Page 90 of Cruel Ice

Declan fired.

This time, the bullet thudded into James’s right thigh. The leg gave out on him, and he slammed to his knees.

“That’s an awful lot of blood,” Declan noted, aware that his voice was ice cold. “Wonder if I hit an artery?”

James howled as he clamped his left hand around his thigh. Blood streamed from between his fingers.

“I believe you were telling me what happened to my mother,” Declan continued politely. “Because you see, you and my father aren’t the only ones who can use torture in order to get answers.” He took a step toward James. Rage wanted to blind him, but he fought to hold it in check. “You kidnapped me. You tied me up in a fucking basement. You were going to torture me for hours.” Another step.

James threw back his head to glare at Declan.

“I will not hesitate to do the same to you,” Declan promised. “Hours.” A promise. “I will spend hours giving you pain until you tell me what happened to my mother. What happened andwhy.”

“Declan?” Marley’s hesitant voice. “We have to get help for Parker. He’s still alive…”

James smiled. A twisted smile of pain and glee. “She’s seeing you now, too. Seeing the evil thatyouhide.” He huffed out a breath and kept his hand clamped to his thigh. “Tell her that you don’t intend for the cop to get help. You’re content to…” Another huff of breath. “To let him bleed out right in front of you. N-not like you can let him s-survive. You’ll go to jail.”

Declan didn’t take his gaze off his prey. But from the corner of his eye, he was aware that Marley had bent next to thecop again. She struggled to roll him over. Parker’s body was completely limp.

But when she did get him to turn…

“That’s so much blood,” Marley cried out.

Declan took another step toward James. At this point, he could almost lift his gun and press it to James’s forehead. “You found out that I was leaving half the estate to Royal. You wanted everything. You wanted all my fortune, didn’t you?”

“Before he came along…” Sweat trickled down James’s temple. “Iwas the heir.”

“Guessing I was gonna die before you did, huh? So you could inherit everything.”

“You do have a lot of enemies.”

The front door flew open. It thudded into the wall. Then slammed shut. A loud, echoing slam.

“Declan!”A wild shout.

Declan’s body jerked in surprise.

“We’re in here, Cade!” Marley called back. “Hurry!Parker has been shot, and we need help!”

Cade rushed into the den with his weapon drawn.

“A lot of enemies,” James repeated. “More than you know.” And the smirk was back on his lips.

Cade took in the scene in one frantic glance.

“He’s dying!” Marley yelled. She’d put her hands on Parker’s chest to try and stop the blood flow.

Cade rushed toward her.

“No!” Declan bellowed.

But it was too late.

Cade grabbed Marley. Wrenched her to her feet. And he shoved the nozzle of his gun into her side.

Everything shifted focus for Declan in that instant. He didn’t look at Marley’s face. Couldn’t. If he saw the fear in her eyes, he’d lose his control. The control he’d always worked so hard tomaintain. The control that had kept him sane when the world went to absolute madness around him.

Cade wasn’t looking at Declan. His frantic gaze was on James as he stared in growing horror at the blood covering the older man.

---