“
Zade grins. “My name is Zade. I haven’t gotten the chance to introduce myself yet, but I—” He abruptly cuts off when the girl rips off her gloves and then proceeds to nearly tackle him into a hug. While surprised, he recovers quickly and wraps his long arms around her, gently patting her back. “You’re the one responsible for getting me out,” she says into his chest, her words muffled. “Thank you. So much.” He chuckles. “I think you should be thanking the woman standing behind you. She’s the one who told me to help you.” Without hesitation, the girl turns to me and embraces me in a hug next, squeezing tighter than I expected. Try as I might to hold in the tears, I can’t. They break loose, and a whimper escapes as I hold her tightly. “Was it Rio?” she asks softly, her voice watery from her own tears. “Yes,” I rasp. She pulls back enough to get a good look at my face, her dark brown eye tracing over my features. “How did you know him?” I glance at Zade, but he doesn’t seem bothered by the conversation, even though he wants to murder her brother. “He—he was in the house I was in when I was kidnapped.” I clear my throat. “He took care of me and helped me get out.” Her lip trembles. “He’s not a very good person,” she says, and I’m so surprised, I laugh. “But he’s not a good person because he’s such a great brother. He’s sacrificed a lot for me.
”
”
H.D. Carlton (Hunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #2))