Hurt By Revenge

12

Heaving a deep sigh as he dropped into his office chair, Daniel looked exhaustedly around the room, absently rubbing the ache in his chest. It soothed him slightly to be in the last room Cassandra was in. Maybe it'd shed some light on what she knew.

It had been a week since she'd walked away with the woman who Fred had confirmed was working with Bryan. The Minnesota clue had been a bust. The FBI had not been able to directly link that state with Bryan.

There were a few people who were close to Bryan in that state but none who'd been willing to stick their neck out for him. The FBI had questioned anyone even superficially linked to him, as much as they could, but the response had been the same for all.

Bryan had not approached them.

So they were back to square one. Only now, the stakes were raised; Cassandra was in his enemy's clutches.

Hands clenched on the arm of the chair, Daniel forced those thoughts out of his head. He couldn't think about that now. It'd only cloud his mind. He needed rational thought more now than any other time.

So why couldn't he get her out of his head?

They had admittedly gotten closer while she'd been recuperating. The fierce lust had always been there but it had been at the back burner, her healing taking priority. But the attraction had grown stronger as he got to know her better.

He honestly like all of her. Her temper. Her smiles. Even her insecurities. She was honest of her faults, perceived or otherwise, and he was enchanted. It was such a breath of fresh air.

But his attraction and enchantment didn't explain the hooks she had in him. The all-encompassing protectiveness. The need to see her, talk to her, think about her. He even watched her while she slept. Even though she'd seemed to sleep better in his presence, he felt borderline stalkerish just recalling it.

Shaking his head, Daniel turned to the door when he heard it open and another piece of his heart throbbed.

"Hey little man, why aren't you sleeping?"he asked Kendall, moving towards him. Kendall didn't say anything, just standing at the doorway. But he moved into Daniel's arms when he reached the entry.

Savoring the warm weight of his son in his arms, Daniel recalled the harsh words he'd thrown at Cassandra the day they conceived their lost child. And the ache in his chest grew. Taking a seat with Kendall still in his arms, Daniel gently stroked his head and waited him out.

"Daddy, do you blame me?"Kendall asked softly. Daniel's eyes smarted and he had to train his eyes on the ceiling.

"Of course not, Kendall. What could you have done?"

"If I hadn't wanted the ice cream, you wouldn't have been there and then Mommy wouldn't be there and she'd be here,"Kendall cried into his chest.

Arms tightening around him, Daniel berated himself. Like Cassandra had feared, his need for revenge had blinded him. It disgusted him that he'd agreed to Bryan's demand. And now, Cassandra was paying the price for his lack of judgement.

And still hugging Kendall to his chest, Daniel had to wonder whether she'd be the only casualty.

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Hand tight around his phone, Daniel forced himself to release it gently on the table. Turning away from those across the table, his eyes tracked Kendall playing in the garden with Carmen and Gwyneth right outside his window. Playing might be too strong a word but at least he was out of the house.

"What did he say?"James asked anxiously. The men of the family had gathered in his office, trying to get any updates from the FBI. Another week had passed and there had been nothing.

Nada.

Zilch.

"Nothing,"Daniel growled. "He had the cheek to tell me to stay out of it. Like it isn't my-"

"Your what? Girlfriend? Mother of your child? What is she to you?"Jared cut in belligerently. "Oh I know. She's just a fucking pawn to be used by the gods named Bryan and Daniel. Everyone knows it so why should anyone fucking care? But wait. Your son would be so devastated and you want to be in his good books."

Daniel cut a glare to his brother who had been increasingly hostile towards him ever since he'd found out about Cassandra and Kendall. He was a good uncle to Kendall and a good friend of Cassandra, much to Daniel's chagrin. So he disapproved of Daniel's actions. They'd almost came to blows one family dinner.

Luckily, their mother still had her hold on them and they'd had to play nice. Also the fact that Kendall had been watching them with wide eyes curbed their violent tendencies.

But his son was out with their mother. There was nothing stopping him from introducing Jared's face to the floor-

"Daniel, why do you have the title to a house in Minnesota?"James asked, lifting a document from the mess that was his desk, oblivious to his sons' aggression.

"I don't have any property in Minnesota,"Daniel returned irritatedly, eyes still locked with Jared's. Suddenly James gasped and they looked to their father.

"This is the title to our family house,"he said softly.

Family house?

Puzzled, Daniel shared a look with Jared until he remembered he was angry with him. Hands clenching, he forced himself to look away. And noticed the envelope on the table. An unknown envelope.

As Jared looked at the papers, Daniel examined the envelope. It was filled with documents that seemed to be linked to Bryan. Honestly, it would strongly implicate him in a lot of illegal activates.

Money laundering. Drug distribution. Human trafficking.

But where had this envelope come from? None of his investigators had come close to unearthing this motherload. But if he could not verify how they were obtained, they couldn't be used.

Suddenly he recalled that night a few weeks ago. When Cassandra had burst in. She had been holding an envelope very similar to the one in his hand. Brows furrowed, he was sure it was this same envelope. The shock of that night had driven the sight out of his mind.

And now, Daniel felt the bottom fell out of his stomach. With these, he wouldn't have even entertained the thought of putting either Cassandra or Kendall in danger. If he'd only listened to Cassandra or had let her speak.

Again, he'd allowed his drive for revenge blind him.

Again, Cassandra had paid the price.

AN: Hey guys. Here's another update. Hope you like it. It's totally unedited. Please excuse any plotholes and grammatical errors :)

On another note, I'd like your opinion on Radish, an app similar to Wattpad but will require payment for early access to chapters. I've agreed to vecone a writer for them. Planning to post Accidental Pregnancy on it. But I'd still like to know what you guys think about it.

What's your experience? Good? Bad? Any stories you can share with me? Let me know so that once I post any stories there, I can satisfy your guys. Cos, without you guys, I wouldn't even be approached. :)

Anyway, please do VOTE & COMMENT if you like this chapter.