Page 73 of Vengeful Eyes
“Oh, yeah?” Gabby leans forward, her thick, dark hair hiding much of her face, but I can hear the malice in her voice. “I swear to God, I'll rip your face off if anything happens to Nate and…
“Tell us, Hope.” My eyes look over to Emily as she cuts in. She's been quiet all this time, and for someone who seems so kind and at odds with this world, she looks remarkably calm tied up in the back of a van. “You owe us the truth.”
I shake my head as anger stirs the tears that seem permanently settled behind my eyes, not sure I owe any of them anything. “Please, Hope.”
I stare at both of them, resolution settling inside my stomach because of the situation we're in, the one my actions have put us in. I didn't mean for all this. I just wanted vengeance on a family that abandoned us andthrew me and my mother away like trash.
“I’m a Cane.” I whisper the words like I’m ashamed of them, looking at the metal of the van rather than them. I suppose I am in a way, ashamed of my father at least.
“Sorry, what?” Gabby questions. I look back at her, chin rising at her attitude.
“A Cane, Gabby. I’m Quinn and Nathan’s half sister.”
Silence descends on the van as the two Cane women take in what I’ve said. I take the moment to gather my thoughts, glad that they’re taking in the information. Maybe they'll be able to understand what it's been like for me on the outside, or maybe they won't.
“I don’t have a lot of time when it comes to betrayingfamily, Hope,” she spits out.
“Really?” I don't care what she thinks. “Well, considering your precious family doesn’t even know I exist, I think I get a pass, huh?” I chuckle lightly, disdain in my tone as I remember the long nights I endured because of Cane. Not that either of these two know. Perhaps they'd change their fucking minds on my treachery if they had even the slightest comprehension of how my life has been.
“How did you find out?” Emily again. Her soft voice makes me want to answer her, trust that she’ll hear me. Maybe it's cleansing the horrors again, getting rid of them. She smiles, as if she doesn't blame me for anything.
“My mother didn’t hide it. Quinton Cane Senior was the love of her life.” My voice quivers as I start my tale. “She was some social climber and was his mistress for a while. He promised he’d leave his wife, the usual spiel I expect, but then she fell pregnant.” I pause, imagining my mother at my age—dressed up, excited to be in the presence of the man she loved. Happy for her future. “He didn’t want to know her after that. Sent her away to New York where she slowly died of a broken heart.”
“So, you decide what? That you’ll just sell them out to the Yakuza as revenge for their shitty father? He was pretty shitty to them as well.” Gabby again. Every time she pushes back, showing me nothing but attitude that I’d love to wipe off her smug face.
The van banks right and we all stumble in our seats, trying to stay upright. “Nate and Quinn got all sorts of crap thrown at them, and…”
“Yeah? They had it tough growing up, did they?” I snap out. “They went hungry most of their childhood because their mother was too drunk or out trying to earn some money to keep a roof over their heads and forgot about them? Or, when they were close enough to sixteen that she didn’t care, did their mother send them out to the streets and make them sell their bodies to make the rent?” She frowns at that and lowers her glare. “And after doing that for a few years, were they forced to continue to let the scum of New York take them for whatever they could? Because when your mother's sick, Gabby, and despite how cruel, and horrid she’s been all of your life, you don't just let her die. You do what you need to do to pay the bills.Ifucking did what I needed to do because of them and their fucking life.”
My breathing is ragged, my eyes wet with tears, but my chest is filled with anger. The same anger that had me picking up the gun, that made me pull myself up and work towards this plan, to leave the house and meet with Andreas. It fuelled all of my actions, all because of Cane.
“It sounds like it was your mother who put you in those positions, not Quinn or Nate.” Emily's soft voice again, reasoning with me, cutting through Gabby's crap.
“You might think that, but it was because of them—his boys—that he wouldn’t have anything to do with my mother again. She’d go on and on about how he had his sons, how he didn’t need another heir. It was my fault she wasn’t with the love of her life.” My eyes stare blindly at the tin can we're in, seeing her vicious face whenever she looked at me. I close them to shake the image away, and then look back at Emily. “She blamed me, Emily. She regretted having me, resented having to put up with me, but I was her only link to him after he threw her out.” She nods, her eyes searching mine in understanding. I turn away, guilt mixing through my blood at where we are now. “How fucked up was that?” I sigh. “She planted the seed of revenge. I wanted them to know what it’s like to lose everything, to have nothing in the world. No comfort, no wealth, nobody to rely on. Because it could have been them. If things were different and he'd left them and stayed with…”
My voice trails off as I get lost in all the poison from my mother, her voice still shouting inside my mind. Everything I set in place to make it to this position to help ruin Cane is because of her. But it’s too big a cost. A cost to the man I love. The life I loved. That wasn’t taken into account in my plans. I didn't even think anyone could love someone like Benjamin in the beginning.
I dash my tears from my eyes and pull my knees to my chest, isolating myself from the women staring at me. It might have been a mistake to acknowledge who I really am to them, but right now, I don’t have much else to lose.
It's what it is now. Nothing more, nothing less.
The hatch that separates the back of the van from the cab slides open, and Andreas’ laugh fills the space.
“You know, I couldn’t work out why you had it in for Cane so much. What a fucking perfect story. And the boys don’t have a clue.” He stares at me, a lewd smile checking my body over again. “This is priceless. Be ready to tell your little tale again, Hope. I want to be there when Quinn finds out what you’ve done, and that he has a little sister,” he finishes, leaving my view and slamming the hatch closed again.
I’d forgotten that Andreas was riding with us, but really, my truth was well overdue.
The van pulls to a stop a short while after. Gabby and Emily sit up as the door opens, both of them looking out, desperate to catch a glimpse of Nathan or Quinn, but there’s no one in sight. Wherever they are, I’m positive both will be fighting for the women they love. I'm not sure any of them will fight for me now. Why would they after what I've done?
I turn my own head, knowing no good will come of anything anymore, and find Andreas standing outside with a grin on his face.
“Now the fun really starts,” he says.
I know there’s no fun for me, and I resign myself to the fate that awaits.
Twenty-Five
Boats. I hate boats and we’re on one. A big one. I can feel the vibrations beneath me, the dull sound of an engine droning. I stare blankly around the space, unsure what the fuck is coming next. I’ve been alone since we got here. My limp body was tied to this chair, hands behind my back and attached to the metal, and then nothing. No Cane boys. No interrogation. Nothing. I don’t even know if I’m being watched so I’ve stayed slumped to show the drug is still doing its goddamn job. It’s not, not fully anyway.
