I keep my mouth shut as my brothers, Sol and I flock Cadence and walk her through the dangerous south side streets.
I keep my mouth shut when I see her limping into convenience stores and computer cafes. Into high school gyms, ducking under chain link fences and crawling into graffiti-stained buildings.
I keep my mouth shut when Sol suggests we split up, and I even swallow back my words when he stupidly offers to go with Cadence.
As if I would ever let that happen.
And Cadey, smart girl, shuts him down right away.
Then she says she’ll be better off alone.
A little less smart of her.
We both know that isn’t an option.
“You don’t have to come with me,” Cadence mumbles, long legs eating up the sidewalk as she hobbles down the street.
It’s late.
Late enough that everyone who sees us coming arches a brow—not at our faces—but at the watch on my wrist, the shoes on my feet, and the dollar signs they all amount to.
We’re keeping to the main road, the one with a working lamppost and a few open bars. It’s easy to imagine what would happen if we were traipsing through dark alleys at this time of night.
Dark alleys.
Kind of like the one I found Cadence in tonight.
At the memory of her scared and running, my knuckles clench and my body tenses with frustration.
I take it back.
She’s definitely not a smart girl.
“I can handle it from here,” Cadence insists. Her words are slow. Her eyes are at half-mast. White teeth sink into her plump bottom lip as she struggles to keep her pain hidden. “I’m—”
“Say ‘fine.” I tilt my chin up. My voice is deadly cold. Chilly. Threatening. “I dare you.”
Other people would shudder.
Other girls would flinch.
Cadey doesn’t.
My tone brings the spark of defiance alive in her. She stops in the middle of the sidewalk and whirls around with a spray of pretty hair and delicate fury.
“I don’t care that you’re following me around, but I won’t have you growling at me and making an already terrible situation worse. If you’re going to be like that, just leave me alone.”
I stand, hands in the pockets of my jeans, as she rips the air from my lungs. With just one flash of her brown eyes, I’m right back under her spell.
Hell.
So much for giving her room.
After taking her virginity and leaving my version of handcuffs on her kitchen table, I figured Cadey would need some space to think.
I gave her about twelve hours.
And it’s all I can damn well give her.
This girl, straight, wind-torn hair all over, a top buttoned to the neck and a flared Redwood Prep skirt at mid-thigh is going to be my obsession for life. The sooner she accepts that, the easier all our lives will be.
I stalk toward her.
She eases back, a hint of apprehension in her gaze. “Dutch…”
I lower myself halfway to the ground.
“Don’t even think…”
One arm closes around her back and the other sweeps her legs out from under her. She squeals in my ears and flails as she loses her balance.
I tuck her into my chest, propping her up against me.
“Put me down!” she yells.
I firm my grip instead.
The way she wiggles is a distraction. She’s rubbing her backside all over me and making my blood hot.
I tighten my fingers on her back to keep my thoughts focused. If I start letting the animal in my pants take over, I won’t be able to stay on task.
“Why was your sister upset tonight?” I growl, my heart beating fast.
I can’t help it.
Once Cadey is close to me, my body goes berserk.
Taking a deep breath, I control my thoughts and add, “Did you two fight?”
“No, we didn’t,” she snaps. Then the light in her eyes dims. “It’s complicated.”
I take note of her expression. It’s my first time seeing Cadence Cooper so defeated.
Even that first day, when she ducked away from my gaze and hid behind her textbook, there was still a spark. There was still a reckless courage.
But now?
It’s like the fire’s puttering out, on its last dying breath.
My heart tightens harder than my pants did. She’s squeezing the freaking life out of my chest. A sign that, whatever this is, it’s about more than just sex and revenge.
Seeing her hurting is enough to stop me in my tracks.
Seeing her in pain makes me want to burn the world down.
I pass the beaten-down community center and push the door of a small pharmacy with my shoulder.
A man with dark skin and skittish eyes jumps to his feet. He sees Cadey being held captive in my arms, sees the angry look on my face and his body starts shaking.
“I-I don’t want no trouble,” he mumbles in a heavy accent.
I advance anyway.
The door bangs shut behind me.
“What are you doing?” Cadey hisses.
I ignore her question and set her on top of the counter.
The shopkeeper’s eyes widen.
Cadence scowls at me, presses one arm down and moves as if she’ll hop off. “I don’t have time for this. I need to find—”
“Set one foot on the floor and you won’t like what happens next.”
She freezes, her chest heaving and her eyes burning me to a crisp.
I hold her gaze, letting her know that I’m good for the threat.
Cadey backs down, but she’s not happy about it. Anger flushes her cheeks red and emphasizes the delicate line of her jaw.
The shopkeeper makes a sound of annoyance. “Hey, man. This isn’t a playground. And you can’t put her on the counter like that—”
I stick a hand into my pocket. His mouth snaps shut and he automatically raises both hands in the air.
When I take out a wallet instead of a gun, he sighs in relief.
Thumbing through the bills inside, I slam a stack on the counter.
The money disappears before I can blink and his tone becomes soft and accommodating.
“Would you also like to sit?” He gestures to the counter. “Sir?”
“I need medicine and band-aids.”
