I felt him laugh into my hair. “Just when I thought I couldn’t love you any more, you have to go and say something like that.”
His words made me smile, too, and I hugged him to me more tightly.
“Cade.” At Z’s voice, Caiden released me, dropping one last kiss on my head. “Let’s do this.”
As they left us, I took a seat at the table next to Cassius, and Weston dropped into the chair next to me, adjusting the monitor and turning some dials on the little pad in front of him.
“Okay, I think that’s it.” Four images of the warehouse appeared on the screen, the cameras each showing a different view. Weston adjusted it so that only the two feeds from the cameras facing Joseph, Caiden, and Zayde were showing, and did something to zoom in on the images. Lit by a single strip of lights from the ceiling, Caiden and Zayde both appeared shadowed and menacing, towering over Joseph.
“Testing.” Zayde’s voice came out of the speakers in front of us, the sound slightly crackly but clear enough to easily make it out.
“Glad the sound quality’s good. I’m recording everything,” Weston told me, still messing around with the controls.
“I don’t get why I have to sit here instead of being out there,” Cassius muttered, tearing open a bar of chocolate he’d pulled from the desk drawer and breaking off a square.
“We discussed this. Joseph and Allan don’t need to know you’re involved. The less people, the better.” Weston glanced over at him, and he pulled a face, before breaking off another square of chocolate.
“Yeah, I want to be out there, too, Cass. I know it makes sense, but it’s frustrating sitting here not being able to do anything.” I squeezed his hand, and swiped a piece of his chocolate.
He turned to me, about to say something, but was interrupted by Zayde’s voice coming through the speakers again as he spoke to Caiden. “You want to do the honours?”
Joseph had woken up.
TWENTY-SIX
“Fuck, yeah.” I grinned at Zayde, and he returned my grin. In front of us, Hyde struggled against his restraints, his indignant shouts muffled by the hood. Stepping forward, I ripped the covering from his head, leaving him blinking at the sudden light.
He fell silent, staring between us open-mouthed, momentarily stunned. Then a dark rage came over his face.
“Untie me right now, you assholes! If this is some juvenile prank, I—”
I ended his rant with my fist to his face, and his head swung round at the impact.
“Fucker.” He spat in the direction of my feet, blood flying out of his mouth. I glanced down at the floor—was that one of his teeth? Didn’t really matter. He deserved it.
“That was for my girlfriend,” I told him.
“Jessa? Why?”
His confusion matched mine. “Jessa is not my fucking girlfriend, you dick.”
“But James told me…” He trailed off. “Doesn’t fucking matter, just untie me right now! The joke’s over.”
“It’s not a joke.” Z stepped forwards, the blade in his hand glinting. Hyde’s gaze was drawn straight towards it, and he paled, finally realising the serious shit he was in.
“We want answers. You’d better start talking, otherwise it’s going to hurt.”
“What the fuck is this all about?” His voice came out hoarse, a tremor of fear running through it. Here, bound, unable to go anywhere, he was completely at our mercy.
“First question. Why did Christine pay
you to split me and Winter up, and why was Granville involved?”
He glared at me, temporarily defiant. “I’m not telling you anything.”
“Z.”
Zayde was there before the word had even left my mouth, the knife slicing through Joseph’s hoodie and into his skin. Hyde roared in pain, his eyes wide and glassy. “You cut me, you fucking sadist! What’s wrong with you?”