Page 21 of Vengeful Lies

A name.

A location.

He needed something if he was going to bring his girls home.

“I don’t think there is, Cade,” Jake said, uncharacteristically gently for a man who was so much like him. Both of them didn't bother to waste time mincing words, and while he would never outright say anything to upset somebody, he also didn't sugarcoat things. He wasn't the one who dealt with victims, wasn't the one who could handle their tears and fears. But he loved his family with everything he had and would sacrifice anything for them.

Anything.

But without answers he was stuck.

His hands were tied.

He could not make a move when he didn't know what direction he should be moving in.

Which left his girls trapped.

Helpless at the hands of people who would enjoy tormenting them, who would take pleasure from their terror, who wouldn't hesitate to use them as pawns as though they were no more important than an inanimate object.

Only his daughter and Gabriella were important.

They held more value than anything else in his world.

“Uh, Cade,” Cooper said somewhat hesitantly.

That tone immediately set him on edge.

Something had happened.

Something bad.

Had a body been found?

It had to be Gabriella’s if there was. Essie was his daughter and thus held higher value. He was surprised they’d even taken Gabriella. As an adult, she would be harder to manage than a small child. Then again, Gabriella was a gorgeous young woman, and it didn't take a lot of imagination to see why five men mightfind kidnapping her and having her as their helpless plaything an appealing prospect.

While he certainly didn't want his daughter to die, he didn't want to lose Gabriella either.

Even if he could never make her his, her presence in his life grounded him, soothed him, and brought him a peace he’d thought he’d never be able to find again in the days after Gretel died.

It should be an easy choice.

Essie over Gabriella.

And it wasn't that he was saying it was the other way around, it was that he couldn’t imagine losing either of them.

“What?” he demanded, much harsher than he’d intended. If there was intel, he wanted it. No matter how bad it was. Like ripping off a Band-Aid it was better to just do it and get it over with.

Saying it gently wasn't going to change whatever horror he was about to learn.

“You just got an email. With a video attachment,” Cooper informed him.

Even if he hadn't grown up in a military family, and even if he hadn't dedicated his entire adult life to his career as a PJ and then working at Prey, he would know what that meant.

This was the reason they’d taken his daughter.

They wanted to show him what they would do to her if he didn't convince his family to back off and stop trying to find the men who had raped their mother.

It wasn't even a question, whatever he saw on that video would kill a part of him.

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