Page 71 of Cage

His reminder makes me smile. Of course he won’t forget that I disobeyed. Because he’s a good Daddy. Actually, he’s the best Daddy.

Then, a sudden thought pops into my head. “Do you blame me for this?”

Cage stops before me and roughly grabs my chin, pinching my cheeks together so my lips open like a fish. “Not for one fucking second, firefly. You’re the victim in this. The two of them and anyone else involved in this will pay dearly.”

The churning in my tummy settles slightly. I’m not sure what I’d do if he thought I was part of this. It would probably kill me if Cage didn’t trust me. Especially since I trust him more than all the people in the world.

As he undresses me and changes my clothes, I sit limply, letting him do whatever he wants. My body is numb, but my mind is racing. How could he do this to me? Use me to get elected? I don’t even know why I’m in shock. Of course he would do something like this. It’s always been about my father and his career. Everything has always been him.

I have very few memories of my mother. A core one that sticks out to this day is them fighting. My father walked out while my mom was crying because she wanted him to spendthe day with us. When he slammed the door behind him, she collapsed into a heap on the floor. Even as young as I was, I went and sat on her lap to comfort her because she was so sad. It wasn’t long after then that she died.

“Baby girl,” Cage says gently. “Look at me.”

Tipping my head back, I gaze into his nearly black eyes and try to swallow the lump in my throat.

“No matter what, it’s going to be okay.You’regoing to be okay.”

All I do is nod because I’m not so sure he’s right about that. Am I going to be okay? My father used me for his own political gain. I can’t overlook that. What am I going to do? Where will I live? And now that Cage has figured out that there’s no real threat, I have no reason to stay here. He hasn’t even been my Daddy for a full day and it’s already ending.

That’s not true. He’s been my Daddy since the day he threw me over his shoulder and carried me onto that plane, then drove the rest of the way across the country because he found out how terrified I was. I think I fell in love with him that very same day. Saying goodbye is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. The thought of it is more painful than thinking about my father’s actions.

“Baby, you don’t have to do this. I can take care of everything,” Cage says darkly.

I have no doubt that my father has signed his death warrant with Cage. Ruth, too. The bitch. I never liked her. I’m pretty sure she’s never liked me either, even though we’ve only met a few times. She always came across as someone who thinks she’s smarter than everyone around her and that she’s better than them.

Maybe I should be trying to talk Cage out of whatever he’s going to do to them. I just can’t seem to find it in me to do soright now. Perhaps once the numbness wears off, I’ll feel more emotional about it.

“I want to see it with my own two eyes. I want to look my father in the eyes while he tells me that he used me. I’ve been the good, quiet daughter for so long.”

And I have Cage to thank for that. The man might be overbearing and a pain in the ass, but he has never wanted me to be silent and not bother him with my wants or needs. He has only encouraged me, even when he knew I wouldn’t make things easy on him by doing that.

Cage studies me for several seconds before he nods. “Okay, firefly. Just know I’m right here to be your support in whatever way necessary.”

He holds out his hand, the warmth of his palm calming my soul as soon as I take it. We’re both silent as we walk along the paved path from his house to the main house. While my mind should be on my father, all I can think about as I look around this beautiful land is how much I’ll miss it here. I’ve never seen so many trees in my life, and while the Cherry Blossom trees in DC are beautiful, they are nothing compared to The Ranch.

Cassian, Theo, Jasper, Rylan, Ghost, and Koda are already in the large conference room near all the offices when we arrive.

“Gunner, Dom, and Luca are coming, too. The rest of the guys aren’t here but will be listening in to the conversation remotely,” Cassian tells us.

Cage nods, and I look at him, suddenly feeling unsure. I hadn’t expected everyone to be here.

As if he understands what I’m thinking, he leans down to my ear. “Breathe, firefly. They’re all here because they care about you and want to help however they can.”

That stupid lump forms in my throat again, making it too difficult to reply. Instead, I do what my Daddy said, and I take deep and slow breaths as Cage pulls out a chair for me to sit in.

A moment later, the rest of the men coming with us file into the room, closing the door behind them. Before anyone speaks, Cassian and Ghost walk around the room, both with some kind of device in their hands.

“They’re scanning the room for bugs. Just a safety precaution we always take before we start a meeting in here,” Cage whispers.

As soon as they’re finished, Cassian sits at the end of the table in front of his computer. There’s a projection screen at the other end of the room, so we can all see his screen, too.

“Can you bring up the last photo we found and the crash report?” Cage asks him.

Cassian nods and opens two different photos. The first one my eyes land on is a grainy newspaper photo of my dad and Ruth from what looks like a long time ago. He didn’t have as much gray hair then. And as my gaze roams down the picture, I stop midway where Ruth’s hand is connected with my father’s.

“When was this?” I ask as I stare at it.

Cage clears his throat. “This was dated a month after your mother died.”

---