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“Why wouldn’t I come here? This is my house.” “Your house?” I scoff. “Rick and I are the ones paying rent and keeping the lights on. What have you done, mom?”
“What exactly is it that I’m supposed to get over, mom?” I hiss. “The fact that you faked your own death? The fact that you roped me into your ridiculous ‘suicide’? Had me lie to the police and burn some poor woman’s corpse?”
“I don’t care why you had to die and I don’t give a damn about the reasons you’re alive again either, but for my sister’s sake you need to stay dead. At least until I can find a way to explain this to Viola.”
“Back? But…” Vi’s face turns as white as a sheet. “You were dead. You…” Her gaze shifts to me. “Did you know?” My mouth opens, but no sound comes out. Viola’s eyes narrow. Something shatters in my heart when I see her look of betrayal.
“You’re killing me, Brahms,” he murmurs. To my surprise, he gently brushes a strand of hair away from my face. “Damn it.” Extra footsteps thunder towards us. Zane and Finn sprint into view. They’re not alone. Sol is with them too. His eyes lock on mine and something strange passes through his expression. He looks heavy. Guilty. A little unhinged. My gaze returns to Dutch. “What are you all doing here?” “It’s not to see the sights, obviously,” Zane says, running a hand through his hair. “We’re here to help,” Finn adds. His voice is deep and calm as always.
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.
Seeing her hurting is enough to stop me in my tracks. Seeing her in pain makes me want to burn the world down.
“You’re mine. I’ve made that clear. If someone hurts you, they hurt me.”
“You think I wanted this?” He hisses. “You think I woke up one day and thought I want some girl to have my heart by the freaking throat?”
“I didn’t have a freaking choice in this either, Cadence. The minute you walked into my life, my whole universe shrank down to the size of a single point and I haven’t been able to see anything else.” He rises and glares down at me. “So yeah, continue to be freaking uncomfortable. Because so the hell am I.”
“I don’t know the exact moment I fell for you, but I know that I did and I know it wasn’t random.” His eyes flash, endless honey. Sharp golden pools. “This is real.”
“Kiss me now and I won’t stop, Cadence. Kiss me now, and you will never escape me. Not in this life or the next.”
“Dammit, Cadey.” There’s a harsh bite in his words, but I’m sensing that it’s from impatience more than anger. “I’m not letting you go. I am never letting you go. I warned you when you kissed me and I meant it. Whatever’s going on, you either tell me or don’t. I don’t care. But I’m in this.”
Serena: I don’t know what I did to deserve a friend like you. Thank you so much, Cadence. Even if it doesn’t work out, I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me.
I glare at him. “First on the list… is getting you to leave me the hell alone.” “Not happening. Next.” He flicks his fingers.
“Why go after me?” “What do you mean?” “You both have the tools to make a baby in a year. You could make freaking three just to be safe.” “That’s because…” “Dad thinks I don’t qualify as a son.” Finn’s words are subdued. He looks like he just got run over by a truck.
My brother studies me. “Jinx mentioned that Cadence and dad are having secret talks after class. You think it was about this?”
“Lying to her about Sol is one thing. But if you lie to her about this…” “It doesn’t matter. She can’t escape me.” “What if she does?” “I’ll drag her back,” I growl, staring him down. “Is that love?” Finn wonders.
Zane leans over to Finn and whispers, “Mommy and daddy are fighting again.”
“I already told you, Cadey. If I’m going to hell, I’m dragging you there with me.”
“Vi is important to you. That means she’s important to me.”
“You’re mine. Everything that involves you involves me.” Her shoulders stiffen, but I don’t let her go. “I’ll protect who you protect. I’ll love who you love. I’ll hate who you hate.” The words are raw. Honest. I don’t know if she hears me. If she gets it. I just let them come pouring out. “You and Vi are a package deal. That doesn’t scare me.”
“You have something to protect and I have something to destroy. You escape into music and I’m trapped there. You hid from me and I still found you. Where you end, I begin.” He wraps long fingers around the back of my neck. “We may not be from the same world, Cadence, but we’re made of the same freaking soul.”
“My sweet Cadey.” His voice is like a drug, smoke curling around the air, taking over me. Sumptuous, addictive, resonant perfection. “No matter how hard you fight, you’re mine. You’re never escaping me.”
“This truce is just for tonight,” I pant, because it will probably take me all week to catch my breath again. Besides, I can see in his dark gaze that he thinks this means I’ve accepted him. The ring. The future he wants for us. Everything. “Truce or not, tonight is the beginning of forever.”
“You’re my girl. My fiancée. My wife. Did you think I would let you walk out of here before convincing you?”
