Page 61 of Dirty Love

Dad lunges for him and Kade laughs like it’s funny, looking at me over his shoulder while the bigger man lifts his hands up in surrender. I frown and try to make sense of what’s happening, my eyes widening when I realize he’s holding that silver knife to our dad’s throat.

“How did you…?”

He winks at me and quickly tears Dad’s jacket from his shoulders, tossing it to my feet before he steals his phone, car keys, and both guns from his body. Dad’s jaw ticks and he opens his mouth to say something, but he doesn’t get the chance before Kade unlocks the door behind him—the one that leads to the small office just off the narrow hallway. Kade pushes him inside and knocks him off his feet, ignoring his shout while he rips the jeans from his thick legs. I scrunch my nose at that, confused as to what the hell he’s doing, but he doesn’t give me any type of clue as he pulls the door shut and fumbles with the key inside the lock. He twists it into place just as Dad bangs on it from the other side, trapped in there with no way to escape. There are no windows in that room—nothing he can use to get himself out. Just a few coats and shoes, some paperwork and an old computer that hasn’t been switched on in years. Just as I think it, Kade rushes to the living room and rips the internet cable from the wall, grabbing a dining chair on his way back to shove it beneath the door handle.

“You think that’ll stop him?” I ask hopefully, pressing my lips together when he lifts a finger to his mouth.

Shh.

I do as I’m told and he smirks like a maniac, slowly walking over to me to place his forearms on the wall either side of my head. I look up at him and take his bloody face in my hands, smirking right back at him when I finally catch that feral look in his dark blue eyes.

There he is.

CHAPTER 23

KADE

My little brother kisses me and I eagerly move my mouth against his, resisting the urge to squeeze him and wrap him up in my arms. I know it’ll be a long time before I can do that again, and it only makes me more furious.

More hungry for revenge.

More desperate to find those stupid motherfuckers and make them pay for what they did to him.

Soon, I promise myself.

Soon, they’ll be gone and Nicky will be safe.

I just have to stick to my plan.

“Drugs,” I whisper into his mouth, remembering the most important part. “I’m gonna go up and get you some drugs, but I need you to tell me you’re okay first. Please, just tell me you’re not dying on me right now.”

“I don’t think I’m dying,” he whispers back, frowning to himself while he moves his hands over my chest. “I mean, it kinda feels like it, actually, but I’m okay.”

“You sure?”

He nods and I nod, too, leaning over to take our dad’s guns from the pile of his things on the floor. I shove one into the back of my jeans and pull Nicky’s sleeves down to his fingertips, reluctantly stepping away from him to place it between his tiny hands. I know I told him I’d never give him one of these, because I’m terrified he’ll fuck up and hurt himself by accident, but desperate times and all that.

“Point it at the door and shoot him in the face if he gets out,” I say quietly, showing him how to hold it with his finger ready on the trigger. “Don’t stop until he’s dead.”

“But… he’s not gonna get out, right?”

“No,” I assure him. “He’s not getting out.”

“Kade, wait.”

“What?”

“Are you okay?” he asks me, scanning the damage on my face. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’m fine, Nicky,” I say honestly, because I can barely feel it with all this adrenaline pumping through me.

He lets out a breath and I turn around to head for the stairs, fucking hating myself for leaving him there all by himself, but I don’t have enough time to get him all the way up here and back down again. Moving as quickly as I can, I grab the little bag of pills from my nightstand and snatch my speaker from the side, then I open my closet and dig out the black ski mask and the old burner phone I stashed in the bottom corner. I shove those into my pocket and move across the hall to our dad’s room, careful not to leave any fingerprints behind while I steal a pair of black gloves from his dresser. I don’t think it’ll come to that after what I’m about to do on his behalf, but I can’t be too careful.

I can’t go to jail and leave Nicky alone out here.

I just can’t.

As soon as I have everything I need, I head back out to the hall and rush downstairs, relieved when I find him standing exactly where I left him. He looks at me and lowers the gun to his side, tipping his head back against the wall while he waits for me to come for him. I do and he sticks his tongue out as far as he can, smiling a little bit as I drop one of the pink pills on top.

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