Page 115 of Desecrated Saints

The tinkle of the store bell interrupts our exchange. Seven doesn’t move or pull out a weapon, so I let myself relax. Hudson stands up to greet the newest customer entering the coffee shop.

With his broken arm in a plaster cast and face covered in dozens of cuts, Kade awkwardly lumbers up to the table. He offers Hudson a grateful look before facing his family.

“Mum. Cece.”

“Oh my God.” Janet covers her mouth. “What did they do to you?”

Kade grunts as she slams into him, searching every inch of his body for more wounds. Cece starts to cry all over again, looking lost in her corner. I clear my throat, prompting Hudson to pull her into a hug. She needs her big brother more than anything right now.

“It’s okay, we’re all being looked after,” Kade reassures them both. “Just a few bumps and scratches. I can’t believe you were going to leave without saying goodbye.”

Still fussing, Janet straightens the sling holding his cast. “You’ve spent so long looking after everyone else. For once, I wanted to protect you from worrying. It’s a mother’s job.”

Taking a seat, Kade looks pale and even more exhausted than usual. The arm fracture was pretty severe, broken in two places following the blast. His recovery is set to take a while.

“The explosion? You didn’t do it?” Janet hazards a guess.

“It was all them,” Kade confirms sadly. “We’re being framed.”

Janet pulls an envelope from her handbag and slides it to Kade. “I was going to give this to your brother. It’s sworn statements from us both.”

“What?” Hudson exclaims, stealing the envelope.

“I don’t know much. You saw more of his business dealings than me, Kade. Everything I have seen is in there. Fundraisers, business partners, investment dinners. If nothing else, it will ruin the last of Leroy’s reputation.”

Kade manages a tight smile. “I’ll get it to the right people.”

With the envelope tucked away, Janet gets emotional again. The clock is ticking down. I watch a taxicab pull up outside of the coffee shop and blare its horn. She hugs her two sons, before letting Cece get a squeeze in too. I’m the last person she approaches.

“Brooke.” Janet clasps my shoulders. “There’s something else. I didn’t know for sure until I met you, but you look so much like her. Except for the eyes.”

“What are you talking about?”

Her smile is tight, pained. “Early on in my marriage, Leroy worked for an investment bank. He was involved in brokering a multimillion-pound loan to expand a psychiatric institute. Real cutting-edge stuff for the nineties. I was so proud that day, I could barely take my eyes off him.”

“Mum,” Kade warns.

“She smiled and thanked me for my husband’s hard work while her clinician watched on.” Janet ignores his deliberate stare. “I was pregnant with Kade at the time. Such an old memory, but you deserve to know.”

“You met my mother?”

As the taxi driver hits the horn again, Janet offers me a sad look. “All I wanted was a happy marriage and children to fill the void I couldn’t fathom in our life. I didn’t know what his involvement would become.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Hudson mutters.

“I wish I could tell you all that he wasn’t always such a monster. I have wasted my life fooling myself.” Her eyes stray to her boys, then Cece. “My marriage brought me the greatest gifts of my life. For that, I’m thankful.”

With a final squeeze, she takes Cece’s hand and heads for the waiting taxi. My heart is thundering against my ribcage. I can’t help but cringe away when Kade reaches for me. All I see when I look at him is the cold, deadly stare of his father in that hotel room.

“Sorry,” I rush out. “It’s not you.”

“No, I’m sorry. I should have told you. Dad has a lot of secrets. Incendia was one of them for a very long time. I am ashamed to call that piece of shit my father.”

I meet his worried gaze. “Whether he’s your father or not, when this is done, you will only have one parent left. That’s a damn promise.”

CHAPTER 24

ELI

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