Page 45 of Vengeful Lies

Chapter

Twelve

September 7th

8:02 A.M.

“Who could that have been do you think?” John asked as he lowered the phone from his ear.

Never in all his years as an adult had Cade rolled his eyes so many times at another person. Sure, when he was a kid, he might have rolled his eyes at his brothers, his parents, his teachers, his football coach, it was what kids did. But as an adult, he’d never really had cause because most people weren't as ridiculous as the man standing before him.

Despite delivering what could have been a life-ending knife wound the day before, the man who had delivered it hadn't angled the blade correctly to hit his femoral artery. So instead of bleeding out in a matter of minutes, Cade was still alive more than twelve hours later. The wound on his thigh was a bloody mess, but it had already clotted and formed a scab, he wasn't going to bleed out from it.

Infection was another story.

If he didn't receive treatment for the deep gash, there was the possibility that infection would set into the wound, and if left long enough, could wind up killing him.

But that was a worry for another day.

Right now, he’d just been given something to eat and drink and he already felt his strength returning. He was ready to make a move and had a plan in place.

“It was Becca asking to meet up with me,” John informed him since he hadn't done the obvious and asked who had been on the other end of the phone.

If his brothers had okayed Becca attempting to arrange a meeting with John, that had to mean they knew something. If they didn't know who John Jones really was, then at the very least, Gabriella had been able to give a description of the men who had taken her and they knew that John had been part of it.

Perfect.

Time to make his move as soon as John left.

“Give my regards to the woman who turned you down multiple times and called you creepy,” he shot back.

“How about I do better than that.” John lifted the phone and snapped a photo of him, then turned and walked back up the stairs out of the basement.

When he reached the top of the stairs John paused. When he turned around his expression said he was clearly conflicted. The man was a walking contradiction. In some ways, he seemed to actually care about other people, but in other ways, he was quite obviously a narcissist.

“Letting the woman and child go was a mistake. I knew that when I agreed to the terms of your deal. But … the way she protected the girl … reminded me of how my mother would do her best to protect me from my father’s rages. So I can't regret my decision. I can call in enough favors and have any description she gave of me wiped out, have her painted as suffering fromPTSD and labeled as not a reliable witness. Anything she says won't destroy me, but I can't risk you getting away. I'm sure you understand.” Turning to his men, he said, “If I don’t contact you within the hour, kill him. He’s outlived his usefulness.”

Those words probably should have instilled fear in him, but instead, they resolved his determination that it was the right time to make his move.

With a last look that conveyed a slight measure of regret, John turned and headed out the door, leaving him alone with two of John’s men.

He had to give it to John Gaccione, the man certainly had confidence.

Stupid confidence if he really thought that with all of Prey’s resources and connections, he was going to be able to undo Gabriella’s claims that he was one of the men who had been part of abducting her and holding her and Essie against their will.

Cade knew he owed a massive thanks to John’s deceased mother. Because if it wasn't for her instilling some humanity in her son and doing her best to protect him from his abusive father, there was no way Gabriella and Essie would be alive right now.

He owed a massive thanks to Gabriella as well.

Because if she hadn't fought for his daughter, reminding John of the mother he’d obviously loved,there was no way either she or Essie would be alive.

Shoving all thoughts of his daughter and the woman who had woken up the heart he believed had died along with his wife, Cade focused on what he had to do if he even wanted to stand a chance at getting home to his girls.

There was no way his brothers weren't planning on being there for that meeting. Once they got their hands on John, he had no doubt they would do whatever they had to in order to make him talk.

But they didn't know they had less than an hour to get John someplace secure, get him talking, and then get there to wherever he was being held, otherwise he’d be dead.

If he wanted to live, wanted to go home to his girls, then his fate was in his own hands.

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