“Is this Dutch Cross?” The voice is female, husky and unfamiliar. “Who is this?” I growl. “And how did you get my number?” I don’t give that information out. In fact, apart from my family, Martina and a handful of industry folks, the only people who have my phone number are Sol, Cadence and Vi. “My name is Tina Cooper.” She pauses. “I’m Cadence’s mom.”
Finally, she speaks. “I don’t get it. What would make a boy like you put a ring on her finger?” My shoulders stiffen. “She’s not that pretty.” Tina shrugs and reaches for a cigarette on the table. “She’s unbelievably uptight. And I’m sure it took a long time before she put out, if I know my daughter.”
“You should be careful about that, boy. When you love someone that much, when you’re obvious about it, people can use it to hurt you.”
“I don’t care if you’re her mother. Don’t you ever talk about her like that. You hear me? I will freaking end you and it won’t be difficult.” I grip the edges of the table and lean over. “Because all it takes is one call, one picture of you going about your business, and plenty of people will have questions.” My eyes narrow. “And I’m not talking about the cops.”
“She got it from you,” Tina whispers as if she just stumbled on a secret. I glare at her. “You’re Cadey’s backbone.” She smirks again and crushes the butt of her cigarette into the ash tray near her left hand.
“Dutch, he is good boy. He never like a girl this much. I’m happy he’s smiling and worrying about you. It makes this heart very full.” She clutches her chest.
My twin straightens. A smile spreads over his face. “Stranger.” “Are you guys waiting for Cadence too?” Too? I bristle. “What business do you have with Cadence?”
My eyes spear Sol. He’s mashing his lips together, face creased in frustration. I don’t say anything. I don’t have to. My eyes whisper one thing: she’s mine. If he wants to lose everything, he can challenge me on that.
I’m not going anywhere until I find out why the hell Cadence freaking Cooper has it out for me. Again.
“Out of everyone in this world, you’re the only one who can destroy me and I wouldn’t retaliate. Send me to jail if you want. But we’re talking first.”
“Why are you so damn stubborn?” The last word snaps in my face like a taut rubber band. “You know what most couples do when they have a misunderstanding, Cadey? They use words. They hash it out. And then they move on.”
“Your mother called me yesterday.” He’s watching me. Every flicker of my eyes. Every change of my expression. “M-my mother is dead.” “We both know that’s not true, Cadey.” He tilts his head slightly, looking down at me with that cold, calculating expression. I suddenly find it hard to breathe.
Dutch leans in, his lips hovering close to mine. “Is this why you’ve been meeting my dad after class? Did he ask you to spy on us?”
“Don’t lie to me, Cadey.” Dutch nips at my jaw, his mouth grazing my cheek to my ear. “I’ll believe you.”
Dutch eases back just enough to whisper over my lips, “Because you and me, we’re—” “Damaged?” His fingers trace my lips. “Inevitable.”
Rather than answering the question, I twist around and face him confidently. “You and I… we mess around sometimes. We… use each other to let out steam. That’s it.” His jaw works for a minute, like he’s thinking hard about my words, and then he gestures with his chin toward Redwood. “Go inside before you say something even more ridiculous, Cadey.”
Sol’s eyes are so dark, it almost hurts to look at him. “Every night, I had the same nightmare.” His voice drops to a dangerously low tone, something guttural and empty. “You looked at me with that exact expression. Like you hated me.”
“What gives you the right? You think you’re the only one living in a nightmare? You think you’re the only one battling demons when you’re awake and when you’re asleep?” His eyes shoot back to mine, inquisitive. Almost as if he didn’t care about anything I just said until I mentioned that last line. “Is something going on with you?” he demands.
“Did Dutch know since the beginning?” His head whips up. Sol stares at me for a long moment, as if he’s trying to figure me out. “Does it matter?” “What?” “Does it matter to you if Dutch knew? I thought you hated him.” “I do hate him.”
“She’s not just a scholarship student. She’s one of us, and we want her back. Reinstate her. Today.” Dutch’s words are harmless, but his tone is clear. He’s not really giving Harris a choice.
“I don’t think that’s the question that needs answering.” Miller adjusts his expensive tie and folds his hands over his knee. “Get the girl back in school, Harris. She’s suffered long enough.”
“My daughter needed a fresh start and I wouldn’t have been able to get her in without your help.” His eyes skate over the thick entrance. “Redwood Prep is my territory, but not even I could save her at the end. Hopefully, the ghosts of her past stay buried.” “Nothing Christa did here will leave these walls. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Your fiancé’s waiting for you in the practice room.” “What?” I stop short. “She just walked in with Sol. Said she wasn’t looking for you, but she keeps glancing at the door like she’s expecting you to barge in any minute. Come and put her out of her misery.”
I’d rip my heart out of my own chest and offer it to her on a silver platter just to see her freaking eyes light up when I walk in the room. Just like they are now.
