Summary

A self-proclaimed “loser extraordinaire” and the new kid with good looks and a secret. When friendships fail, and everyone shows you how to leave, sometimes it only takes one person to teach you how to stay.

Chapter 1

Cadence

Hi! My name is Cadence McClaine, an eighteen year old senior at Roosevelt High in the crap town of Roosevelt. In this town, most people work at the lumber mill and for anyone in school, if you aren’t involved in sports or cheer, you’re considered a loser. Well, that would be me…Cadence McClaine, loser extraordinaire. I have only two friends in this god awful town, well, I guess it’s one now, but who’s counting, right? Macy Anderson, who’s just as much of a ‘loser’ as me, is the one who’s stuck it out with me all these years and then there’s Colton Linley. Colton, or Colt as we’ve always called him, isn’t like us, but somehow we just click, or at least we did…we’ll get to that in a minute. I met Macy sophomore year when she first moved here, but Colt? Well, I’ve known him since kindergarten when his family moved in next door and even though he became a jock as soon as we got into high school, he stuck around instead of ditching us for the popular crowd…until recently.

So, I know how cliché it sounds and trust me, I’ve scolded myself for it daily since I figured it out, but I’ve been crushing on Colt for the last two years. I know, I know, it’s foolish to crush on your best friend, but it gets worse, so much worse. In the last year, I’ve helped him pursue Tanya Phillips, head cheerleader and over all raging bitch, after he confessed to having a crush on her. Thanks to my help, they started dating almost two months ago and that’s pretty much when he stopped acting like my best friend and turned into an acquaintance, but most times, he’s not even that. Yep, I must be a glutton for punishment because now that they’re dating, I get to listen to the man I spent two years fantasizing about screw his girlfriend since my bedroom window looks straight into his. Sometimes, I really hate my life.

I used to always have my blinds open and my window cracked to help the air in my room circulate, but now I don’t dare. I’m not willing to risk destroying myself any further by accidentally hearing or seeing them in action. I know what you’re thinking, why would you help the guy you like win over a girl you can’t even stand?! Well, if you have an answer, I’d love to hear it because I sure the hell don’t have one.

“Cade! You’re gonna be late!” Yeah, that would be my mom and don’t worry, I won’t really be late. It’s actually only seven fifteen, but she seems to think school is like a job where you should show up twenty minutes early so you don’t run the risk of being late. I used to leave early so I could hang out with Colt by his car before the bell rang, but now he spends all his time with Tanya and Macy never gets to school more than ten minutes early, so I’m going to take my time.

“I’m almost ready, ma!” I give myself one last inspection in my full length mirror and smile at my casual style, one of the many things that sets me apart from the ‘in’ crowd. They like designer clothes and the girls all dress like they’re ready to go clubbing, not preparing to attend classes at a high school. Not me though. Today’s style is my usual baggy jeans, A black t-shirt that says ‘I don’t know what my spirit animal is, but I’m pretty sure it has rabies’ and my black converse shoes. My hair is in a messy bun and the only makeup on my face is a little eye liner and some concealer to help hide the dark circles under my eyes.

With my backpack and my phone in hand, I make my way out of the house and hop into my silver Dodge Ram pickup, the one my dad insisted on getting me because, and I quote, ‘My baby girl isn’t going to be driving around in a little beater car. In this beast, ain’t no way the other drivers won’t see you comin.’ That was the last thing my dad did for me before he revealed that he had been cheating on my mom and, another cliché for you, got his mistress pregnant. I’m sure you can guess which family he decided to be with, but if you can’t, here’s a little hint…it wasn’t mine.

I pull up to the school and park in my usual spot, another torture I inflict on myself since it’s right across the aisle from Colt’s spot where, just as I expected, he’s making out with Tanya in front of his car. I’m about to climb out when an unfamiliar car pulls into the spot beside me, so I wait until they’re parked before opening my door, not wanting to be the dick who hits their car with my door, and hopping out.

Macy is already walking toward me, but I notice her stop in the middle of the aisle, her eyes trained on whatever, or whoever, she sees in the car next to mine. I grab my phone and backpack then close my door just as the driver of the unfamiliar black Honda gets out. He’s tall, like, ridiculously tall! He has a toned, but not extremely muscular body, black hair that’s short on the sides and long on top with it secured in a ponytail and I even see a tattoo peeking out of the top of his shirt that stops at the base of his neck.

“Cade!” Well, her fascination ended quickly!

“Hey Mac. Coffee?” She nods and the new guy turns to grab something from his car, giving me the perfect view of his gorgeous face and stunning green eyes. He smirks when he catches me staring, but I don’t do embarrassment, so I shrug, letting him know I’m aware that I’ve been caught, but really don’t care.

“God yes! I’ve got some tea to spill, girl!” I roll my eyes, making sure she sees the action, not that it ever phases her.

“One, I haven’t had enough caffeine for your tea and two, you know I hate drama. So, you keep your tea and I’ll take a quad shot peppermint mocha instead.” She links her arm with mine and drags me to the crosswalk. Our favorite coffee shop just so happens to be located right across from the school’s parking lot, so we might go there a little more frequently than would be seen as socially acceptable, but…you know…coffee!

“You girls want the usual?” Our favorite barista, Matthew, has a not so secret crush on Macy, but the girl, god love her, is clueless. I’m pretty sure Matthew is the only guy she doesn’t actively flirt with, which is rather surprising since she flirts with almost everyone of the male persuasion.

“Yeah, Matt, thanks.” Matt winks then shifts his attention to the customer behind us.

“You know what you want yet?” I set $15 on the counter then try to push Macy toward the other end where our drinks will be placed when they’re done, but she doesn’t move. I look up and see her staring behind me.

“What would you ladies recommend?” The deep voice gives me the most insane chills, but when I turn around to see the new guy, my need to not be a complete idiot, thankfully, kicks into gear.

“Oh, we’re not ladies, but if you like coffee with a kick, my go to is a quad peppermint mocha. If you like something a little tamer, they make a good latte.” Matt chuckles as he sets my cup on the counter.

“Cade, I haven’t met anyone who likes their coffee as lethal as you like yours. Don’t let her fool you, when she says quad, it’s four extra shots of espresso, so a total of eight…in one cup.” He sets Macy’s cup on the counter and flashes her the usual smile accompanied by a flirtatious wink that, as always, goes right over her head.

“Sounds good to me.” Matt is staring wide eyed at the new guy, but part of me wants to stay and watch his reaction, a very small part of me, but it’s there.

“Ugh, bitch alert.” That’s Macy’s way of announcing that Tanya is coming, but I simply shrug and sip my coffee.

“Hey, Cade.” Hearing Colt’s voice is bittersweet since half of me holds onto the memories of all the times he’s been an amazing friend who was always there for me while the other half of me holds onto the way he’s generally avoided so much as looking at me when he’s around Tanya and her friends, or the way he never goes out of his way to talk to me anymore. Like right now? He’s only saying something because we’re only a few feet apart, but aside from basic pleasantries, the conversation will never become anything meaningful.

“Colt.” I see the slight wince at my cold tone, but honestly…I could care less.

“Damn, that’s really good. I appreciate the recommendation.” I slowly turn with a furrowed brow and look at the new guy as he drinks his coffee like it isn’t a nearly lethal dose of caffeine in a paper cup. I narrow my eyes at him, disappointed and intrigued in equal measure by his lack of a favorable reaction.

“Huh, not the reaction I was expecting.” He chuckles and, damn, if it doesn’t do something funny to my insides.

“Sorry if I disappointed you, doll. Can I escort you not-ladies back to school?” I study him for a second, secretly hoping I’ll see some reaction from the coffee that tells me he’s not actually enjoying it, but he just gives me a sinfully gorgeous smile.

“Yeah, we’d like that. Let’s go.” Macy, clearly too damn happy to accept his offer, leads the way out with me sandwiched between her and the new guy, whose name I should probably learn so I don’t go around calling him new guy.

“So, do you not-ladies have names?” See?! Great minds think alike!

“I’m Macy and this is Cadence.” I shoot Macy a sharp glare for giving out my full name, the name only used when I land myself in deep shit.

“Cade, only my mom calls me Cadence and only when I piss her off.” He laughs and nods his head, but his eyes seem to be studying me and it’s strange. People don’t study me, hell, most people don’t even acknowledge me.

“I’m Lucian, but everyone calls me Luc.” Macy is all but drooling over him, but he either doesn’t notice or is just too damn nice to draw attention to it it. It’s strange, but he almost seems uninterested in her, yet that makes no sense since all the guys seem to be interested in Macy. She’s like some weird loser slut hybrid, but that’s just Macy and I’ve learned to ignore her flirtatious behavior. It seems like every guy wants to go a round with her just to pretend she doesn’t exist after. I can’t say I understand it, but I accept it for what it is. We make it back to the parking lot with Macy talking poor Luc’s ear off, though he doesn’t act like he minds.

“So, where were you living before you moved here?” Macy’s laying it on thick with her sickly sweet ‘I wanna jump you’ voice that always has me rolling my eyes and this moment is no exception. Luc glances over just in time to catch said eye roll and smirks before answering her.

“We moved around a lot. We were in Chicago before this and before that was San Diego.” It’s very subtle, but I catch the slight strain in his voice which immediately pulls my attention to him.

