He heard the old fear in her voice, the one that paralyzed her in her weak moments. She had lost so much in her life. He was all she had now. It was a position he rather liked, just as he liked the way she looked up at him as though he were a god.
“I’ll be fine. I’ve been hunting right along with you. No one has defeated me yet.”
Her laughter was tremulous. “And soon…soon no one will defeat us.”
“Tomorrow we step things up, since our actions haven’t yet incited the war. Curious, considering the brutal nature of the Fringers.”
“I think it’s Violet. So far, she’s kept her own family from acting on Arlo’s murder. I saw her going to the Augusts after I took out Butch. She also met with the head of the Peregrine clan. She must be persuasive, desperate to keep peace. I know how to push them over the edge. I need to kill a child. Fringers hate when the children are targeted. I had the opportunity to take out a girl, but they thwarted me. This time I will succeed. Then things should finally heat up.”
They’d left the blindfold off. That was the good thing. The only good thing. Kade tried to summon his magick, flexing his fingers until they cramped. No deal. He figured they had Lucifer’s Gold in the cuffs, but knowing that didn’t help.
In the distance, he heard people calling out to one another, engines starting. Business as usual. But he could see no one. Jessup had threatened to watch him, but if he was, he was well hidden.
There were plenty of places to hide, but here Kade was in full sight of any Vega sent to kill him. He struggled again to free himself. Maybe Violet’s brothers would be able to protect her. Maybe not. Idiots thought just because they could swing through the trees that they were invincible. If Kade hadn’t been distracted in dealing with Mia or emotions that were tying him in knots, no one would have caught him off guard.
“Violet, if you’re out there, talk to me. Someone’s going to come kill me. Then he’ll go after you…and anyone who gets in the way. Maybe you can live with me dying in a defenseless position, but think about yourself, your people.”
Nothing. He’d seen her break, just a little, when she stood in front of him. Then doubt clouded her face. She’d walked away, leaving him to die. Damn irony. The real irony was how her distrust cut into him. Her turning away hurt him in a way no woman had before.
He heard the footsteps first. The crackle of pine needles beneath a boot. Kade zeroed in on the sound, staring into the woods. Waiting like a lame duck. Hell.
He saw the tall figure, nearly camouflaged by the tight-knit pines. Then the distinct shape of a man, tall, dark with broad shoulders.
Double hell. Dune. Yeah, Ferro wanted Kade out. Permanently.
Dune checked the surroundings as he advanced, but mostly his eyes were on Kade. He wore the smile of a man about to cut into an aged filet mignon. That smile widened as he approached, taking in Kade’s predicament.
“Kavanaugh,” Dune said in what might have passed as a greeting in any other situation.
“Dune.”
“Ferro thinks you’ve gone rogue over a woman.” He surveyed the situation. “Looks like you’re into some kinky stuff.”
Kade forced a laugh. “Not hardly. I was ambushed. If you’ll cut me down?—”
“Why haven’t you Changed? Used your magick to cut yourself free?” Dune reached out to touch the cuffs, then drew his fingers back as though he’d been burned. “Lucifer’s Gold. Interesting that Fringers would have such a thing. I’ll have to take these with me.” Dune stepped back and jerked his arm. It took Kade a second to realize he was slamming his fist into Kade’s stomach.
Kade couldn’t physically double over, but he coughed and sucked in a breath. “What the hell was that for?” he managed.
“Where should I start? Being a hotheaded asshole who skipped past me up the ranks because of his daddy, even as he broke all the rules.” Dune hit him again, but this time Kade was ready and tightened his stomach muscles. It still hurt but didn’t take his breath away.
“Wasn’t it enough that I got demoted?” Dune had sure rubbed it in enough.
“No, it wasn’t. But you know what was enough? Being the one who terminated your daddy.”
Rage burned through Kade, but he gritted his teeth and swallowed it back. “You were only following orders.” The hardest words he’d ever had to utter, and yet, that was a Vega’s job. Didn’t matter who it was.
Now the target was Kade.
All these years, Dune had never once hinted that he’d been the one to take out his father and the prisoner. It carved him into pieces, but Kade held it in. Dune was playing with him first. Kade was not going to play back.
“Some jobs I enjoy a lot more than others.” Dune grinned, the smug smile Kade hated. “Like that one. And this one. I like taking down the high and mighty.” He took in Kade again, his derisive gaze sweeping over him, and laughed. “Well, the once high and mighty. This is almost too easy.”
“If you cut me free, it’ll be more challenging. And fun.”
Kade knew better than to appeal to Dune. He’d been given an opportunity to wipe Kade, and he wasn’t going to be talked out of it. It was no use appealing for Violet’s life either, not when she was the original target.
“You can hate me all you want,” Kade said, “but you have to admit I’m good. Look what Violet and her clan did to me despite my skills. They’re tough and clever and fast. And there are a lot more of them than you. They’ll flatten you.”
