Accidentally Kidnapped

Chapter 31

        The exhale that left my lips was sharp and...relieved, in a strange way. Ever since morning, I had a feeling that Cage was involved. To find out he wasn't didn't crush my world in the way I thought it would, but hearing that a man as dangerous as Romeo could be, did. For a moment, I was so stunned at what Cage just said that I couldn't move or react at all for a few seconds.

        "Romeo." I repeated, my heart sinking. 

        Cage took a step towards me and I jumped. His eyes softened as mine filled with tears. Romeo Barsille. What the hell did he have to do with my parents' death? Or murder, if my unnerved assumption was correct. To find out ten years later that the man I met two days ago had something to do with my parents was surreal. The lump in my throat broke and let out a soft sob.

        Cage looked pained, his ambiguous eyes filled with regret when his face showed detached carelessness. I could never tell what Cage was thinking, never figure out the underlying messages in his words. I was sick of it, sick of feeling vulnerable. 

        Romeo Barsille. That bastard.

        "November, please. I will tell you everything." Cage said softly. Strangely enough, he let me have my space and didn't move any closer, an action which I was so very grateful of. I didn't know what I'd do if anyone touched me right now. What Cage said repeated itself over and over in my mind, trying to form itself in a way that my aching mind could understand.

        What did Romeo have to do with my parents? What did my parents have to do with Romeo? They died because the car engine busted. It was a freak accident. Nothing more, nothing less. A terrible, traumatizing accident that no seven year old child should experience. I was just unlucky, that's all. Fate had two sides. Fern and I got the bad end of it.

        "Don't touch me!" I snapped when Cage made a move to grab my wrist. Surprised, he paused and a second later, moved back. We stayed five feet apart, staring at each other with a million emotions that bubbled up and took over. I was already freaking out on the inside, coming up with potential scenarios about what could have happened ten years ago that I was too young to understand at the time.

        Cage saw that I was about to lose it and thankfully kept his distance. "November, listen to me. Your parents were not who you and your sister thought they were. Everyone has secrets and sometimes, those little secrets turn into something dangerous. Your parents, Martha and Jay? They had one of those secrets and it ended up getting the best of them. What happened ten years ago, that fire they died in, was no accident. I will tell you everything you want to know, November. Just please-"

        I instantly went into denial at Cage's words. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I glared at him. "My parents died because the car engine overheated and caught on fire. We were driving back from Philadelphia- a ten hour trip. The engine busted and they were locked in...that's how they died. Romeo Barsille had nothing to do with their death, Cage! Nothing! What kind of bullshit story did-"

        "You were seven years old, November!" Cage cut me off, his voice dark. "You don't know what happened exactly. You don't know their history with Romeo. If it was an accident, if you think Romeo had nothing to do with it, then why couldn't your parents get out of the car?"

        "The locks were jammed." I whispered angrily.

        "Car locks don't jam by themselves November, especially when there is a fire. They have a specific mechanism to open in dangerous situations so people can get out. Same with seat belts." Cage said. "Their death was no damn accident and I know you believe that. You want proof? Check Heath's laptop. He has the police records."