“Coming right up.” The guy flies around the counter.
I drop to a crouch in front of Cadey and grab her thigh.
She kicks at me. “What are you doing?”
I firm my grip and carefully wiggle her foot out of the worn shoes with the scuff marks all over it. She hisses and I move even slower, trying my best not to hurt her.
The shoe clops to the ground.
“Oof.” The shopkeeper stops behind me with the items I asked for. His nose scrunches. His eyes are locked on Cadey’s foot. “That must hurt.”
Fury whips through me at the sight of the blood staining her white socks. I feel the volatile darkness thrumming through my veins, aching to erupt in as violent and loud a manner as possible.
Another deep breath.
Another.
Another.
Cadey’s voice is soft, sheepish. “It looks worse than it feels.”
I tilt my head up and pin her with a look so heated that she curls back.
“I’m really okay, Dutch.” Her eyes skitter past me. Down. Up to the ceiling. To the condoms behind the counter. Her entire face turns red and she quickly looks away. “We’re wasting time here.”
“She’ll need slippers,” I address the shopkeeper in a thin voice. A false calm. Inside, I’m shaking. “And something to drink.”
“You got it.” He zips away.
I take the antiseptic and break the seal.
“Dutch.”
“You’ve been looking for Vi without a plan, and that obviously isn’t working.” Don’t shake, Dutch. Focus or you’ll hurt her. I dip a Q-tip into the medicine and scrape it over her wounds.
Cadence tries her best not to flinch. Her teeth got caught in her bottom lip again.
I clean up the blood and blow on her cuts to help with the sting.
“What else was I supposed to do?” Her voice warbles. Her fingers dig into the edge of the counter. Running around for hours with this severe of a wound must have really hurt.
I feel the anger surging up again and force myself to keep it locked away.
“What were you two arguing about tonight?”
She opens her mouth and I know she’s going to tell me off, so I speak ahead of her.
“Think about it. It might give us a clue to where she would go.”
Plastic rustles behind me. A moment later, the shopkeeper delivers a package of cheap, plastic flip-flops. He hands Cadence the drink too. She accepts it, and takes a sip.
I’m glad I don’t have to fight her on that.
“We were talking about…” Her throat bobs as she swallows. “It had something to do with my mom.”
She looks away, but I hear the pain in her voice.
“Your mom? Is it her death anniversary?”
“No.”
I shift through my mind for something to say. “You must miss her.”
She glances down at me, seeming almost surprised.
I smooth the band-aid over her cuts. “You. Your sister. You must miss your mom.”
Cadence hinted that her mother was less than pleasant, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to live without a parent. I don’t know what I’d do without mom. She and my brothers are what keep me sane.
“Miss her? I don’t think…” Cadence’s eyes widen and life floods into her expression. “That’s it.”
“What’s it?”
She flings herself off the counter. “Did you bring your car?”
“I did.”
“Then let’s go.”
“Brahms.”
“What?” She spins.
I arch a brow and dangle the flip-flops from the tips of my fingers. “Are you going barefoot?”
She hurries back to me and reaches out to take the shoes.
I snap them away, kneel in front of her and slip them on her feet.
There.
“You folks have a good night.” The shopkeeper grins from ear-to-ear.
I don’t respond.
As we make our way to the car, I notice Cadey limping worse than before.
“You okay?” I ask, slowing my pace to match hers.
“I was fine before.” She flings daggers with her eyes. “As soon as you made a big deal with the band-aids and medicine, it started hurting.”
I chuckle and consider carrying her again. Then I spot my truck. “You were hurting the entire time, but adrenaline numbed the pain. Happens when I play guitar too.” The alarm chirps and I open the car door for her. “I get so caught up in the music, my fingers start bleeding. But it doesn’t hurt until I stop holding the strings.” I jut my chin. “Get in.”
Cadey ducks inside.
I round the hood, climb in and glance over. “Where are we going?”
“Gwendolyn Park.”
“The tree sanctuary?” I frown. “You think Vi’s there?”
“I have a feeling.”
Vague, but we’ll work with it.
Cadey plays with the collar of her shirt. “If she’s there…”
I smirk. “What’ll be my reward?”
“No reward.” She shifts in her chair. “But I never would have thought of that place if not for you.”
“There’s a ‘thank you’ somewhere in there.”
“Maybe,” she concedes.
I lean over her.
She sweeps her eyes closed and puckers her lips. Her mouth is the color of strawberries and I want to suck the life out of them.
You won’t be able to stop if you kiss her now.
I tap her nose with my thumb and reach for the seatbelt. “Buckle up, Brahms.”
Her eyes burst open and she flushes. “I’ll do it myself.”
“Too late.” I snap the seatbelt into place, pleased.
She thought I was going to kiss her.
She wanted me to kiss her.
And I will.
After we’ve found her sister.
I toss her my phone. “Call Finn and let him know where we’re headed.”
“Please.”
“Please for what?” I start the car and watch the speedometer needle climb.
She folds her arms over her chest. “I’m not your servant. I’m not that guy you bribed at the pharmacy.”
“I didn’t bribe him—”
“You asked me for a favor.” Her eyebrows knit. “You need my help. Even if you’re barking, say please.”