“Oh, so how long do you think you’ll be hanging around here before you move again?” We stop by my truck and he casually leans against the hood of his car while he takes another drink of his coffee.

“I think we’ll be hanging around here for a while. We moved so much because of my mom’s job, but my parents just got a divorce, so I’m here with my dad.” I give him a sympathetic smile, but Macy…well, she looks downright excited. It’s almost embarrassing, really.

“Well, I’m glad you’ll be sticking around then!” Before he can respond, the bell rings and Macy gives me her usual uncomfortable hug before hurrying off, leaving me and Luc standing there awkwardly.

“Sorry about her. She’s just…well, she’s unapologetically Macy. So, what’s your first class?” He reaches into the front pocket of his jeans and pulls out a folded paper then hands it to me. I take the paper then hand him my coffee to hold while I unfold and scan over the page.

“Well, looks like you and I have the same classes aside from your fifth block PE and sixth block Auto Shop. Come on, you can follow me for now and at lunch I can show you where to go for the two classes we don’t share.” I take my coffee from him and place his schedule back in his hand.

Chapter 2

Cadence

As we turn to head to our first class, I spot Colt standing with Tanya by his car, but he’s looking at me with an expression I can’t quite read and it seems Luc picked up on it too.

“Who’s the guy?” I look up at him and he tilts his chin in Colt’s direction.

“He was my best friend, but I don’t know who the hell he is anymore.” Instead of pushing, he nudges me with his shoulder and gives me a soft smile as we head to our first class of the day. Fortunately, the seat beside mine at the back of the class is available, so I get to have Luc sit by me, but unfortunately for me, Colt and Tanya are in this class too.

“Alright class, today you’re going to pair up. You and your partner will be choosing a famous literary quote and you’ll be writing a two page essay about the person who penned the quote. You need to then write a reader interpretation of the quote and what it means to you as the reader. This assignment is due Monday of next week, so you’ll likely need to work on this together outside of class as well. Now, pair up and get to work!” Mr. Jensen, our English Lit teacher’s, announcement is met with whines and groans from most of the class, but I’m actually not upset with the assignment. In the past, Colt and I would’ve partnered up for the group assignments in the classes we shared, but obviously that isn’t an option now and it kind of sucks.

“Hey, want to work together?” I look over at Luc and give a soft smile with a nod, trying to push away the ache brought on by my thoughts about Colt. I hate that I let him affect me still when he’s the one who created this divide in our friendship.

“Yeah, you have any favorite literary quotes?” He gives me a playful smile as he shakes his head.

“No, not really. Do you?” I sigh and nod, prepared for him to give me the ‘what a freak’ look I’ve grown accustomed to, but he simply tilts his head and arches his brow in anticipation.

“It’s from Edgar Allen Poe. ‘Tell me every terrible thing you ever did and let me love you anyway’.” His thoughtful look has me involuntarily smiling, appreciating that he’s actually letting the words sink in before responding.

“I really like that. What makes it your favorite quote?” I figure since he opened up to me and Macy about his parents’ divorce and he honestly doesn’t seem like the judgmental type, I want to be honest with him.

“I guess I kind of like to hold on to hope that that kind of love exists in the world. A love where you can look at a person’s flaws and mistakes, but still love them without reservation. I’ve had enough people prove to me that it’s nothing but a fantasy, but I still want to hold out hope that it might actually exist somewhere out there.” I hadn’t even realized that I had lowered my eyes until I feel his fingers under my chin, tilting it up until my eyes meet his.

“I think it exists. You just have to wait for the right person to show you. Don’t lose hope, Cade. You’ll find it.” I give him a weak smile and sigh softly when he lowers his hand back to his lap. As much as I hope he’s right, it’s hard not to have my doubts.

“We only have twenty minutes left, but we can meet up after school to work on the assignment if you want.” I swear, this boy’s smile is so infectious!

“Sounds good. Want to go to yours or mine?” I know my mom will be working late tonight, so I decide to make the most of the quiet.

“We can meet at my house. My mom’s working the late shift tonight, so it’ll be quiet while we work. Maybe, if you’re lucky, I’ll even make dinner.” My playful comment earns me a deep, gorgeous laugh from him and he leans closer, his eyes dancing with amusement.

“I’m looking forward to it then.” I reach across the aisle and grab his phone that, surprisingly, doesn’t require a code to unlock. I go to his contacts then add my address and phone number before handing it back to him.

“I go home right after school, so just text when you’re on your way.” He slides his phone into his pocket and leans back in his seat, still smiling that soul searing smile.

“I just have to pick my brother up and take him home then I can head over.” I catch the strange look Colt is giving me from the other side of the room, but choose to ignore him, just like he’s been ignoring me. He chose to pull away and act like I don’t exist, so screw him. When the bell rings, Luc and I head to our second class and the comfort of it makes me think of how things used to be with Colt. Just as I promised, once the bell rings to send us to lunch, I show Luc where the gym and auto shop are then we both head out to my truck where we both sit on the tailgate, enjoying the warmth of the day,

“Cade! Luc! There are a few bands playing at Siren tonight! We should totally go!” Macy’s high pitched ‘wailing banshee’ screech has both Luc and I cringing before we burst out laughing as she jumps up and down like an excited child.

“Actually, Luc and I have an English project to work on, so we’re heading to my place after school to get started on it.” She stops jumping and narrows her eyes at me almost accusingly which has me raising my brow at her sudden shift.

“Isn’t your mom working tonight?”My brow raises further, wondering where the hell she’s going with this.

“Yeah, she’s working a twelve hour tonight, why?” Her eyes dart over to Luc then back to me, as if she’s trying to convey some secret message that I honestly refuse to waste time trying to decode.

“So, you two were going to be at your home alone?” I tilt my head, confused about the line of questioning, but I’m just going to roll with it. I can’t say I don’t want to see if she has a point that she’s trying to make, though I wish she’d just come right out and say whatever it is that she’s hinting toward.

“Yeah? I was going to make dinner while we work on our assignment. Why?” She shrugs, but I know her and that face isn’t a ‘shrug it off’ face. Something’s bothering her and I don’t get why she can’t just tell me what the hell it is!

“Are you sure your mom would be okay with you having a guy alone in the house with you?” What the hell is her issue?!

“Um, yeah? Mom trusts me not to be stupid and she knows that if I am stupid, I’ll be the first to tell her. You know she doesn’t care, Mac. What’s really going on?” She shakes her head and the look she’s giving me tells me that she thinks I should already know, but I honestly don’t!

“Nothing. I just thought it would be cool if we could go out.” I know that’s not the issue, but I can also tell she’s trying to shut down, so I’m not going to push her.

“Cade, we can all go watch the show tonight and work on the project tomorrow.” I know he’s trying to smooth things over and I can’t tell him how much I appreciate it right now.

“Okay, sounds good to me.” Macy’s face lights up like the fourth of July and her frantic bouncing resumes.

“Yes! Okay, so we can all meet at your place, right? I can ride with you after school and we can start getting ready!” With our new plans in place, the bell rings and we head to our last two classes of the day. By the time the final bell of the day rings, I’m ready to get the hell out of here. Macy is already waiting by my truck when I walk out and Luc is with her, looking like he’s not as into their conversation as she is. I can tell she’s flirting with him, but it’s something I’m used to since she honestly does flirt with almost every guy she talks to, every guy but Matthew.

“Hey, Cade.” Luc gives me a smile that screams ‘save me’ which earns him an amused smile from me and a casual shrug.

“Hey, Luc. How was the first day?” He opens his mouth to speak, but Macy cuts him off, even though she knows how much I hate it when people interrupt others.

“I was just telling Luc about Siren and I think Jake’s band is one of the ones playing tonight! I was telling him how Jake is your ex, but he still totally has the hots for you. You guys were a cute couple. I still don’t know why you haven’t given him another chance.” I roll my eyes and lean against the rear quarter panel of my truck, my arms folded over my chest.

“Yeah, you think so? I’m sure people said that about the other three girls he was screwing at the time too. Jake thinks he’s god’s gift to women, but he’s a gift I was more than happy to return. Are we ready to go?” Luc’s brow furrows, but Macy lets out another ear piercing squeal then bounces over to the passenger door and climbs in.

“I’ll text when I’m on my way to your place, Cade.” I force a smile and nod, not at all ready for the hell this night is bound to bring.

“Sounds good.” The drive back to my house is spent with Macy running her mouth about the bands performing tonight while I try to mentally prepare for seeing my bastard ex again, though there really is no adequate way to prepare for something like that.

Once we get home, Macy and I head up to my room and she starts digging through my closet for what she considers to be ‘suitable party attire’ while I sit on my bed and watch. She tosses a pair of low rise black skinny jeans and a black crop top Kittie band tee onto the bed then somehow manages to find one of the skimpy dresses she left behind sometime during the summer. It’s a skintight black halter dress that barely reaches midthigh and laces up both sides. I’d tell her it looks like something a prostitute would wear, but I’m not out to hurt her feelings.

