Page 54 of Vengeful Lies

“You're coming home, Daddy?” Essie asked, hovering by his side, an anxious look on her normally calm and happy little face.

They’d already gone over that several times, but his daughter needed a lot of reassurance, and he was more than happy to giveit to her. He knew how lucky they were to be alive and, relatively speaking, unscathed.

“We’re all going home, little one,” he assured her.

“Gabby and I made ice cream, can we have it for lunch?” his devious little munchkin asked, showing that even though she was struggling after her ordeal, inside his precious little daughter still existed.

“Sure we can,” he agreed.

“Cade,” Gabriella rebuked. “You know the rules, treats are for dessert and afternoon snacks if we do some baking.”

“Rules were meant to be broken,” Cade said simply.

“Okay, who are you and what did you do to my brother?” Cole teased.

Shrugging, he hobbled toward the door. What did rules matter when he and his daughter were alive? If it made her happy, Essie could eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the rest of her life.

Automatically, he reached out and took his daughter’s hand, but he didn't realize he’d also taken Gabriella’s until he reached the door and Jax blocked his path. Reaching for her seemed so necessary, a vital part of his recovery, and hers too. Not just their recovery but their lives, too.

Just because he’d never told her didn't mean she hadn't been the glue holding him, his daughter, and his life together these last four years.

“Uh, dude, it’s hospital policy,” Jax told him when he tried to maneuver past the wheelchair.

“Essie, you want to ride on Daddy’s lap as we go downstairs?” Gabriella asked, effectively cutting off any protest he could make.

When he shot her a frown she simply smiled—a smile that didn't reach her eyes—and he rolled his eyes. At least some things never changed.

“Yay!” Essie bounced up and down in excitement and he knew he’d definitely been outplayed by his girls.

Taking a seat, he reached down and picked his daughter up, settling her on his lap but careful to avoid his wound. It was going to keep him out of action for a little while, but he didn't care, his focus was on his daughter right now anyway. Between helping Essie heal from her trauma and continuing to look into the other men who had been involved in the rape he’d have more than enough to keep him busy.

It didn't take long for them to reach the car, and again it was only when he went to stand that he realized somewhere along the way he’d taken hold of Gabriella’s hand again. Cade wasn't just consumed with a need to keep his daughter close but Gabriella as well.

Even if he had a million years, he could never repay her for the sacrifices she’d made to protect Essie. Taking that beating and allowing that man to kiss her had saved his daughter from suffering the same fate, and he was eternally grateful.

The three of them piled into the back of his car since it had Essie’s car seat installed, and Cole drove them home. The ride was short, Essie babbled away about how she’d beaten Jake and Jax in Mario Kart the day before, and Gabriella just sat there watching him.

As much as he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her and Essie, she seemed to be in the same boat. Her eyes had been on him constantly, even when she was focused on Essie, he could feel a thread of her attention on him.

Something had changed between them. Her abduction had forced him to confront feelings he had previously been content to ignore.

The problem was, he still wasn't sure he could do anything about it.

The danger against his family would only grow now that John Gaccione was in custody. They knew that Tarek Mahmoud was deceased, and according to John, his father and one of the other men were as well, but John claimed not to know the other man’s name.

“We’re home,” Essie announced as they pulled into the driveway.

Home.

Without his daughter and Gabriella, it hadn't felt like home, just an empty house. It was the same feeling he’d had when he first walked into it after Gretel had died. The heart that turned a house into a home was missing. It had only returned when he hired Gabriella and she moved in.

“We’re going to take turns watching the house,” Cole informed him. “So you guys can enjoy some time together, but we’re going to have to talk about a better plan from here on out. These men are too dangerous and we’re getting closer. You know how cornered animals react.”

That was true.

And it was what had a heavy ball of regret sitting heavily in his stomach.

He knew what he had to do, he just didn't like it one little bit.

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