“Please.”
She huffs, “Was that so hard?”
I force my eyes back to the road because she’s sexy when she’s angry.
She’s sexy when she’s happy.
She’s plain freaking sexy and it gets on my last damn nerves.
I clear my throat as I listen to her one-sided conversation with Finn. The call doesn’t last long. Finn isn’t much of a conversationalist.
“They said they’ll meet us there.” Cadey hands the phone back to me.
I nod.
We don’t say much on the way, but I notice her tapping her leg and watching every movement outside her window as we near the sanctuary.
The park is dark with only a couple solar lights planted like rocks in the soil. There’s something creepy and other-worldly about the tall, monstrous trees clawing at us with their branches.
“Watch your step,” I tell Brahms, taking her hand as she tries to maneuver the terrain in flip-flops.
An owl hoots nearby.
Toads croak so loudly, it’s like they’re using microphones.
“You know where we’re going?” I whisper. There’s no one around, but this feels like the sort of place where you don’t shout.
“Mom’s grave.”
“This is a graveyard?”
“Not exactly.” Cadence grips my fingers tightly as she shuffles over moss. “My mom’s body was… uh… cremated. It was her last wish. We couldn’t afford a tombstone anyway, so it worked out.” She gestures to a small cluster of trees up ahead. “But Vi really wanted somewhere to visit when she missed mom.”
“And you chose here?”
“The sanctuary allows you to dedicate a tree to a loved one. We tied a ribbon around mom’s. I told Vi she could visit whenever she missed her.”
“Do you know where the tree is?”
She shakes her head. “I’ve never been here. I forgot about it until the pharmacy.”
I mull over her words. Was she so busy with life that she forgot where her mother’s memorial was? Or did she hate her mom so much that she tried to forget?
The mystery tugs at me. I want to know everything about her. Her past. Her pain. I want to own her darkness. Just as much as I want to own her pleasure.
Cadey gasps and points. “I think I see her.”
With the help of the moonlight, I can faintly make out a small figure sitting in front of a tree.
“Viola!” Cadey makes a beeline for her sister.
I’m right behind her.
“Thank God, you’re safe.” Her voice cracks painfully. She throws her arms around the kid.
“Get off me,” Viola yells. She heaves Cadey back and makes her stumble. I catch her before she hits the ground, but it’s only because I’m close enough to break her fall.
“The hell are you doing?” I bark.
“Dutch, no.” Cadence touches my hand. “Stop.”
My teeth on edge, I release her and watch her approach Viola again. I don’t want to hurt Cadey’s sister, but I’m also not going to stand back while anyone flings her around.
Not now.
Not. Freaking. Ever.
I don’t care who the hell it is. No one is allowed to hurt her.
Eyeing Viola sternly, I notice the tear tracks on her cheeks and the pain in her eyes. A part of me softens.
“How could you?” Vi hisses. “How could you keep the truth from me?”
Cadence hangs her head. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? You lied to me! Right to my face. You lied for months!”
Confusion wrinkles my brow. What are they talking about? Lied about what?
Cadey sniffs. “I’m so sorry, Vi. I didn’t want you to worry.”
“It’s too late for that now, isn’t it? There’s a freaking corpse in our living room and you were in on it.”
A corpse?
I study Cadence’s pinched expression and a shudder goes down my spine. Whatever I’ve stepped into feels more serious than two bickering sisters mourning their dead mother.
My brothers and Sol arrive in a blaze of concerned eyes and sweat-stained faces.
Cadence places a finger on her lips and gestures for her sister to be quiet. Viola scoffs, tosses her hair and folds her arms over her chest, but she doesn’t utter another word.
The air is tense, but Zane, as usual, cracks a joke to lighten the mood.
“I didn’t think creepy meetings in the middle of the woods was your thing, Vi.”
Viola blushes.
“We were worried about you.”
“You were worried about me?” Her voice is hopeful.
“Of course we were.” Zane coaxes another smile from her. But that smile flattens when he adds. “Especially your sister. She was tearing that neighborhood apart looking for you.”
Viola’s eyes swerve to Cadence and go dark again.
I step forward, sensing that Vi might hurl more unpleasant words Cadence’s way.
“It’s been a long night. I’ll take the girls home.”
“Glad you’re safe,” Finn says, nodding at Viola.
She gives him heart eyes.
Sol walks forward and sticks out his hand. “Hey, I’m—”
“Sol. The fourth member of The Kings,” Viola gushes. “I know who you are.”
“We haven’t met, but I’ve heard a lot about you.” I stiffen when Sol glances at Cadence with a thoughtful look and mumbles, “I hope I’ll see you around more often.”
I set a hand on Viola’s shoulder and tug her back a step. “Thanks for joining the search.”
“Of course.” His jaw is set in a hard line. “Cadence is important to me too.”
Something uneasy stirs in my gut.
His lips arch up in a smile. “Later, C.”
“Thanks again, Sol.”
I watch my best friend traipse off into the night, and I can’t shake the sense that something’s very wrong.
Now that Sol’s gotten a taste of setting fires, he might torch something even more precious than a building.
