I was the one driving that day. I’m the one who lived.
Cade’s gaze sharpens. “It wasn’t yours either, so wipe that look off your face.”
I sit up straighter, forcing my shoulders back. The past claws at me, but I won’t let it drag me under. Not tonight.
“So,” I say, offering the barest hintof a smirk, “what happened after you tortured my foster mom? Did you track down my doctor and torture him next?”
It’s meant as a joke. Mostly.
Cade doesn’t smile.
“Of course I did,” he says without hesitation. “When you don’t have money or power behind your name, the only way to get information is brute force. Trust me, I had to get into the best shape of my life to survive.”
He chuckles lightly, and I let out a quiet exhale, dry amusement slipping through the chaos in my mind.
God, what has my life become? Joking about torture like it’s a coping mechanism.
Maybe it is.
“So what did you find?” I ask, needing the shift, needing answers more than breath.
“That’s when I first learned about Marco Volkov,” he says somberly. “You know he owns that hospital, right? Actually owns it. The building, the board, the doctors, anyone worth their weight in that place is on his leash.”
My stomach tightens.
“But… Marco bought me at an auction,” I say, trying to make sense of the twisted timeline. “He didn’t even know I existed before that, did he?”
“Maybe he did,” Cade says quietly. “And it wasn’t a coincidence he happened to be at that auction.”
I shake my head, the thoughts swirling too fast to hold onto. “Why even bid on me if he was basically controlling my life already? If he wanted me, he could’ve taken me at any time.”
“Maybe Gladys wasn’t supposed to sell you,” he suggests. “Maybe she got greedy and stepped out of line.”
He pauses, eyes flicking to mine.
“She did mysteriously disappear not long after my… encounter with her.”
The way he says it is casual, but the look in his eyes says otherwise.
I lean back against the bed, pulse ticking in my throat. Every piece of this is tangled, and Marco’s at the center of it. Always.
I wish he were here now, tied up and at my mercy.
I wouldn’t waste the opportunity this time.
“A lot happened after that,” Cade says quietly, his gaze distant. “And not all of it I’m proud of. But somewhere along the way, I met Malachi. We realized we had a common goal, saving Avids from people like his father.”
His thumb brushes along the edge of his knee. “I worked with him for years, taking down traffickers, waiting for the right time to get to Marco.”
“You knew I was with him?” I ask, voice sharper than I intend.
“I didn’t know for sure,” he says. “I could never get close enough. Marco’s compound was a fortress. His men, untouchable. I didn’t know if he had you or if someone else did, but every mission I went on with Solace, I looked for you.”
Something in me cracks, soft and painful.
“I thought you were dead, Cade,” I say, heart aching. “If I’d known… I would’ve tried to find you too.”
I reach for him.