By the time Luc texts me at five twenty, we’re both dressed and Macy even convinced me to let her do my hair and makeup. My long black hair is pulled into what I thought would look like a messy ass ponytail, but with my curls and the few tendrils framing my face, it actually looks good. She gave me a black smokey eye, added eye liner and mascara then wine colored lip stain to finish the look. Her makeup is similar to mine, except she chose a bright red lip stain, further adding to the whole prostitute look I was really hoping she wasn’t going for.

“Ooh, I’ll get it!” Macy rushes out of my room the second the doorbell rings, not even offering me a chance to respond, but I use the break to slip on my black converse, the ones she told me I ‘absolutely will not be wearing’. I grab my favorite leather jacket and slip it on then slide my wallet and keys into one of my jacket pockets then my phone into the other before heading downstairs.

“Cade will be down any minute.” Macy’s voice cuts through the silence as I descend the stairs and Luc’s eyes snap up to meet mine before slowly trailing down to my feet and back up, a smile quickly erasing his less than amused expression.

“Wow, you look good. You both do.” He adds the last part after a brief pause where Macy gives him her ‘what about me’ look. I never really paid attention to how much she seems to demand attention and it honestly makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

“You look good too.” His smile widens, but I actually mean it. He’s wearing a pair of black jeans, a black t-shirt and black combat boots. With his hair pulled into a ponytail and the hint of a five o’clock shadow, he looks damn good.

“I have to practically force her to wear anything that’s not baggy shirts and equally baggy pants.” Her slightly catty tone surprises me, but Luc is quick to soothe the sting.

“I think she looks good either way.” He heads to the front door and opens it before waving us through as he holds it open for us.

Chapter 3

Cadence

Since I know where we’re going, we agree to take my truck and the drive there is tense with Macy’s clear frustration filling the cab around us as she’s stuck in the backseat while Luc sits in the front, but there’s no way in hell his tall ass would fit in the back without looking like he was being crammed into a sardine can. We pull up to Siren after the most awkward thirty-five-minute drive of my life and we quickly exit the car, all of us seeming grateful for the reprieve. Macy sees the drummer from Jake’s band and hurries over to say hi and, unsurprisingly, flirt.

“Sorry about her. I don’t know what the hell her issue is tonight.” I look up at Luc and find him already watching me with a warm smile.

“Is she the jealous type?” I think about it for a moment, but can’t think of a single time I’ve seen her act jealous in the time we’ve been friends.

“No, not that I’ve noticed anyway. I don’t know what she would have to be jealous of. Guys fall all over her and she flirts with every guy who so much as looks in her general direction.” I shrug, not getting why he thinks jealousy could be an issue.

“Not every guy will fall at her feet. I definitely won’t be. She’s really not my type. She’s nice I guess, but she’s not someone I could see as anything more than a friend.” An involuntary smile takes over as I think about the insanity of a straight man not being attracted to Macy. She’s undeniably beautiful and has a magnetic personality, yet here Luc is, telling me she’s not his type? Oh shit! Is he gay?

“Alright, if Macy isn’t your type, then what is your type?” We reach the line for the door and take our place as we wait, the cramped line having us stand so close that our arms brush up against each other.

“Well, why don’t you tell me your type, then I’ll tell you mine.” I take a minute to think it over, but it’s not really an easy answer for me. It’s not black and white, not for me, though nothing ever really is.

“I don’t really think I have a type, per se. I know I tend to attract assholes, but as far as me being attracted to people, it all depends on the person. I’m not really worried about looks, it’s all about personality for me. I like people who aren’t too serious, but can still hold an intelligent conversation. I want someone who isn’t high maintenance, doesn’t expect me to be perfect and doesn’t think half my emotions are a result of PMS. I want someone who’s willing to support and encourage me, but also give me the space to fail or succeed on my own terms.” The way he’s looking at me, it’s like he’s actually seeing me and not the person I let others think me to be.

“So, you want someone who’ll see your flaws and love you anyway.” It’s not a question, but I nod in agreement, glad he gets it and definitely appreciating his reference to our quote for our English assignment.

“Your turn.” He lowers his head and kicks a small rock out of the way, he looks like he’s thinking way too hard about his answer which only makes me feel more eager to hear it.

“Well, it’s important to me that the person I’m with is real, not just showing me the side of them they think I want to see. I don’t want someone who molds and conforms to other people’s ideals. I want the good, but I also want the bad. I want them to not hide part of themselves from me. I want someone who’s willing to accept me for everything I am, not just the parts that appeal to them. I’m a lot more than what people see. I’m not always the person that’s standing in front of you now. Sometimes I’m a nice guy, but sometimes I’m not.” I feel like there’s more to his declaration, but I get it.

“So, you want someone who’ll see your flaws and love you anyway?” He chuckles at me as I use his own statement against him.

“Yeah, see? You get it.” Just before we reach the door, Macy finally comes back and she has a mischievous look in her eyes that tells me I’ll likely end up either pissed off or leaving alone with Luc tonight.

“Will said Jake’s excited that you came!” I roll my eyes and fold my arms over my chest.

“I didn’t come here for him and I have no intention of wasting a minute more of my time on that prick.” She puts her hands on her hips and glares at me.

“Well, it’s not like you have guys tripping over themselves to date you, Cade. Maybe you shouldn’t be so picky. Maybe you should just be happy he’s interested at all. It’s not like you make it easy for people to like you!” I’m sure my expression shows how shocked and pissed off I am to hear her talk to me that way, but if not, the comment that rolls off my tongue will certainly help clear it up for her.

“Maybe you should fuck off, Mac. Unlike you, I’m not so desperate for attention that I’ll fuck anything that’s willing. Fuck this shit, I’m leaving. Call your brother to come get you because I’m done.” I exit the line and storm back to my truck, momentarily forgetting that I’m the one who brought Luc here until I climb in and spot him having a very heated discussion with Macy before he turns and jogs over to me an climbs into the passenger seat.

“Screw her, Cade, and don’t you listen to a fucking thing she said. Let’s get out of here.” I stare at him for a moment, feeling both surprised and thrilled that he stood up for me, that he chose me over Macy.

“Can I show you something?” I can see how tense his entire body is, but he slowly relaxes into his seat and turns to look at me with a slow smile forming.

“I’m all yours. Besides, you are the one driving, so I’m kind of at your mercy.” He gives me a wink and that single gesture erases the lingering tension in the truck. It takes forty minutes to get back to my house because of traffic, but when we finally get there, I lead him upstairs and into my room. The second I open my bedroom door, I notice him tense up a little and realize he’s probably getting the wrong idea.

“Have a seat, I need to grab it out of my closet.” He hesitates, but slowly makes his way to my bed and takes a seat in front of the window while I grab the binder that contains all my sketches from the past few years. I walk over to the bed and set it in his lap then take a seat on the floor in front of him with my legs crossed in front of me. I watch as he slowly flips through each drawing, taking his time to truly look at them, not just a fleeting glance.

“These are really good. Who’s the guy in the first few?” I take a deep breath and force a smile, but it probably looks more like a grimace. Hell, it feels more like a grimace!

“My dad. Before…I used to love drawing and he used to tell me how proud he was of me. After…after they divorced, he called every once in a while, but after a few months, he just…stopped. When the calls stopped, I stopped drawing. I felt like that was a part of my life that was tied to him, so without him, there was no reason to keep drawing, especially when my mom has never been supportive and thinks it’s a waste of time. She told me I needed to stop living my life with my head in the clouds. She said the same thing about the camera my dad bought me for Christmas the year before they split. She always told me that being an artist in any capacity was nothing more than a waste of time because there’s no room for success in pipe dreams and pointless hobbies.” I expect to see pity in his eyes, the most common reaction I get from people when I talk about my parents, but all I see is understanding.

“You’re talented, Cade. Don’t let your mom’s lack of support or your dad’s absence stop you from doing what you love. Judging by the time and effort put into these, you definitely love drawing.” He sets the binder on the bed next to him and leans forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

“Why did your parents split?” His question catches me by surprise and I usually avoid talking about it, but something about Luc tells me he won’t judge me.

“My dad was having an affair and knocked up his side piece. When faced with the choice of which family he wanted to be a part of, you can see which one he chose.” He nods his head, still showing no signs of anything more than support and understanding.

“My dad doesn’t know that we figured it out, but my mom was having an affair. Their marriage was already pretty much over anyway, but I guess it was the final straw. My brothers and I figured it out when we went to surprise our mom and, well, we ended up being the ones who were surprised when we found her half naked with her best friend’s husband in the living room.” I cringe at the thought and feel minutely grateful for never actually catching my dad in the act.

“That’s messed up. I’m so sorry, Luc.” He shrugs and gives me a small smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes, a smile I’ve mastered over the years. It’s the kind of smile we use when we really don’t know how the hell to react to someone showing sympathy or concern for us.

“Not your fault. I should probably get heading home, but if you’re up for working on our assignment tomorrow night, I can come over. We can have a do-over on our study session, minus the obnoxious, self-centered bitch.” He stands up and offers me his hand to help me up off the floor, which I happily let him.

“Yeah, definitely. I’ll walk you out.” I lead the way downstairs and out the front door, following him as far as the sidewalk where his car is parked.

“Sorry things kind of went to shit tonight.” I know he really means ‘sorry your friend was such a bitch tonight’, but he’s a lot more polite than I am.

