Page 50 of Entangled
My father and I may not have had the best relationship, but never in a million years would I have wanted him to die that way. He was meant to die in his bed when he was old and gray, and his body couldn’t keep up any longer.
I couldn’t bear to be there when Finn broke the news to my mother. I couldn’t bear to see the pain on that sweet woman’s face.
She’d given and given her entire life, and I knew losing my father would break her. I knew she’d become a ghost of the woman I knew, and I couldn’t be there to bear witness to it.
So for her, Soren, my father, and the rest of my family, Jude Peirano would pay in blood, and I planned to take my sweet time making sure he felt every bit.
22
KADE
TWO WEEKS LATER
The last coupleof weeks went by at a snail’s pace, and I would have given my entire soul to have Soren back with me. I’d give up my life to be in her position, knowing she was living her life and cherishing her freedom. Because even if she decided she no longer wanted anything to do with me, at least she still had that. I would never let anyone take that from her again.
Whatever she wanted to do in life, with or without me, I would make it happen. I’d be the dark guardian angel in the background, making sure not a single hair on her head was ever out of place.
Like the little weasel he was, Jude had managed to slip his way out of the warehouse and gave us a hell of a time locating him. But I wouldn’t rest until that man’s fate was in my hands and he didn’t feel safe without having to look over his shoulder and look out for me.
For everything he’d done to Soren, and for his part in the death of my father, I wanted him to pay.
Thank fuck for whatever connections Sawyer has that allowed us to find Jude after a week of hiding and bring him toan abandoned warehouse where I’d meet him once Soren was awake and stable.
“You smell like ass,” Sawyer said as he entered Soren’s hospital room, his facial expression pinched, as if he’d just smelled the worst thing ever. It’s as if he knew I was thinking about him and just had to make an appearance.
“Fuck off,” I grumbled, running my hand down my scruffy face, knowing he had a point. But I didn’t want to leave the hospital, and even stepping away for a moment to use the shower in Soren’s room felt like a challenge. Plus, if I was going to shower anywhere, it was going to be in my expensive ass walk-in shower with the shower head that pelted water onto my skin. I showered here once, and the pressure was absolute shit. I also needed to shave, and I’d rather cut off my left arm than use a dull razor from here.
Oh, how grumpy and violent I am today.
I was itching to get my hands dirty with Jude’s blood, ready to give him back all the hurt he was due. Just sitting here while time ticked slowly by every day, watching Soren’s unconscious body, and not being able to do anything about it made me want to explode.
“Touchy, I see,” Sawyer laughed, pulling a chair up next to me by the bed and making himself at home.
“Any news?” he asked gently, and I hated that it sounded like he was asking me out of pity. I didn’t want anyone’s pity. I had fucked up and went against everything I promised Soren and didn’t keep her safe. She was probably better off without me, and I would probably be doing her a favor if I disappeared, took care of Jude, and she never had to see me again.
“No,” I replied coldly, hoping he got the hint that I was in no mood for chitchat or his sunny disposition.
Ever since Sawyer had married Vanessa, he’d become a new, changed man. Started seeing the bright side of things orwhatever. And while I was happy for my brother, he got on my last damn nerve with it sometimes. Let me wallow in peace, for God sakes.
“Why don’t you go home and shower? Get some rest?” Sawyer suggested, lounging back in his chair.
“Because I don’t want to miss anything, and if I leave, I may not come back,” I leaned back in the chair myself, utterly exhausted from getting the worst sleep in my entire life the last several weeks, and afraid to close my eyes.
“You make absolutely no sense at all,” Sawyer snorted, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “You’re literally one of the dumbest guys I’ve ever met, and trust me, I’ve met a lot.”
“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” I snapped.
“It means why aren’t you taking care of yourself? Why are you punishing yourself? Because Soren got hurt? It was bound to happen sooner or later with our line of work, and there’s not a damn thing you could have done about it. You’re doing neither of you any good sitting here and wallowing in your filth. Do you really want Soren to wake up and see you in a terrible state?”
He did have a point, but I also didn’t want Soren to wake up and think I left her. I also didn’t want to be too tempted to smash Jude’s skull in and then never return here again.
“Why don’t you let Vanessa drive you home? Clean yourself up, eat some actual food, and get a good couple hours of rest. I can make sure Vee stays with you so if there’s any kind of update, she can bring you right back.”
I thought it over silently in my head. I wanted more than anything to thoroughly scrub my skin clean of all the dirt and grime from my body, and change out of these God awful scrubs the nurses have given me after my crappy shower here the first night.
Sawyer’s words came ringing in my head about Soren waking up and catching sight of me this way. She was already going through enough. The last thing I needed to do was cause her even more stress by my disheveled appearance.
I didn’t want her to feel any guilt, or blame herself.
