Kadence panicked again, but I stabbed her thigh with the syringe. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open. She blinked a few times, coming out of her panicked haze. She winced, feeling the pain radiating in her arms.
“Don’t hurt me, please,” slipped from her lips like a panicked prayer before her body slumped to the side.
I went to her side, brushing her hair from her face. A lump formed in my throat seeing the red painting her forearm. I glanced at Hawke. “You’re going to burn a hole in the floor if you don’t stop.”
“I let my anger cloud my brain. Kadence could never do this. She didn’t even know what happened with Elijah or who he was. She was a scared girl, wanting to find a new place to lie low. She trusted me, and I hurt her.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Hunter asked before I could.
“She didn’t want me to,” he admitted. “She didn’t want anyone to know. Fuck. I should’ve said something. With Fallon, everything was a blur. I didn’t care about anything she told me. I wanted justice.”
Hunter folded her arms across her chest. “Why did you do this, Blaize? You never said why.”
“Damon had proof. I saw the pictures.” I brushed Kadence’s hair out of her face. “They were her.”
“Did you see her face?” she asked.
I bit the inside of my lip. “Her face was only visible in one, but who else do you know with blue hair like this?”
“You traumatized Kadence even more than she already was without fully thinking it through. We’re all fucking destroyed about Layla’s death and Fallon’s injuries, but running aroundchaining innocent girls in your basement won’t solve Layla’s murder.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be my friend, not my conscience?”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. “As your best friend, I’m doing my job—you’re fucking stupid. As someone that was also raped, you really fucked up.”
I grimaced, looking at Kadence’s sleeping form. Even in her unconscious state, she was fighting. With everything that has come to light, she was fighting demons in her sleep, the same ones who hurt her when she was awake, and it was all my fault. I wasn’t even blaming Hawke for keeping her secrets.
Hunter pulled out her phone and did something before shoving the device in my hand with a news article.
Twenty-two-year-old Caden Carpenter died just short of her twenty-third birthday after being sexually assaulted and fatally stabbed by Liam Keller, leader of the Born Killerz. Keller was reportedly killed on the scene when FBI agents and local police raided his home after Carpenter’s father got wind of his daughter’s activities.
Carpenter was rushed to Memorial Grant Hospital, but sadly died due to the extent of her injuries. Her father, Agent Nick Carpenter, is working with local law enforcement with any concerns they have on his daughter’s involvement with the local gang.
Caden.
She ran.
Everyone thinks I’m dead.
Kadence wanted freedom from her past and she ran here.
Almost an hour later,Kadence stirred in her sleep, thrashing slightly as her eyes flew open. “Kadence. Breathe. Take a deep breath.” She jumped at my voice. I looked at Hawke. “Go get Doc. Tell him she’s awake.” Hawke left the infirmary, leaving the three of us alone. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” I went to brush her hair away from her face, but she flinched, recoiling from my touch.
“Don’t touch me.” Her voice was hoarse. Kadence’s eyes were wide as she looked at me. The blue hues that were once filled with adoration and feistiness were replaced with pain and fear. She looked at Hunter, confusion washing over her face. “You didn’t find him.”
It was more of a statement.
“I did. I stopped Blaize from hurting you.”
She looked down at her wrists and the dried blood on her skin. “I guess it didn’t work.”
“Kadence, I?—”
She shook her head. “I want to go home. Now. Hunter, please.”
CHAPTER 4
KADENCE
