Page 76 of Cage
My entire body turns ice-cold as I process that. He wanted to kill me, too. His own daughter. My mom didn’t die in an accident. She was murdered. Byhim.
A red haze starts to cloud my vision. That bastard. How could he? For her? For Ruth? Was that why? It doesn’t matter. None of the reasons are relevant. Only the facts.
I scream and run toward him, my arms flailing as I beat on him with every ounce of strength I have. He tries to push me away, though, my determination wins as I hit and kick him, my fingernails clawing at his face. Blood trickles from his skin, but I still don’t stop. I can’t. I hate him with every fiber of my being.
“I hope you rot in hell, you bastard,” I screech. “I hate you! I hate you!”
I’m not sure how long I attack him for. It isn’t until Cage pulls me away that I see just how much blood there is. It’s deeply satisfying to watch it seep from his ugly face.
Cage sets me on my feet. As soon as he does, I grab a lamp from the same end table and chuck it at my father, getting so much pleasure from the sound of breaking glass.
Then, with my head held high, I stride out of the office. The last thing I see when I turn to walk down the hall is Cage grabbing my father by his suit jacket. I might enjoy seeing him bleed, but I don’t want his filth on me for another second. Just as I cross the foyer to go into the kitchen to wash my hands, the front door opens.
Ruth steps in and closes the door behind her before she sees me and freezes. She does a quick once-over of me.
“You bitch,” I mutter as I take slow steps toward her. “You killed my mother.”
Just as I’m about to move toward her again, she reaches into her purse and pulls out a gun and points it at me.
Maybe my father is right. Maybe I am crazy. Or maybe I just don’t give a shit anymore because I don’t let the end of that barrel sway me from approaching her.
“Your mother was a money-hungry, needy bitch.” Ruth squares her shoulders. “She was a roadblock that neither Zeke nor I needed or wanted.”
“A roadblock for what?” I demand. “All she wanted was her family together. For my father to spend time with us. How was that being a roadblock?”
“Your father could have been elected a long time ago, but she didn’t want that. She wanted to have a family life out of the spotlight. Stupid woman, if you ask me.”
“She was a good woman. A better woman than you’ll ever be or ever have been.” I glance at the gun she’s still holding with asteady hand. Why do I get the feeling this isn’t the first time she’s held someone at gunpoint?
“I guess that’s up for debate, my dear.”
I shake my head, tears burning my eyes. “What was in it for you?”
Ruth tips her head back and laughs. “The president chooses the head of the CIA. With him in office and me as head of the organization, we could have taken over the world. The modern fairytale, I suppose.”
If my jaw could hit the floor, it would. What the fuck? Is this bitch serious right now? Rule the world?
Footsteps approach from behind me.
“Put the gun down now,” Jasper commands loudly.
22
CAGE
White-hot rage seethes through me as I take slow steps toward Ember with my gun aimed at Ruth’s head. My eyes are trained on her trigger finger, looking for any sign of movement. She’s a dead woman, but Ember being in the crossfire isn’t something I’m willing to risk. And pointing a weapon at my Little girl is the worst possible thing Ruth could have done. Torturing her before killing her wasn’t on my agenda. Until now.
“Put the gun down, Ruth,” I growl.
“She killed my mom,” Ember grits out.
My heart aches for my girl. I don’t know how all of this got so out of hand. I shouldn’t have brought her here. I should have kept her in Bend where she belongs. With me. As soon as this is over, that’s exactly where she’s going. Home.Herhome.
“You fucking asshole,” Ruth shouts as she moves her gun from pointing at Ember to me. Thank fuck. She can shoot me as much as she wants, but she’s not hurting my Little girl. “You had one job. To take her to your place, so I could get the information I needed.”
I narrow my gaze. “You sent a plane after us. You knew I would take her there. You had this all planned out. Thought you had a brilliant idea, huh?”
Ruth licks her lips. “Itwasbrilliant. No one was going to get hurt. All we needed was some intelligence.”