“I should be the one apologizing. You signed up for a night of working on an English Lit assignment, not a night of drama.” My breath catches in my throat when he pulls me into his arms and hugs me tightly, but unlike when most people touch me, it doesn’t feel awkward or uncomfortable.

“Don’t apologize for other people’s behavior, Cade. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He steps back and I catch him glancing over my shoulder, so I follow his gaze to see Colt and Tanya standing on his porch, both of them watching us with weird expressions, as if we’re the weird ones when they’re the ones watching us like creeps.

“Ignore them. Text me when you get home so I know you made it safe.” He reaches his hand out and gently brushes one of the loose strands of hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear and making my heart trip over itself for a brief moment.

“You got it.” I wait until he’s in the car before heading back inside, trying my best to ignore the audience I have from next door. With the door locked, I grab a snack then head up to my room to watch some Netflix and unwind from my day. I’m halfway into an episode of Stranger Things when I hear my text alert go off from my nightstand.

Luc: Home safe and sound. What are you doing?

Me: Binging Stranger Things and shamelessly snacking on Swedish Fish.

Luc: I see how you are. Save the good shit for after I leave!

Me: Sorry, not sorry. What are you doing?

Luc: Oh, you’re so cruel, Cade! I’m hiding in my room so I don’t have to watch whatever trash tv show my brothers are watching on the living room right now.

Me: It must be nice to have siblings to annoy you. Sometimes it gets too quiet around here.

Luc: If you ever get lonely, I’m only a phone call or text message away, Cade.

Me: At one point, Colt and Mac were too.

Luc: Don’t worry, doll, I’ll prove to you I’m not like them. You can’t get rid of me so easily, I won’t let you.

Me: Who says I want to get rid of you?

Luc: Glad you plan to keep me around. You should get some rest. Don’t want you falling asleep in first block.

Me: True, true. Goodnight, Luc.

Luc: Sleep sweet and sweet dreams, Cade.

I end our playful conversation with an unmovable smile on my face and settle in until I lose my fight with sleep.

Chapter 4

Cadence

My morning starts like every other one before it with my mom yelling for me to hurry up and me throwing on baggy jeans, a tee that says ‘People should really stop expecting normal from me because it’s never going to happen’ and my converse before hurrying out to my truck. Just as I’m about to climb in, a familiar, though rather unwelcome, voice startles me.

“So, who’s the new guy?” I turn and see Colt walking over with his hands in his pockets, acting like he hasn’t spent the last few months trying to completely erase himself from my life.

“Luc? He’s just that, the new guy and, from the way things are going right now, a new friend.” He narrows his eyes and I can feel him studying me, you know, like I’m some strange creature and not the girl he’s been friends with since we were kids.

“Seemed really friendly from what I saw last night.” I can’t help it, this jerk is really pissing me off. I step up, standing toe to toe with him which would probably seem more intimidating if it weren’t for the fact that I have to crane my neck to look him in the eye.

“I don’t see how it’s any concern of yours. You’re the one who ditched your friends for your girlfriend, so what I do or don’t do and who I choose to hang out with, it’s not your problem anymore…you made sure of that. You don’t see me complaining about you fucking your girlfriend with your window open so the whole neighborhood can hear it, so back the hell off, Colton.” I turn around and get in my truck then take off before I can say something I might regret later…though I doubt I’d regret it, honestly.

I pull up to the school and take my usual spot with Luc pulling in before I even get my door open. When he climbs out, he reveals two cups of coffee in his hands and a bright, heart melting smile on his face that drops a little when he looks at me. I guess I’m not so good at masking my emotions, though I’m not necessarily trying to.

“Thought you could use some caffeine since we were both up pretty late last night. Are you okay? You seem a little…tense?” He comes around to me and hands me one of the cups before taking a drink of his as he waits for my answer.

“Just an unexpected and unwanted run in with Colt this morning, nothing to worry about. You know, you’re kinda perfect. Thank you for the coffee, Luc.” My compliment succeeds at bringing his smile back, brighter than ever, and I swear his cheeks even flush a little.

“We still good to meet up at your place tonight?” I nod with the cup to my lips as I take a drink of the delicious, steaming coffee.

“Yeah, I’ll still make dinner for us too. I hope you like Italian because it’s kind of my go to for quick dinners.” The first bell rings so we both hurry to grab our backpacks before walking together to our English Lit class and Luc has a ridiculously adorable grin on his face the whole damn way. We take our seats and after Mr. Jensen goes over the reading material for today, he tells us to work on our group assignment until the end of class. Luc turns in his seat to face me with his usual beautiful smile in place.

“So, I didn’t want to scare you off, but my dad and brothers want to meet you. They’re rather insistent on it, actually.” I swear he looks and sounds a little nervous about the whole thing and it’s kind of endearing.

“Okay, when?” His wide eyes meet mine, seemingly surprised I agreed so easily.

“You don’t have to if it’ll make you uncomfortable…” I cut him off quickly, not liking the way he sounds so…uncertain.

“Hey, you’re the only one who seems uncomfortable about this. Are they crazy or something?” His sheepish grin is absolutely adorable, but I feel like there’s something to it all, a reason the idea of me meeting them makes him nervous.

“They’re a bit much at times…most of the time actually. Hell, if you survive your first meeting with them, you can survive damn near anything.” I return his smile with one of my own, but the nervousness he seems to feel over me meeting his family definitely isn’t something I share.

“I can’t wait to meet them, Luc. How about Friday?” I had been so caught up in my conversation with Luc that I hadn’t noticed Colt and Tanya walking up to us until his voice cuts into our conversation, instantly making my body tense and my jaw clench.

“Hey, Cade.” I look up at him, letting my irritation and lack of amusement shine through, one hundred percent unfiltered.

“Hi, Colt. You’ve spoken to me twice in twenty-four hours. Is it the end of days or did you just hit your head too hard in practice?” He at least has the decency to wince at my cold tone.

“We were actually wanting to invite the new guy here to the party on Friday.” Tanya hands Luc an orange piece of paper with an address on it, but Luc doesn’t even look at the paper in his hands before tossing it to the floor.

“I don’t do parties and I’ll be busy Friday night. I’m taking Cade to meet the family.” He looks at me and gives me a warm smile. It’s like he can sense the tension and is trying to shield me from it.

“Come on, Cade. You haven’t been to a party since last summer. You can come with him. It’ll be fun.” I catch the sharp glare Tanya sends Colt, but he seems oblivious to it.

“Yeah, I’ll pass. Like Luc said, we have plans. Don’t worry though, it’s not like you’ll miss me or anything…you haven’t yet.” Yeah, I know I’m being a bit of a bitch, but he has it coming after ditching me for a bitch he knows hates me and treats me like crap. Luckily for all of us, the bell rings and offers us an escape from this awkward encounter, an escape that Luc and I happily take.

We make it to lunch without any further issues, mainly because Colt and Tanya weren’t in any of our other classes. We head out to my truck and once again make ourselves comfortable on the tailgate while Luc tells me a little about his brothers and dad. I’m so focused on him that I don’t notice Macy walking over, but the way Luc’s body tenses is a dead giveaway.

“Hey, Cade. Can we talk?” I really want to tell her to kiss my ass, but after losing Colt, the idea of losing the last close friend I have here has me sliding off the tailgate.

“I’ll be right back, Luc.” He gives me a strained smile and nods before I turn and follow Macy to her car that’s parked five spaces down from mine. I fold my arms over my chest and stare at her expectantly, making sure it’s damn clear for her that I’m still pissed.

“Look, I’m really sorry for how I acted. I was a complete bitch to you and I’m sorry. It’s just…I really like Lucian and then you started flirting with him…as much as I hate to say it, I was jealous.” My mind is reeling, but I don’t know whether to focus on her admitting she was jealous or the fact that she accused me of flirting with him.

“Wow, okay…so much wrong with that. I’m not flirting with him. He’s being a supportive friend and I appreciate that, I respect that. As for your jealousy, that’s on you. You never said you liked him or were interested in him, so how the hell was I supposed to know? You flirt with every guy you meet, so how was I supposed to know it was somehow different with Luc?

“I’m going to sound like a bitch here, but you’re claiming you like him, yet you know nothing about him. That tells me you were willing to say bitchy and hateful things to me over a guy you only find physically attractive. I thought our friendship was worth more to you than a silly crush, but it looks like I was wrong. Keep your apology, I don’t want it.” I had wanted to hear her out, you know, give her the benefit of the doubt, but hearing her blame her behavior on the crush she supposedly has on him…the one she never said a word to me about…yeah, it pissed me off. I head back to my truck and as soon as Luc sees me, he slides off the tailgate and pulls me into a hug, one I didn’t realize I needed until it’s already happening.

“Hey, you good?” I nod while my head is pressed to his chest.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I think I’m going to ditch fifth and sixth. I need coffee and to clear my head before we meet up for the project.” I feel him rest his cheek against the top of my head as he releases a heavy breath.

“Would you want company?” I pull back and look up at him, noticing his serious expression.

“Sure, let’s get out of here.” We forgo our usual coffee shop and swing by a local coffee place with a drive-thru instead before I take us to my favorite quiet place, a place my father used to take me before my family imploded. As I steer my truck down the familiar dirt road and through the trees, we drive for a little over twenty minutes before reaching the clearing with a large stream flowing through it.

