That was a troubling thought. Cade wondered how many times items had been traded under the table while he’d stood guard outside the door. He wondered if Richard had allowed Brewer to participate tonight because he’d known one of the others at the table would want the boy.

He wondered if he’d have to kill Richard, too.

It was with disgust that Cade realized Brewer had wanted his house back enough to sacrifice his own stepson. It hadn’t even been Brewer’s own house. Up until a week before the game, the property had belonged to his wife. Richard nearly hadn’t allowed it, but then Brewer had wagered something else that technically belonged to his wife—her little boy.

Richard always said that desperate men played lousy poker, and Brewer proved that true. He’d lost big and left the game shaking and pale.

The winner of tonight’s game had gleefully arranged to meet Brewer to take possession of the boy, but the exchange wasn’t going to happen, because that man was currently . . . indisposed.

Cade yanked away the blanket covering the figure lying in the back of his car. Staring back at him were eyes that were wide and full of horror. And perhaps a little defiance? If that’s what it is, I’ll get rid of it with my first slice.

He was always glad to rid the world of a pedo. Seeing the pure fear in their eyes, hearing their screams? It made his chosen crusade all the sweeter.

He smiled down at Blake Emerson, the pedophile who’d been bold enough to buy a little boy at a poker game. “Hi,” he said to the appropriately terrified man, then pointed to Brewer’s dead body lying beside his captive. “You two have already met, so I won’t bother introducing you. Not that he’ll say much, because, y’know, he’s dead. It’s true that Brewer had a less painful death than you’ll have, but that isn’t my fault.” He shrugged. “That’s sometimes how it goes. But please know that if he’d lived, I would have given you both equal torture. It doesn’t really matter at the end of the day, though. You’ll both be equally dead.”

And Brewer’s five-year-old stepson would be safe, as would other kids who might have been future victims of this particular pedophile.

On the other hand, the boy hadn’t been in Brewer’s car, so maybe the asshole hadn’t been planning to make the transfer after all. Maybe Brewer had just been intending to escape. Which didn’t matter, because he’d made the offer in the first place.

Cade frowned. Or maybe Brewer had already taken the child. Maybe he’d hidden him somewhere he could easily retrieve him. Maybe he had been on his way to retrieve the boy so that he could give him over to his new “owner.”