Page 78 of Cage
Rylan and I exchange smirks before I force my face to look serious.
“I should pull down your pants and panties and spank you right here, in this driveway, if you think I’m leaving you here,” I say calmly. “The job might be over, but my love for you isn’t. It’s just starting, firefly. And if you think for one fucking second that you’re leaving me, you’re wrong. I’ll chain you to my bed if I have to until you decide you love me, too. You’re mine. The only home I’m going to is the one I’ll share with you for the rest of our lives.”
Ember’s head snaps up, tears dripping down her cheeks. “You love me?”
Letting out a huff, I reach out and cup her chin. “Never loved anyone more, Ember. You’re my Little girl.”
“You’re part of this family,” Rylan adds firmly. “Forever.”
My chest swells, and though I might give Rylan a lot of shit, he’s a damn good brother. I’ll never tell him that, though. The bastard already thinks too much of himself.
“I hope to hell one day you’ll love me too, firefly. It doesn’t matter how long it takes because you’re still mine, and I’m not letting you go.”
She lets out a sob and pulls herself away from Rylan to throw herself at me. I catch her. I’ll always catch her.
“I love you, too. I thought you only wanted it to be temporary, so I didn’t want to make it any harder.”
Lifting her, I squeeze her tightly, burying my face in the crook of her neck. “You’re not temporary, baby. You never were, and you never will be.”
When her sobs quiet, I set her feet on the ground and use the pads of my thumbs to wipe her tears away. “What do you want to grab from the house before we go? You’re never coming back here, so whatever you want to keep, you need to get it now.”
She glances toward the front doors. “The only thing I want is my mother’s charm bracelet. It’s in my jewelry box in my room.”
I nod. “I can get it for you. Anything else? Do you want to go to your room and take one last look around?”
“No.”
There isn’t an ounce of hesitation in that answer, so I don’t push it. Mostly because I’m glad she doesn’t want anything. I’ll give her everything she could ever want or need.
“Okay, baby. I want you to go with Gunner, Koda, and Dom. Dom will get you ready for the flight home. I’ll be right behind you.”
Her eyes flash with uncertainty for just a second. I don’t know what I’ll do if she asks me not to do anything to her father. I’m not sure I’d be able to keep a promise like that.
“Are you going to kill them?” she asks in a small voice.
I stare down at her. Will her love for me change if I’m honest? I won’t lie to her, though. She deserves more than that. Even though the truth can be ugly, she always deserves it.
“Yeah. I am.”
She looks toward the house again, then up at me, her eyebrows drawn together with worry. “Please be careful.”
The breath I’ve been holding releases, and I nod. Thank fuck.
“I’ll be careful, baby. I’ll be right behind you.”
Dom offers his hand out for her to take, and the growly side of me wants to cut that hand off, but the Daddy side of me nudges her to him.
“I love you, firefly,” I tell her again as Dom leads her toward one of the SUVs.
She’s going to get tired of me saying that, but I don’t care. Besides, she deserves to hear it as much as possible.
Rylan, Jasper, Theo, Cassian, Ghost, and I watch as the rest of our brothers drive away with my precious cargo. I hate that I’m not going with her. She needs me right now. Which means I’m going to make this quick and impactful so I can get back to her as soon as possible.
As soon as the taillights disappear, the six of us move in unison, grabbing equipment out of the back of our SUV.
Time to get vengeance.
“I’m going to go grab her mother’s bracelet. Start planting the explosives, I’ll be right back,” I instruct as I start up the stairs.