“This place is pretty amazing, Cade.” I look over to see Luc scanning the area with a smile on his face.

“My dad used to bring me out here when I was having a bad day, or when things were just getting to be too much. Even after he left…this just kind of became my place. I came out here a lot after he left, almost every day.” I grab my coffee and slide out of the truck, making my way to the front and using the bumper as a seat. It takes only a minute for Luc to join me and we spend several minutes in companionable silence until he finally speaks.

“What did she say to you that upset you so much?” I take a deep breath and shake my head as if it might make everything fade away, or maybe shake it all up until it somehow forces the pieces into place so it all’ll make sense, but, news flash, that crap doesn’t work.

“Well, she apologized…then confessed to having a crush on you. She said all that shit to me because she was pissed at me for ‘flirting’ with you when I’m apparently supposed to have some sixth sense that tells me when she actually likes someone as opposed to her usual shameless flirty shit.” I let out a heavy sigh of irritation then take an angry drink of my coffee.

“Wait, you’ve been flirting with me?” I look up, expecting him to look amused, but all I see is genuine confusion.

“According to Macy, I have.” I know I sound more irritated than I should, but luckily he seems unbothered by my tone.

“Not saying I’d be at all bothered if you had been flirting with me, but if what you’ve been doing is flirting, we really need to up your game.” He gives me a playful smirk and I can’t even stop the laugh that bubbles out of me.

“For your information, my game is just fine. I haven’t been flirting, or if I have, I hadn’t done so intentionally.” He places a hand over his chest in mock offense.

“Ouch! You wound me! Here I thought we had something special!” He flashes me a smile, ensuring I know he’s playing.

“Awe, you are special, Luc. I don’t bring just anybody out here.” While my tone is playful, the statement is one hundred percent true.

“What about Macy and that guy…Colt?” I shake my head and feel myself struggling to maintain my smile.

“No, not even them. It’s…It’s not that I don’t trust them or anything like that, but this place…this is my safe haven. I guess…it just never felt right to bring them here.” I can’t understand the reasoning myself, but it’s just how I feel.

Chapter 5

Cadence

“So, why me?” I lean back against the grill and let my head rest against the hood as I stare up at the bright blue, cloudless sky.

“I don’t know. I just feel…like you get me? I know you barely know me, but it just…” He grabs my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze.

“Feels like we know each other better than anyone else?” I nod in agreement and roll my head to the side, offering a weak smile.

“Yeah, like that. Maybe it’s crazy, but that’s exactly how it feels. I don’t get close to people and I always have my guard up, but I don’t feel like I need to have my guard up with you. It’s nice though. Keeping my guard up and always waiting for the other shoe to drop…it’s exhausting.” He gives my hand another squeeze as his eyes lock with mine.

“I’m glad you don’t feel the need to hold back around me, Cade. If it’s any consolation, I feel the same way around you. I mean, I wouldn’t be introducing you to my family if I didn’t.” He nudges me with his shoulder and has a sly smile on his face, likely because I’m smiling like an idiot. Yeah, he’s just that good.

“Was I really that blind? How didn’t I know how Macy felt? Fuck, I’m a terrible friend, aren’t I?” I didn’t realize I felt this way until the words already left my mouth, but it makes sense. I felt the same way when Colt first started pulling away, but with him, the guilt turned to anger and it was all because Macy made me see that he was the one abandoning us and not even because of anything either of us did.

“Absolutely not. I didn’t even take her flirting seriously. Maybe if I didn’t see her flirting with every guy in a ten mile radius, I might’ve taken it more seriously, but I thought that was just her personality. I get that she feels some kind of attraction or whatever, but she doesn’t know me well enough to even think about trying to stake some kind of claim on me. I’m not property…I don’t belong to anyone, Cade. If she feels otherwise, then that’s on her, no one else.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. At the very least, she should’ve made her feelings clear to you. Honestly, you don’t seem the type who would step on her friend’s toes, but no matter what, the end result for her wouldn’t have made her happy. It’s like I told you before, she’s not my type.” While I still struggle with believing Macy isn’t every guy’s type, at least where physical attraction is concerned, Luc seems pretty certain that he’s not interested and I’d be a fool to argue the point.

“Okay, why don’t we head back to get your car so you can pick your brother up. While you handle that, I’ll head back to my place and get started on dinner.” I push off my truck and he follows suit, both of us getting settled into our seats quickly. We reach the parking lot just after the final bell rang and people are filing out to their cars. I catch Colt’s glare, but brush it off as I pull into my spot.

“I should be there in no more than an hour. Need me to pick up anything to go with dinner?” I think it over then shake my head.

“No, I’ve got everything covered. See you soon.” He climbs out and gives me one of his signature smiles before closing the door and walking around the front of my truck to get to his car. Once he’s safely inside, I pull out and head myself back home.

The evening was an overall success with us finishing our project and he seemed to really enjoy the simple pasta carbonara dish I made for dinner. He left to go home around nine and he even remembered to message me to let me know he made it home safe, even though I forgot to ask him to. After texting for a few minutes, I end up falling asleep with my phone in my hand and a damn smile on my face.

The last few days flew by with my spending a lot of time with Luc both in and out of school. He’s been over everyday after school to just hang out since we already turned in our assignment for English Lit. Today is Friday, the day I’ll be meeting Luc’s family and for some reason he seems more than a little nervous about it, but I can tell he’s trying to hide it.

We finish our classes for the day and meet back at the parking lot where I follow him to the north side of town, a place where the people considered to be lower class live while I live on the west side where the middle class people seem to be located. We pull up to a two-story house that actually doesn’t look as bad as a lot of the houses on the street and I immediately notice that the yard is definitely the nicest one around. I park behind his car and hop out to meet him as he climbs out.

“So, I know I’ve warned you a little, but I probably should’ve been really clear about my brothers. They’re…a lot to handle.” I had thought I’d be meeting his younger brother when he picked him up from school, but he informed me during lunch that his older brother would be picking him up today, so instead of breaking up the introductions, it seems I’ll be meeting them all at once.

“Luc, take a deep breath. I’m sure they’re great and I’ll be just fine.” So far, all I know about his brothers is that there are three of them, two older and one younger. My words seem to have done nothing to ease his nervousness, but he still leads the way inside. The interior of the house is much like the outside, lived in, but clean, something easily observed as we walk into the living room where we find three incredibly tall men, all with the same dark hair as Lucian and their eyes are glued to the tv while two of them play some weird third person shooter game.

“Guys, this is Cade. Cade, this is my brother, Jonah, he’s the oldest. This one here is Alex, the second oldest. That pipsqueak over there is Dominic, but he prefers Dom and he’s the youngest. My dad won’t be home for about an hour, so I’ll introduce you two when he gets here.” All three men turn to look at me and I have to smile when I see their wide-eyed expressions.

“Wow, I totally thought you were making shit up when you said you had a beautiful lady friend!” Dom practically shouts and he receives an annoyed eye roll from Luc in response and I don’t miss the slight flushing of Luc’s cheeks.

“Hey, Cade. It’s nice to meet you. Ignore dipshit there. He’s not the brightest and we’re pretty sure he was dropped as a baby. The filter between his brain and his mouth is broken.” Jonah states dryly, but he rises from his seat to shake my hand.

“Yeah, Dom’s a bit of a dork, but you get used to him…or learn to ignore him.” Alex offers with a shrug of his shoulders.

“It’s nice to meet you all.” Alex and Jonah offer me warm smiles, but Dom is already refocused on the tv.

“You want to play a few rounds, Cade?” Alex offers me the controller in his hand, but I shake my head and chuckle softly.

“Oh no, I’m shit at playing video games. I can play a piano and a guitar, but video games are a little out of my element.” Alex chuckles, but Jonah gives me a look of surprised amusement.

“You play guitar?” I nod and notice even Luc seems surprised by my confession.

“I do. My dad taught me when I was little and then my mom taught me to play the piano because she was convinced it was more socially acceptable than the guitar. Imagine their surprise when their daughter still turned out to be socially awkward and, in general, socially unacceptable.” Dom tosses his controller on the couch and turns to face me with a furrowed brow.

“Screw being accepted by society. Being a freak and not worrying about other people’s expectations is way more fun anyway.” I join the others in nodding my agreement to Dom’s statement.

“Damn, I like her, Luc. A girl who isn’t afraid to speak her mind.” Alex smiles and Jonah nods his agreement.

“We see why you like her, bro.” Jonah chimes in and I notice the already present pink tinge on Luc’s cheeks darkening slightly.

“Hey, do you have a charger I could plug my phone into?” I stare up at Luc who gives me a soft smile.

“Yeah, follow me.” He leads the way upstairs and into a room that he clearly shares with one of his brothers. I follow him to the bed under the window and he holds out his hand to me.

“Let me see it and I’ll plug it in for you.” I give him a sheepish smile as I pull my phone out and hand it to him, but he furrows his brow when he plugs it in and sees it’s at eighty seven percent.

“Sorry, it looked like they were getting to you, so I thought I’d help you get away from the relentless torment from the dipshit trio.” He plops down on his bed and laughs softly as he shakes his head.

