37. Cruel To Be Kind #5
“And if he gets out somehow?”
“There’s no chance. Even if he somehow manages to get out, I’ll make damn sure he ends up in the grave. He’ll never be able to touch another child again, nor you, for that matter,” Cade says solidly, stepping forward now that everything here has mostly been sorted.
Kingston’s eyes meet Cade’s. “He has contacts that can…”
Cade scoffs derisively at that. “Do you not know who I am? No one legitimate is going to go against the Donovans or the Bauers. And no one illegitimate is going to throw their lot in with your father over a Murphy. I may not rule the crime syndicate, but my family name is more feared than your father’s.
“He has no power left. All that power you grew up seeing him have is now yours, so long as you remember how easily it can be taken away. The only question that remains is, are you riding back to town the same way you rode here, or are you gonna sit in the car like a normal person?” Cade asks, and we all know the question is really whether Kingston will take the offer or follow in his father’s footsteps.
Something passes between the two as Kingston weighs Cade’s words.
“I don’t know how normal a person I’ll ever be, but I’d rather not take another trip in the trunk, and being untied would be nice since it’s obvious I’m not a threat anymore,” he huffs out.
Everyone’s eyes widen at Kingston’s words, not realizing Cade had transported him here in the trunk of his car. However, Cade just snorts dismissively at our judgy expressions while he frees Kingston from his bindings.
“Good, we can talk about some of your ideas and how to get them implemented. I have some great contacts I can get you in touch with–,” he starts talking while we head out to where our cars are parked.
While Cade talks Kingston’s ear off, the four of us exchange some heavy glances. As much as we are glad that Kingston will most likely be just a blip on the radar for the rest of our lives, the weight of everything we’ve learned tonight will stay with us forever.
When we get in the car, I hear Qi from the backseat. “Did you guys see how Cade reacted when Kingston started talking about his father’s victims?”
I chew on that, because I had noticed the same thing. Like he might have recognized the description, but then cast the idea away before acknowledging it.
“You don’t think he has anything to do with it, do you?” Tristan asks.
“No, it just seemed like he might have recognized the victim Kingston was talking about,” Qi muses curiously.
Marcus shrugs a bit as he turns the car around and heads home.
“Cade has been investigating this for a while; he might have recognized the particular victim Kingston was describing in the stuff he’d uncovered.”
“That must be it,” Qi agrees.
“Must be, because Cade would never be involved with something like that,” I add, because even though this whole thing was an entirely new level of extra, I still know there are moral codes Cade would never break, and hurting a child in any way, for any reason, is definitely one of them.
“You would know,” Marcus says in his pettily mocking way that has me rolling my eyes.
“Oh my god, Marcus, let it go,” I hiss.
Qi laughs at the exchange. “Stop being so jealous; the whole make-out with a friend to chase off unwanted attention is a classic move; everyone knows it meant nothing,” he says, standing up for me and making me smile.
“Wasn’t talking about the kiss,” Marcus mutters under his breath.
“What were you talking about then?” Qi asks.
“Nothing, he was talking about nothing,” I rush out, hoping to stop their curiosity.
But it’s too late, because the shocked gasp that escapes him tells me that he already got it.
“Oh my god, you slept with Cade?” Qi’s voice sounds more in awe than disgust.
“Goddamnit, Marcus!” I hiss.
“What?” Marcus responds innocently, as if he’s not the one who started this conversation.
Qi leans up towards the front seat until his face is close to mine.
“How was he?” he asks, his voice full of curiosity.
“Qi!” Tristan barks at that, and I have to bite my inner cheek to stop from laughing.
“What?” Qi asks innocently. “He’s like the epitome of the morally grey alpha type. Doesn’t mean I want to fuck him; I’m just curious,” he rushes to defend himself.
There’s no doubt in my mind that’s absolutely the case.
Qi loves his novels, and he loves the idea of romance and smut, and I know he tries some of it out on Tristan too, but I also know there’s a very real barrier between the way he sees and reads it, versus the way he feels and experiences it.
So while the curiosity is definitely there, the desire to know for himself is non-existent.
And while Tristan knows that, it evidently doesn’t stop him from being jealous when Qi is expressing curiosity about a very mysterious someone that we all know, and yet don’t really know at all, at the same time.
“For fuck’s sake, stop pouting. I retract the question,” Qi chides Tristan before sitting back in his seat and cajoling his jealous boyfriend.
“Look what you started,” I teasingly scold Marcus. “If they break up, then so do we.”
Marcus’s face breaks out into a grin. “If our lastability depends on theirs, then I guess we’re set in stone. Not like we weren’t already,” he says assuredly.
“Egotistical asshole,” I mutter under my breath.
Marcus’s grin just grows wider while I roll my eyes at the smug fucker. I reach over and turn the radio up to drown out the sounds of Qi turning Tristan’s frown upside down with a heavy dose of lip-smacking. Not that they wouldn’t have been making out the whole way home anyway.
Marcus’s hand drifts to my thigh, and he squeezes it lightly before turning his palm up.
I bite back the smile that’s trying to break loose at the simple plea, while clasping my hand in his, pretending to be wildly put upon to do so.
However, it doesn’t last because when he brings our enclosed hands up and kisses the back of mine, I lose the ability to keep my smile from breaking loose.
It’s ridiculous how incapable I am of resisting this man.
The sweet moment soothes the ache and the jumbled-up emotions this wild as fuck day has caused. I squeeze his hand again, and hope with all I have that this is the craziest thing that ever happens to us.
I’m perfectly content to be a boring couple and live a normal life from here on out, compared to the insanity that today held. I was definitely not built to withstand shady interrogations in the middle of nowhere, while evil monsters are being taken down.