Page 88 of Black Heart

Kaden makes a strangled sound.

Cassie begins to pace, her movements languid, almost hypnotic. The gun dangles loosely from her fingers. “Hebroke me, piece by piece, day after day. The beatings, the starvation, the isolation. He would leave me in that dark hole for weeks, until I forgot what sunlight looked like, until my own name felt foreign on my tongue. And then, when I was nothing more than an empty doll, he would bring me out. Clean me up, dress me in pretty clothes. Parade me around like a prized pet.”

I swallow and blink back tears. I can’t even begin to imagine the hell she endured. Kaden’s threadbare breaths fill the space between her words, each inhale a painful reminder of his fading strength.

Cassie stops in front of us, then lowers until she’s resting on her haunches. “Do you know what it’s like, Dad, to have every shred of your identity stripped away? To be dismembered and put back together as something unrecognizable? No, of course you don’t. You were too busy playing the vengeful assassin, leaving your little trinkets on the bodies you dropped, never once considering that I might still be alive. That I needed you.”

Kaden shakes his head weakly, tears clearing a path through the blood on his face. “I searched everywhere for you. I never stopped looking for you. Never stopped hoping…”

A mirthless laugh escapes her. “He molded me. Reshaped me into his perfect little soldier. His Mafia princess. He taught me to kill, to torture, to revel in the agony of our enemies. But that’s not the worst part, Daddy. He buried me half a mile away from you. Next to the lighthouse. There were times you would’ve walked right on top of me.”

My mouth goes dry. The lighthouse.Mylighthouse. All those weeks Kaden spent searching, hunting for clues, and she was right there, suffering unimaginable horrors so close to home.

Kaden’s anguished moan rips me apart. “No…”

His voice breaks off into a wet cough, more blood bubblingpast his lips. I press my hand against his wound, my own tears blurring my vision.

Cassie watches him struggle with cold indifference.

“Cassie, we need to get him to a hospital,” I say.

She tilts her head at me. “Considering I’m the one who shot him, I’m going to go with ano.”

“Why?” I demand. “How could you do this to a man who spent a decade searching for you, deadoralive? Your father changed his life, he gave up everything, to try to find you. He became a killer. Look around you.Look. All this carnage was for you. He tears people apartfor you. Help him.Help him!”

By the time I’m finished, I’m screaming at her.

Cassie’s emotionless gaze flickers from Kaden’s labored breaths to my desperate, tear-streaked face. She leans in closer, keeping me in her sights with an intensity that makes me want to shrink back. But I force myself to meet her stare head-on, clenching my teeth hard.

“Who are you to him?” she asks.

I take a shuddering breath, choosing my words carefully. “I’m … I’m his partner. His friend. His…”

“Is he your savior?” Cassie asks sweetly. “When your world fell apart, when you were thrust into this nightmare that you couldn’t wake up from, was he there? Did he protect you, shelter you, even when you fought him every step of the way?”

I feel all the blood leaving my face.

Cassie offers a triumphant smile at my physical reaction. “Exactly.”

She’s right. Kaden saved me, protected me. The realization that it should’ve been her twists something inside me.

Kaden’s breathing grows more labored. Blood seeps through my fingers as I press against his wound. His skin pales, taking on a grayish tint.

“Please,” I beg. “He’s dying.”

Cassie’s eyes narrow. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small vial filled with clear liquid, as well as a flip-phone. “This is the antidote to the poison coating the bullet. And my men can call an ambulance. Without either, I give him about ten more minutes.”

Poison?My heart races. “Give it to him!”

“Not so fast,” Cassie says. She holds up the vial, examining it in the poor light. “I want something in return.”

“Anything,” I say without hesitation.

Kaden’s hand weakly grasps my arm. “No, Layla, don’t.”

I ignore him, focusing on Cassie. “What do you want?”

Her lips pull into a hapless smile. “I want you to feel what I felt. To know what it’s like to have your identity stripped away. I want you to come with me.”

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