“You’re pretty awesome, you know that?” I give him a casual shrug then flop down beside him, staring up at the white ceiling.

“I imagine living with that all the time would probably get irritating. If I can give you a break, even if only a brief one, I’m glad to help.” He drops back beside me, his body angled so our heads are almost touching as we both are now staring at the extremely uninteresting white ceiling.

“They’re just shocked because I never bring anyone home. Ever since I told them I met someone here, they’ve been driving me crazy about meeting you.” His confession surprises me, but with how much they move, maybe it shouldn’t.

“So, I’m the first friend you brought home to meet the family or the first girl?” He rolls his head to the side and watches me closely as he answers.

“Both.” His confession hangs heavy in the air between us. The idea of him never bringing a friend home to meet his family is so…strange…yet my heart does that whole ‘tripping over itself’ thing a the thought of being the first person he’s shared this part of his life with.

“I would imagine you’ve had friends in the past. It would be hard not to with your personality.” There’s a brief pause, as if he was expecting a question to follow.

“Yeah, I’ve had a few friends.” He chuckles softly as he delivers his answer.

“So…why me? If none of the other friends you’ve had got to meet your family, why did you want me to?” I’m not bothered by meeting his family, not even slightly, but I’m curious to know why I was deemed special enough to tread where no others have.

“Because I know they would never have handled meeting my family the way I knew you would. You aren’t easily shaken and you give as good as you get.” Maybe I should want more of an explanation, but I actually feel flattered by his assessment of me.

“Luc! Can you come here for a minute?” Luc gives me an apologetic look as we both sit up on his bed. He unplugs my phone and hands it to me as I get up and silently follow him downstairs. Right as we reach the bottom of the stairs, my phone rings and I cringe when I see my mom’s name on the screen. She rarely calls me, but when she does, it usually results in me being pissed off. I see Alex walk up and whisper something to Luc that has him frowning as he glances back at me.

“Hey, I’m going to step outside for a second and take this.” I hold up my phone as if he might not have figured out what I meant otherwise. I don’t wait for a response as I walk out the front door and walk over to lean against my truck as I answer the call when the phone begins ringing again.

Chapter 6

Cadence

“Hey, mom. Sorry I didn’t answer the first time.”

“Why didn’t you answer?”

“I’m at my friend Luc’s house and I needed to get somewhere quiet.”

“Oh…well, I wanted to call and let you know I got a call from your father today.”

“Well, how nice of him to remember he has another family he effectively forgot about the minute he walked out on us. I assume you not so politely told him to fuck off?”

“Language, young lady!”

“You and I both know I’m not a lady, mom. Besides, I got my foul mouth from you.”

“Damn it, Cadence! Just listen!”

“Okay, okay. What did the rat bastard, sperm donor, piece of shit have to say?”

“Seriously, Cade?”

“It’s nothing you haven’t said yourself, so yes, seriously, mom.”

“He wants to come see you. He said he could stop in town next week and meet you after school or on the weekend at Mel’s Diner.”

“How presumptuous. Did he ever stop to think that I might not want to see him? Does he really think that a burger and fries will erase the hell he’s put us both through?”

“I told him you’d be there.”

“What? Why would you do that?!”

“Because you deserve to have a chance to build a relationship with him, Cade. You shouldn’t let the issues between me and your dad stop you from having him in your life.”

“Mom, you need to get your head checked. Did you forget that he left not only you, but he left me too. He ditched both of us for his mistress and their bastard child. You really need to stop calling him my dad too. He lost the right to that title the minute he decided to leave. As much as you think this is all about you, it’s not. He left both of us, not just you.”

“Please, just think about it.”

“Fine, I’ll think about it and then I’ll have you text him and let him know I’m not going later.”

“Why don’t you text him then? If you’re so sure you won’t do this, then you tell him.”

“I blocked and deleted his number a week after he missed our second call.”

“Take a couple days and think about it, really think about it. If you still feel this way by Sunday evening, we’ll call and tell him not to come.”

“Fine. Anything else I should know about before I go?”

“Yeah, I’m working a double. Two of the nurses called in, so we’re short staffed.”

“Figures. I guess I’ll see you when I see you then. Love you.”

“I love you too.” Just as I end the call, an old white pickup truck pulls in and an older man who looks like the four boys inside, only an older version, climbs out and gives me the warmest smile.

“You must be Luc’s friend! I’m his dad, Marcus.” He walks right over to me and shakes my hand, his smile never faltering.

“Yeah, I was just taking a phone call, but the boys are all inside. My name’s Cade.” He laughs loudly and nods.

“So, you met the little heathens then.” I quirk my brow at him and shake my head.

“Little? No. Heathens? Seems likely.” His face lights up with amusement as the front door opens.

“I have a feeling I’m going to like you, Cade.” I see Luc walking out and his brothers are close behind him, though they stop at the top step of the porch while Luc doesn’t stop till he reaches my side.

“Dad, this is Cade. Cade this…” I cut him off with a soft laugh and amused smile.

“I know, Marcus. He introduced himself.” Luc’s cheeks flush and I can’t help finding this shy side of him interesting since he seems anything but shy at school.

“Come on in and let me get to know you better. It’s almost unheard of for Luc to bring friends around.” I smile at Marcus and nod, letting him lead the way inside with Luc following behind me as I walk through the door.

“Dad! Luc’s new friend is not only hot, but she’s feisty!” My head automatically shakes in response to Alex’s comment and the ever-present blush on Luc’s cheeks makes it clear this is pretty much what he was trying to prepare me for, but I honestly find their family dynamic fascinating.

“You good over there?” I tilt my head as I study Luc and while he gives me a smile, it’s noticeably strained.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Marcus settles in a chair at the worn wooden dining table and waves us over, so we both walk over and take a seat in two of the chairs to his left.

“So, Cade, tell me about yourself.” It’s a vague question that leaves an opening for a wide variety of answers, but I decide to start with the basics.

“Well, I’ve lived here my whole life. My parents are divorced and I have absolutely no relationship with my dad, though the phone call with my mother when you arrived suggests he may have suddenly decided he wants to change that. I’m socially awkward and aside from Luc, I only have one other friend…well…I don’t know if I can really call her a friend right now, but that’s a whole other story.” He takes a moment, seemingly digesting the information.

“How did you and Luc meet?” It’s a simple question, yet I notice Luc shifting in the chair beside me and his leg is shaking a little.

“Honestly…it was kind of random. He parked next to me at school then showed up at the coffee shop and asked for recommendations. It turns out he shares several classes with me and we both just kind of…hit it off, I guess.” Without thinking, I place my hand on Luc’s thigh, effectively stopping his leg from bouncing and causing Marcus to toss an amused smile our way.

“Well, I’m certainly glad Luc seems to have found himself a good friend. Is there a boyfriend we should be worried about getting jealous over the time you’re spending with my boy?” I find the question amusing as hell, but Luc groans in frustration and speaks before I can even consider answering.

“Dad! That’s none of our business!” I glance over at Luc whose face is fully flushed now.

“It’s fine, really and no. No boyfriend. I broke up with my ex at the end of my junior year and have pretty much kept to myself since. High school boys, well, most high school boys, are pretty dumb.” Marcus smiles and Luc’s muscles in his thigh tense under my hand.

“Damn, Luc! Maybe Cade can help you get rid of that V card!” With Dom’s playful taunt, Luc’s embarrassment officially makes sense.

“I’m going to get some air.” Luc barely mumbles the statement before getting up and practically sprinting out the door in the kitchen that I assume leads to a back yard.

“Damn it, Dom! I told you to stop being a dick to your brother! Cade, please excuse him. He’s a bit of a prick sometimes.” I nod in agreement and fire a sharp glare in Dom’s direction that has him sinking further into the couch.

“Please excuse me. I’m going to check on Luc.” He nods and waves me off while glaring at Dom. I hurry out the door Luc exited through and easily find him sitting on the wooden deck that looks like it could stand to be stained or painted. He glances over his shoulder then turns his head back toward the yard, but not before I catch the deep flush that’s taken over his cheeks. I’m not sure if it’s from anger or embarrassment, but I don’t want him to feel either.

“Sorry about them. This is another reason I’ve never wanted to bring anyone home to meet them.” I walk over and take a seat on the step beside him.

“You can’t let them get to you, Luc. So, you’re a virgin. Does that embarrass you?” The look on his face is unreadable, but I can tell he doesn’t really want to answer me.

“No, but having them act like it’s something I should be ashamed of or something I should just throw away the first chance I get pisses me off.” I get it, I really, really do.

“Want to know a little secret?” He takes a deep breath then turns to face me, giving me his undivided attention.

“I’m a virgin too. It’s part of the reason my ex was screwing around. I wouldn’t sleep with him, so he met his needs elsewhere.” He clearly wasn’t expecting my confession and his face more than shows it.

“At least you don’t have siblings throwing it in your face constantly.” I don’t know why it bothers me that his brothers make him feel like it’s something to be ashamed of, but it really does.

“Screw them. I think it’s pretty cool that you aren’t jumping into bed with every girl who looks your way.” I nudge him with my shoulder and he rewards me with a gorgeous smile.

