Annabeth looked up from her screen and softly added, "I was able to decrypt the image. It's Tristan."
The words hit Cade like a physical blow, and he flinched. "I want to see it."
Shoving out of his chair, ears buzzing with static, he approached Annabeth's computer as fury burned through his veins. "Show it to me," he snapped, his tone quiet and cold.
Annabeth turned to Hamm, who pressed his lips together tightly but agreed with a dip of his chin. When she pulled up the picture, Cade's breath hitched.
Tristan looked ashen and exhausted, but he was thankfully alive with no apparent injuries. Cade had hopedto see that familiar, angry determination in the other man's eyes, but the only emotionhe recognized was fear. Swallowing hard and clenching his hands so tightly that fingernails dug bloody moons into his palm, he clamped his jaw shut, afraid of what sounds might escape from his throat.
He wanted to throw a chair, to flip the table, to punch through the plaster wall, but he forced himself to sit again and contain his reaction. It took every ounce of discipline he possessed to focus on the conversation around him despite the shrieking in his head.
"So we know the Handler does have him. That's something. Do we know anything else? About a drop-off time or location?" Sullivan asked.
"No," Annabeth replied. "I haven't seen a reply, so we don't know if this Gem Collector even wants Tristan."
Cade sat seething as he imagined tearing those bastards limb from limb, cutting off their goddamned dicks, chucking them into a meat grinder, inflicting any and every heinous atrocity his twisted mind had ever concocted.
"If he doesn't, will they try to sell him to someone else?"
"Unclear. The deal expires at noon, though, so we'll know soon."
"What do we know about this Gem Collector?"
Annabeth's gaze darted to Natalie, then to Cade, as if assessing them. When she didn't answer, Cade figured whatever she had to say must be bad.
But Jesus fucking Christ, how much worse could it be?
"Natalie, maybe you should step into the other room for a little while," Hamm suggested. "Surely you don't need to hear the specifics."
"No, I want to stay," she announced, lifting her chin. Annabeth studied her for a moment, unsure, but Hamm nodded, giving her the go-ahead.
"We know this Gem Collector collectsrare gems."
"What do you mean by rare?"
"From what I found, he has a preference for rubies, which we know are natural redheads, and citrines, which are natural blondes, but he also once acquired a woman with Albinism, which they call diamonds."
"And what else?" Cade asked, knowing that couldn't be the worst of the news.
Annabeth's voice was gentle. "They say he drugs his victims to make them compliant or even to render them unconscious."
Natalie stifled a sob as the information seeped into Cade's brain. If Tristan was drugged, he couldn't fight back, couldn't protect himself. Horrible new images of Tristan, incapacitated and completely vulnerable, flashed in his mind, and unable to contain his fury any longer, Cade slammed a fist on the table and rose to his feet, yelling, "I need to find him!"
"We know, Cade. We're doing all we can," Tag interjected, his voice lacking its usual edge.
Cade turned to him, on him. "No, you don't know. You don't understand. I need to find him!" Cade shouted, his voice shaking with fear and despair so staggering he thought he might implode.
"No," Hamm insisted, coming to him and gripping both his shoulders. "No, Cade, we need to find him.You are not alone. You don't have to do this by yourself. We're your friends. We care about you and Tristan and Natalie, and we're going to help you. It's okay to rely on others. You don't have to be alone. Do you hear me?"
The static buzzing in his brain and the blood whooshing in his ears drowned out the sounds around him, but Cade fixated onHamm's words, 'You are not alone,' and they persisted in his thoughts on a continual loop.
For most of his life, he'd been isolated, self-reliant, and fiercely independent. That behavior was born out of necessity and continued out of stubbornness, but Hamm was right; he didn't have to be alone anymore.
Though he'd always tried to keep himself distanced from the team, they'd somehow broken down his walls, established themselves as friends and trusted colleagues. They were like a family, and they'd always had his back, even Tag. And now that he had people in his life that he could rely on, Cade didn't think he even wanted to be alone anymore, because having them meant he had someone to share this burden with.
And when he got Tristan back — not if, he swore, but when — he would have him and Natalie too. They would have each other.
The thunderous rumble in Cade's head fizzled to a low hum, and his rage ratcheted down a few notches. He forced his body to relax by unclenching his fists and taking a deep breath, then sat down, though his heart still hammered relentlessly.
