Page 26 of Vengeance

Her eyes slowly lifted to his again. "Did you know?"

His brow furrowed. "Did I know what?"

"My kidnapping when I was just a kid—did you know about it?” she asked.

He closed his eyes. "Yes."

Her heart broke all over again. "You knew."

"I found out years later,” he admitted.

"But you knew."

"I watched the security footage of everything that happened,” he said. His voice was hollow. "I was fourteen."

She stared at him. "What?"

"My father made me watch it,” he said. The words hit her like ice water.

"Why would he do that to you?” she asked.

"He said it was education,” Vengeance said.

Lucius rolled his eyes. "Oh, for Christ's sake."

Vengeance ignored him. "He wanted us to understand fear."

Chloe felt sick. "He—” She couldn't finish the sentence. "He made children watch that?"

Vengeance nodded. "I couldn't sleep for weeks." She searched his face and realized that he wasn't lying. She could seeit in his eyes that the memory still haunted him. "I tried to delete it."

Lucius laughed. "You cried like a baby.”

Vengeance's eyes snapped toward him. "I was fourteen."

"You embarrassed your father by acting that way,” Lucius said.

His voice hardened. "I was disgusted.” Vengeance looked back at Chloe. "I've spent twenty years trying to erase what my father did."

"You can't erase what he did to me,” she breathed.

"I know,” he said.

"So why?” she asked.

He looked genuinely confused. "Why what?"

"Why try to help me?" she asked. The question had been eating at her since Huntsville. "Why risk your life for me?"

His answer came without hesitation. "Because you deserved better than what my father did to you. Hell, you always deserved better."

She crossed her arms over her body, as though trying to keep herself from breaking down. He was right. She deserved better than what the Dragons did to her. “You’re right,” she breathed, “I did deserve better.”

"My father stole something from you." His voice grew quieter. "I can't give it back." No, he couldn't because no one could. "But I'll die before I let him take anything else from you." Something cracked inside her. It wasn’t forgiveness or even understanding. It was the certainty that he believed every word he'd just said.

Lucius sighed dramatically. "Are we done with the touchy-feely shit?" He raised his rifle again. "Dante's getting impatient." Vengeance stepped sideways, placing himself directly between Chloe and the barrel, and Lucius smirked. "There you are.”

"What is that supposed to mean?” Vengeance asked.