“I think it’s cool you aren’t screwing every guy who looks your way too.” I can’t help but laugh as I try to understand what the hell he seems to see when we’re together. I’m invisible and I’ve never been the kind of girl to draw the attention of others.

“First off, I’m not like Macy and second, guys don’t look at me in any way that expresses interest. I’m not complaining, but it just doesn’t happen.” He rolls his eyes as if that’s the most absurd thing he’s ever heard.

“You must be walking around with your eyes closed, Cade. You’re a beautiful woman and trust me when I say, guys notice you.”I don’t want to argue with him, not about this, so I do what I do best…I change the subject.

“Sure. Anyway, can we go for a drive?” His face lights up and he’s on his feet in the blink of an eye.

“Definitely!” After telling Marcus our plan, we hop in my truck and head out to my thinking spot, arriving just in time to watch the sun set over the trees. I pull the blanket out of the back seat and lay it over the hood then climb up with Luc joining me.

“So…you survived meeting the family.” His tone is playful, but I know he’s still embarrassed by the way his brothers were joking around.

“It wasn’t as bad as you made me think it would be. I noticed the serious look on your face when Alex called you down. Everything okay?” I wasn’t going to ask and I know I probably shouldn’t, but my curiosity is such a beastly thing.

“Yeah, just Jonah and Alex getting themselves in trouble again, but nothing to worry about. What about your call? You seemed a little tense when I came out.” His answer may have been vague, but it was an answer, so I open up…though it’s still a sensitive topic.

“Yeah, just my mom letting me know the sperm donor reached out. It’s so out of the blue, but she said he wants to meet up with me so we can talk…I just don’t have anything I want to say to him.” Silence settles between us as we watch the last light of day fade out to make way for the stars to shine in the night sky. I feel the warmth of his hand wrap around mine and as much as the intimate action would usually make me uncomfortable, it’s actually a pleasant feeling.

“Are you going to meet up with him and see what he wants?” He doesn’t sound like he’s trying to pressure me like my mom, but he just sounds curious.

“I don’t want to, but I don’t know. I suck when it comes to being curious which means I’ll probably end up going and, knowing my dad, I’ll end up disappointed like I always do. It seems like most of the people in my life set out to disappoint me in the end, but so far, he’s the worst.” He squeezes my hand and we both roll our heads toward each other at the same time.

“What if I go with you? Worst case, if he does disappoint you, we can get shakes and fries then come out here so you can vent. Best case, maybe you’ll get some answers to why he dipped out.” Ugh, why does he have to make it almost seem like a good idea?

“I don’t know…maybe…or we can skip meeting with the prick and go for the shakes, fries and a vent session instead.” His hand squeezes mine and he gives me an amused smile.

“Whatever you want to do, I support it. You don’t owe him a damn thing, Cade. If you want to hear him out, I’ve got your back. If you want to tell him to go fuck himself, I’m here for that too. No matter what, I’ve got you.” He punctuates his statement with another squeeze and that damn beautiful smile.

“Thanks, Luc…for everything.” Rather than offer a response, he scoots closer then releases my hand and pulls me over until his arm is under my neck while I’m tucked up against him.

Chapter 7

Cadence

I’ve never felt comfortable with cuddling before, but as I lay here with Luc, it feels perfect. We lay here until the last traces of the sun have faded and the stars are on full display then finally decide to call it a night when the cool night air starts to be a little too much for us. On the drive back to Luc’s place, he holds my hand the whole way and I can’t shake how natural it all feels.

Waking up to the vibrations of my phone on my nightstand, I nearly fall out of bed in my hurry to see who the hell is messaging me so early. I don’t bother hiding my eye roll when I see it’s a message from my mom letting me know she was called in for a twelve hour shift…again. I get up and force myself into the bathroom to take a quick shower then throw on a pair of leggings and a sports bra before heading down to start a pot of coffee. Just as I start pouring my cup, another text comes through and while I’m reluctant to look, I can’t help smiling when I see Luc’s name pop up.

Luc: What are you up to today?

Me: Just about to have my first cup of coffee. How about you?

Luc: I was hoping you might want to go get breakfast.

Me: I think I could be persuaded, but only if you don’t mind me going out looking like a troll.

Luc: I’m sure that you’ll look fine. I’ll come get you in twenty.

Me: See you soon!

I down my coffee as fast as I can then run upstairs to throw on a t-shirt and throw my hair in a messy bun. Just as I’m putting my shoes on, I hear the knock on my front door, so I quickly grab my phone, wallet and keys then rush to answer it. I had figured he would show up in his usual jeans and t-shirt, but instead he’s standing there in a pair of grey sweatpants and a back tank top that looks way too good for how casual it is.

“See? You look perfect. You ready to go?” His smile, that damn smile, it’s making my heart do some crazy acrobatic shit, but one thing’s for sure…I definitely don’t hate it.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” He grabs my hand like it’s completely natural and, if I’m being honest, it kind of feels like it is. He continues to hold my hand while I close the door then leads me down the steps and to his car where he opens the door for me. I don’t miss the sharp glare from Colt as he sits on his front porch with Tanya, but I make sure my focus stays on the man holding the door. I give him an amused smile as I slide into the passenger seat then watch as he closes the door and practically jogs to the driver’s side then slides in behind the wheel.

“I was thinking we could go to the diner. Sound okay to you?” He shifts the car into gear, but keeps his foot on the brake as he waits for my answer, so I reach over and take his hand, offering him a genuine smile as I look at his stunning green eyes.

“Sounds perfect.” The smile he gives me is enough to make my breath catch in my throat while the firm squeeze he gives my hand makes my stomach do summersaults and my heart is now racing. He pulls away from the curb and heads down the road, driving us to the diner a few blocks away from the school. He parks in front of the diner and we both climb out of his car, but as soon as we’ve both made it to the front, he takes my hand again as he leads the way inside.

“Go ahead and sit anywhere. I’ll bring you menus in just a minute!” The older waitress flashes us a smile as she delivers her instructions before returning to her task behind the counter. Luc leads me to a table near the back and surprises me when he pulls a chair out for me. As soon as I sit down, he takes the chair next to mine then wastes no time grabbing my hand again. The waitress is quick to bring us menus and take our drink order, but it’s once she leaves that I notice the strange tension, Luc looks almost nervous, but I don’t like it. I don’t want him to feel nervous, not around me.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I watch as he takes a deep breath, but as soon as he opens his mouth to speak, the damn waitress shows up to take our order. I almost expect him to try to ignore the question I asked before we were interrupted, but he surprises me by responding as soon as she leaves.

“I know this is pretty crazy, but…would you want to go out with me…as in on a date?” Oh…my…god? He’s asking me out?!

“You want to take me out…on a date?” He gives me a nervous smile and squeezes my hand as he nods his head.

“Yeah, I really do.” Until this very moment, the thought of dating was something that made me feel uneasy, but with Luc, I feel safe…I feel happy.

“You know what…yeah. I would love to go on a date with you, Luc.” And if I would’ve had a single doubt in my mind, his smile would’ve wiped it away instantly.

“How about Thursday since there’s no school Friday?” I kind of like that he’s so excited that his eyes are lit up by that beautiful smile of his.

“I can do Thursday. Should I dress up, or…?” I’m glad he doesn’t let me finish, but not as glad as I am to hear his immediate answer.

“No, dress like you, Cade. Maybe bring a sweater though.” The fact that he not only wants to take me on a date, but that it’s a date where I can dress comfortably and, judging by the fact that he’s warning me to bring a sweater, we’ll be outside, I love it already.

“Sounds good.” Once Luc’s question was out in the open, the rest of our breakfast went smoothly and we spent the whole time at the diner after that talking about memories from when we were younger, his many adventures in the many towns and cities he’s lived in and we even touched on things with Colt. I was surprised that he was completely unbothered by me admitting that I had a crush on Colt, though he found it equally mindboggling that I helped him get together with his current bitch of a girlfriend when I liked him.

I did make it perfectly clear that there are no lingering feelings there and I meant it. After we finished, he drove me home and even walked me to the front door, with his fingers laced with mine, where he gave me the sweetest kiss on the cheek before taking off. Sleep didn’t come easy with the excitement and curiosity of what Luc has planned plaguing my mind, but I still end up falling asleep with a ridiculous smile on my damn face.

The entire week flew by in the blink of an eye. Macy made no further attempts to talk to me and, while I hate to admit it, I honestly wasn’t bothered by her absence. I suppose I can thank Lucian for that since he’s been there every single morning to greet me, walked me to my car everyday after school and has spent every night texting me or calling to talk to me. He may have meant it playfully, I’m not sure, but he’s definitely proving each and every day that he’s nothing like Colt and Macy.

With our date taking place tonight, I’ve decided to put in a little more effort than usual, though only a little. I put on eyeliner and mascara to make my grey eyes stand out more, pull my hair into a braid and settle on a pair of black skinny jeans with a black Tool crop top band tee and my favorite black converse then throw on my black Suicidal Tendencies hoodie.

So, maybe I’m not dressed up, but I feel like I look nicer than I usually do. I make sure I have my phone, wallet and keys then head to the front porch to wait for Luc, but I don’t miss the fact that Colt is sitting on his front porch with Drew and Gabe, two of the other guys that are on the football team. I see Luc’s car turn onto our street and can’t even fight my smile as I make my way down the stairs, reaching the bottom just as he parks then gets out of the car and gives me his gorgeous smile.

