Insatiable (The Edge of Darkness, #1)(85)

“I watched him shoot two people,” I say, forcing the words out. “One was for money. The other was because the man touched me.” My thumbs twiddle together, and I swallow. I feel like I’m doing Kade dirty, but he can’t do this alone. He needs help, and I know Tobias will do what he can. “I’m positive he’s taking drugs. Drinking excessively.”

“What else?”

I grit my teeth to stop myself from getting emotional. Tears burn at the back of my eyes, and my chest caves. Not because I’m telling his dad that he’s in trouble, but because this version of Kade isn’t real. I hate that we’re even in this position.

The Kade I knew didn’t even know how to hold a gun, never mind shoot one.

And now I’m sitting down with his psychotic father, trying not to cry while I tell him about what happened at the warehouse. The nickname he has. Being able to speak different languages. The money. The suitcase full of white powder .

Each time I explain something, Tobias drops his head, and his knuckles turn white.

I should be telling this to his mother, but as much as he loves Aria, she won’t be able to stop him.

I’m not too sure his dad can either. But it’s worth a try.

“What about you?” he asks when I finish going through as much as possible. “When did you start caring about him again?”

I frown. “I never stopped caring about Kade.”

He shakes his head. “That’s a lie. Do you know how horrible it felt to sit there and watch my son fall apart because of what you did to him? How many times he had to call and tell me that the urge to drown himself, to throw himself off a bridge was getting worse, and he was scared. I may not fully understand how true love and trust and loyalty works, how it feels to have one’s heart ripped out, but I saw it all through my son as you broke each one of his emotions. How dare you sit here with me and claim to care about him?”

I go to speak, but I shut my mouth when he narrows his eyes at me.

“Aria found him close to overdosing on her boat. If he hadn’t managed to send her his location, he’d probably be dead.”

What?

“I didn’t know,” I respond quietly, a vivid image in my head of Kade frantically trying to reach his phone, his body shutting down as he coughs and shudders. I stand. “I… I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t deserve to know.”

My gaze shoots towards him as I stop pacing. “I didn’t deserve to know? Why? Because I apparently cheated? ”

“Yes! He didn’t understand certain emotions until he met you,” he yells, getting to his feet so fast his chair falls over. “You certainly showed him how to understand the negative ones. So much so that he was fully prepared to end his life because of it.”

“I’m sorry your son did that, I really am, but if he ever sat down and let me explain, he’d know that the ten-second video he was sent was heavily edited from three hours of drugging and non-consensual activity.”

My heart stops at finally getting the words out. Tears fall down my cheeks, and I wipe them away as my voice falters. “Help me, before he ends up dead, and we both lose him.”

I push the notebook towards him as he studies me, silent – thinking.

“I know you believe Kade can do better than me, and that’s fine. But I have never stopped loving him. Not once. But this…” I tap the notebook, our gazes still locked. “This is more important. You’re the only one I know who can help him. I’ll try to find out more for you, but please don’t do anything until I figure out who his boss is.”

“You expect me to sit here and do nothing?”

My lip trembles. “Please. I’ll be in contact.”

“Aria and I have a private line you could use; I’ll tell her to give you the number.”

“Thank you.”

And with that, I wipe my face with my sleeve and pull my bag up my shoulder.

Still watching me, Kade’s father places his large palm over the notebook. “It broke him. What he thought he saw happening… broke him. ”

Before I leave, I reply, “We’re all broken in some way, Tobias. But we can also be fixed.”

My hand lands on the doorknob. A deep voice stops me.

“You didn’t fall down the studio stairs, did you?”

For a split second, I feel my heart shatter. My composure slips, and I try not to burst into tears and pull him in for a cuddle, to bury my head in his powerful chest. Lu always said her dad’s hugs were the best.

I shake my head. “No.”

“Did you abort the baby?”

My eyes close. “No.”

“Does my son know the truth?”

I grit my teeth, clenching my jaw painfully as I turn to him. “It would have made things worse. I’ll tell him when I’m ready to. This is more important.”

“You were attacked.”

I nod.

“Who?”

“Please.” I shiver. “We need to focus on Kade first. What’s done is done.”

Tobias gets to his feet, walking to stand in front of me. I don’t flinch as he rests his hand on my shoulder.

“She was my granddaughter. No one takes from me and gets away with it. Once I deal with Kade, I’m going to hunt down whoever is responsible. I promise you, little one.”