Page 131 of Pride

Cathal holds his hands up. “I honestly had no idea.” He glances at Isiah. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Isiah nods. “It’s time to go on a hunt.”

Nina steps inside. “You are going to find them?”

Cathal nods, his eyes blazing with determination. “Yes, we’re going to find that bastard and ensure he pays for taking advantage of a fifteen-year-old girl.”

“Good,” my dad says, as if he can say anything on the matter considering what he does to children.

Isiah stands and moves toward me, gently encasing my hands in his. It’s impossible to ignore the way my stomach twists in worry, as this man has become so important to me. “Be careful,” I say.

He grins at me. “I’m always careful, love.” He leans toward me and captures my lips, making me melt into him.

Once we break apart, I shake my head. “I mean it. I don’t want anything happening to you.”

He leans toward me and whispers, “It’s not me you should be worried about, love. It’s the other guy. Trust me.”

“Give him everything he deserves for this.” I watch him as he and Cathal leave.

At least Isiah is getting the chance to get revenge on James Wick and bring a groomer to justice. I hope he makes him die a slow and painful death for taking advantage of a fifteen-year-old girl. It’s ironic how the tables have turned since the day we first met.

41

ISIAH

Cathal sits in silence by my side as we travel toward the motel that Jane tracked his phone to.

The idiot hasn’t even fled Washington yet, which is ridiculous.

Cathal sighs heavily. “I should have dealt with James sooner.” Cathal’s brow furrows. “I thought it odd I couldn’t get in touch with him earlier. Perhaps he knew what was coming.”

“Perhaps,” I say, thankful that James fucked up so badly. Once James is dead, then my revenge is well and truly complete. “I’m not going to lie. I’ll be happy to see him dead.”

Cathal swallows hard. “He betrayed your family. In a way, he’s the reason Aiden is dead, so I get why you’d want him dead.”

I nod in response, as I knew he was untouchable the moment I found out he was Cathal’s second in command. There was no way I could kill him behind Cathal’s back, as it would cause too much unrest in the city. It’s the perfect end to my vengeance, as James deserves to pay the ultimate price for selling our family out and betraying the one person who valued him in this world.

“How are we going to play this?” I ask.

His lips purse together. “Motel rooms are pretty tough to break out of, there’s normally one entrance and exit, but we’ll scope it out before we strike.”

I nod. “Sounds good. We’re five minutes out.”

“How could I have been so blind to who I had so close to me in my organization?”

I glance at him and notice the turmoil swirling in his dark eyes, knowing it’s not just because James has run off with Luciana, it’s because he’s one of the reasons Aiden is dead. “You didn’t know,” I say simply.

He looks at me then. “I should have.”

I clench my jaw and focus on the road, knowing that James was always the master of deception. Someone who easily fooled my father for many years. “It’s what he does, betray people,” I say.

Turning left off the road, I pull into the motel car park and park out of sight of the rooms, to ensure James doesn’t notice us. “This is it. Do you want to scope it out while I find out which room they’re in?” I ask.

Cathal nods. “Yeah, see you back here?”

I get out of the car and walk into the office of the motel where a small, mousy woman sits behind the desk. “I need to know which room someone is in.”

Her eyes narrow.

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