than holding onto Essie and Gabriella. It served the same purpose, someone to threaten to keep his brothers in line, and had the added bonus of them being able to interrogate him.

He hadn't let on that they’d already hit on a location. That tidbit about the stationary company might lead somewhere, and he didn't want to let on that they knew because it might lead to whoever was pulling the strings cleaning house, wiping away evidence Olivia and the rest of Prey’s cyber team might find. Instead, he’d pretended the address he’d been given was all new information.

The agreement was he had five minutes to get Essie and Gabriella out. If any of his brothers moved from the vehicle they’d be shot. If he didn't hand them over and head back inside, they’d all be shot.

Cade knew that whoever was working so hard to prevent them from finding proof he was involved in raping their mom and then setting her up didn't really want to kill off his whole family. That would draw a whole lot of attention to them and could get them found out anyway. It was why they kept trying to be sneaky, going after weak links.

Well, this time they didn't have a weak link in their presence.

As the oldest, he’d taken on the role of looking out for his family. Every time these men had targeted one of his siblings or someone they cared about, he’d taken that personally. Then they’d made the mistake of daring to touch his daughter and her nanny.

For that, they would die.

When the door at the top of the step swung open, he shot a cocky grin at whoever was stupid enough to go down there and attempt to taunt him.

They thought they had the upper hand, but his family had the entire might of Prey Security at their backs, he’d like tosee anyone go up against Prey and win. It had never happened before, and he didn't plan on it happening this time.

“You're awake,” the man said, stating the obvious.

“I am,” he agreed amicably. These idiots didn't know they’d taken a powder keg into their presence. Sooner rather than later, he was going to explode, and when he did, they weren't going to know what hit them.

“You have to know our boss isn’t going to be making any more deals if that’s what you're hoping for,” the man said, strolling down the stairs but wisely not coming too close.

“Didn't think they would,” he replied as he lounged back against the wall, giving the air of calm and control while at the same time allowing his rage to slowly invigorate him and return his strength.

“You know you're going to die here,” the man told him.

If that happened, he would die happy that he’d given life to Essie and Gabriella by making this trade. But he was going to do everything in his power to make sure he got home to them.

He didn't know what was going to happen with him and Gabriella, but he did know that he had to make her understand that it wasn't her that had him keeping his distance but his own fears.

Giving a disinterested shrug, he cataloged everything he could about the man. All that information would be stored until he reached the time he had to use it.

“You should know we had a lot of fun with the nanny,” the man said, giving him a smirk.

The words were meant to set him off and ignite his rage. And they did. But he had a long fuse and wasn't about to set himself off when he was in no position to do anything about the anger surging inside him.

Instead, he locked his gaze onto the man’s and allowed every bit of the fury inside him to seep out. “You should know thatI have no intention of dying until every single one of you who touched what was mine suffers a long, slow death.”

September 4th

7:19 P.M.

She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to beg and plead for someone to do something.

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