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Yeah, I had no problem believing it. It almost seemed too normal for him.
“Why would Bryce’s dad have your parents killed?” Joe asked.
“Easy. My father demanded more money. Tom killed him.”
Money buys silence for a time, son, but a bullet buys it forever.
I had no difficulty believing my father lived by his own words.
“And your mother?” Joe said.
“When I left, I went to her. Tom was afraid she’d soften me, so he offed her. He went after Dominic and Alex as well, but your father”—he nodded to Marj—“put them under his protection.”
I swallowed down the nausea that had become such a big part of my life. None of this was hard to believe. It could easily be true.
“You’re saying you’ve never killed anyone?” Joe asked.
“No. I’ve never killed anyone. I’ve never abused anyone. Never. Not ever.”
“You pepper-sprayed us,” Joe reminded him.
“Self-defense,” Booker said. “You took my weapons.”
“What were you planning, then?” I asked. “Coming after Joe and me? If you’re not a killer, then what?”
“Truthfully? I have no idea. I always thought I’d make you pay somehow. Torture you. Maybe kill you, but I didn’t have anything mapped out. I’ve had vengeance on my mind for so long, I didn’t know what I’d do once I actually had you.”
Cade’s face seemed to morph before my eyes. He was Justin again, nine years old, running from Taylor Johns and the other bullies.
And suddenly everything was clear.
Even his sexual preferences at the club. He couldn’t decide. My father made him the ultimate victim, and that was ingrained in his personality. When he finally got a small taste of freedom, he desperately wanted to break free of the victim role. He toyed with the other side, hoping it would cure him of his victimhood, but inside, he was still a frightened little boy. He’d even created a separate identity—the Spider. The role of switch fit him perfectly.
“You do know, don’t you, that we had no idea what would happen to you on that camping trip?” Joe said.
“Maybe. You were kids. So was I.”
“We were friends,” Joe said. “At least I thought we were.”
I waited for Joe to say more, but he didn’t. How could he? It would mean talking about his leather club affiliation with his little sister present.
“We were never friends. We hardly knew each other.”
“We protected you from Taylor Johns and the others,” Joe continued.
“We don’t have to defend ourselves,” I said to Joe. “We were nine.”
Cade looked to me then, and I couldn’t read his eyes.
“I was watching you. Waiting,” he said. “When your father died, I figured it was time for me to act. He no longer controlled me, so I could finally take revenge. Only I never thought it through. Never thought about how I’d actually take revenge.”
“He’s not a killer,” Colin said. “Despite what he’s been through, he’s not a criminal. Just like I’m not.”
I opened my mouth, but Colin gestured to me.
“I’m not saying what he’s been through and what I’ve been through are equal. He’s had it much worse. I get that.”
I turned to Booker. “Tell us, then. What you’ve been through. How my father continued to control you after he let you go.”