“You look amazing, Cade.” Okay, so he might need his eyes checked, but the unexpected compliment makes my heart do that weird acrobatic shit anyway.

“You look pretty damn good yourself.” He meets me halfway on the sidewalk and pulls me into a hug then kisses the top of my head. It might be an innocent show of affection, but it makes my ridiculous heart skip a beat only for it to start racing again when he laces his fingers with mine and leads me to his car.

“I’m glad you brought a sweater, but I packed a few blankets just in case.” He opens the passenger door for me then hurries to his door once I’m seated and my door is closed.

“Just so you know, if you’re going to take me to some secluded location to off me, I’d like to at least eat first.” He bursts out laughing as he grabs my hand and lifts it to his lips, gently kissing my knuckles.

“I would never hurt you, Cade. Now, I have a very important question. Do you trust me?” Wow, I guess that is a pretty important question, but the answer is surprisingly simple.

“Yeah, I trust you, Luc.” He smirks as he reaches his free hand into his pocket and pulls out a…bandana?

“Okay, then let me put this on you.” I should probably feel more hesitant about being blindfolded by the guy, but I honestly don’t. If anything, I feel excited. I lean forward and close my eyes, letting him release my hand as he carefully wraps the bandana around my head and ties it then adjusts it to ensure my vision is completely blocked.

“Alright, just sit back and enjoy the ride.” I feel him shift the car into drive then his hand is wrapping around mine as he laces our fingers together. I feel the car begin to move and my excitement only grows with every passing minute until I finally feel the car slowing as he turns onto what’s clearly a dirt road. We drive for several minutes before the car finally stops. I hear the sound of his door opening as he releases my hand then the sound of rustling fabric before his door closes. After a few minutes, my door finally opens and his hands grab mine, pulling me to my feet as the cold night air chills my face and the exposed strip of flesh on my stomach, but I smile through it out of anticipation for what he has planned for us.

“Okay, I’m going to take the blindfold off now.” I feel his hands working at the knot until the material suddenly falls away. I blink a few times to help my eyes adjust and am stunned when I see a white canopy with fairy lights strung up inside it and mesh netting covering all four sides. He takes my hand and leads me forward, guiding me inside then closing the netting of the door. There’s a large blanket laid out with a small cooler on one corner and a stereo on the other corner that’s already playing music softly in the background.

“This…shit…this is amazing, Luc. It’s so beautiful.” His hand squeezes mine and I turn to find him already looking at me with a beautiful smile on his handsome face.

“I wasn’t really sure what to get for dinner, so I went with sub sandwiches and I also packed soda, water and some strawberries.” He looks so damn nervous and it’s the most endearing thing ever.

“It’s perfect, Luc. It really is. Thank you.” We both sit down on the blanket and he hands me one of the sandwiches and a bottle of Pepsi then grabs his own. We eat in a comfortable silence and by the time we’re finishing up, he seems more relaxed, more like the confident Luc I’ve come to know.

Chapter 8

Cadence

“Can I tell you something without you freaking out?” I take a drink of my soda then set it down, ensuring I give him my undivided attention.

“As long as you’re not telling me that you brought me out here to kill me, I can promise I won’t freak out.” He gives me a strained smile as he scoots a little closer and grabs my hands, almost like he needs the connection to ground himself.

“I need you to promise me you won’t tell anyone.” His serious tone has my smile dropping, but once again, it’s an easy answer.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone, Luc. You can trust me.” That earns me a genuine smile and a gentle squeeze to both hands.

“Remember when I told you that Alex and Jonah had gotten themselves in trouble?” I nod, remembering the discussion at the clearing quite well since it had left me rather curious.

“I remember.” He takes a deep breath, squeezes my hand and then delivers a truth I could never have expected.

“Alex and Jonah work for a guy named Grady…they transport things for him…illegal things. The call that had them all tense when you were there…they had troubles with a delivery…they worked everything out, but the reason I’m telling you is because if something were to happen, we all run the risk of going down with them. I don’t want to drag you into something and risk you getting caught up in the mess when you didn’t even know what’s going on. If you want to keep your distance, I get it, but you deserve to know. I respect you too much to let you get tangled up in this whole thing when you didn’t even know what the hell you were being dragged into.” He’s watching me closely, likely trying to gauge my reaction, but I’m still processing it all. This shit should terrify me. I should want to run the other way and yet, I don’t.

“Okay. Do you deliver stuff for this guy?” I can tell my casual, calm tone is confusing him, but I just can’t bring myself to panic over this. Hell, part of me knows I should, but the panic and worry just aren’t coming.

“No, Cade. Me and Dom aren’t involved in it, but if they go down, we’ll more than likely go down with them. Guilt by association and all.” I nod my head, letting it all sink in.

“Is this something you plan on getting involved in?” He doesn’t even hesitate to shake his head as he scoots even closer and his hold on my hands tightens.

“No, I don’t want anything to do with that crap. I promise I don’t, Cade.” I offer him a reassuring smile and slip one of my hands out of his then place it on his cheek, hoping I can convince him that I’m speaking the truth.

“Okay, then we’re good.” With a heavy exhale, he leans into my touch and smiles softly, finally looking completely relaxed and more like himself.

“You’re too damn amazing, Cade.” There’s a new kind of tension in the air between us, the kind that comes with both excitement and anticipation. I watch him lean in, but I’m pretty sure I’m leaning too…and then…our lips meet. This kiss, it’s everything. It’s soft, gentle, but passionate. When he pulls away, it’s too soon, but we’re both breathing heavily as his green eyes lock with my grey ones and the sweetest smile lights up his face.

“That was so much better than I thought it would be.” A soft laugh bubbles right out of me from his breathy declaration.

“So, you thought about kissing me, huh?” My tone is playful, but inside, I’m both shocked and excited by the thought of him thinking about me like that.

“Since the first time I saw you. The way you were looking at me and then when I caught you, you just shrugged it off like it was nothing…I was hooked instantly. You’re confident, honest and so damn amazing, Cade.” I slide down on the blanket, laying down beside him with him quickly shifting so he’s laying on his side beside me. He wraps his arms around me and I happily turn onto my side and press myself tightly against his chest.

“You were definitely a surprise, Luc, something I never saw coming…but I’m so damn glad you did.” He kisses my forehead then continues to hold me as we simply exist together in the dark field under a canopy of fairy lights. I don’t know how long we lay there together, but the cool air is finally chilling us enough to have us packing up then we climb into his car and make the drive home…without the blindfold this time. We pull up in front of my house just before eleven and, unsurprisingly, my mom’s still not home.

“You want to come up and watch a movie?” I know I shouldn’t ask, but part of me really isn’t ready for this night to end and the smile on his face tells me he feels the same. Instead of answering, he gets out of the car and walks around to my side, offering me his hand to help me out. As soon as the door closes, he presses me against the car, both of his hands cradling my neck as he presses his lips to mine. My arms slide around his waist as I welcome him to deepen our kiss, both of us easing into it, not rushing and it feels…perfect. When he breaks our kiss, he rests his forehead against mine and lets out a soft, contented sigh as a beautiful smile lights up his face.

“Come on, let’s go curl up and watch a movie, doll.” I can’t help smiling as he uses the pet name he had used the day we met, before he learned my name. He takes my hand in his and we walk to the front door then he follows me upstairs to my room. For the first time in too damn long, I crack open my window to help circulate the air in my room. After kicking off my shoes, I climb into my bed and watch as he toes off his boots then climbs in beside me. I would’ve thought we would be nervous, but as he wraps an arm around me, pulling me into his side, it feels so…natural.

“What kind of movies do you like?” He presses his lips to my forehead and I can feel him smiling against my skin.

“I’m not picky. I’ll let you in on a little secret…I came up here just to spend more time with you. You can turn on anything you want and I’ll be happy just because I’m watching it with you.” Okay…he’s good. I quickly go to my watchlist and throw on The Conjuring then snuggle in, enjoying the feeling of his arms around me as my head rests on his chest. I don’t know exactly when it happens, but we both manage to fall asleep.

Waking up to a warm body wrapped around me was…unexpected…but not unwelcome. The steady beat of his heart beneath my head and his soft breaths are actually comforting and have me laying there far longer than I normally would after waking up. Just when I’ve finally decided to get up and start my morning, I feel his arms tighten around me and his lips press a soft kiss to my forehead that has my heart doing the crazy acrobatic shit again, but I really don’t mind it.

“Good morning, Cade.” I tilt my head up to look at him and those green eyes melt me and have me smiling like a fool.

“Good morning. You’re dad won’t be mad that you stayed the night here, will he?” He shakes his head and gives me his killer smile.

“No, he won’t. I sent him a text after you fell asleep last night, so he knows where I am.” I reluctantly force myself up, needing to relieve myself and brush my teeth before I assault the poor man with my morning breath.

“I need to brush my teeth and then I’ll start some coffee. I’ll leave an extra toothbrush on the counter for you if you want.” He nods then, because he isn’t already gorgeous enough, stretches his arms over his head which has his shirt riding up and flashing me the tanned, toned stomach it had been hiding away. I grab a pair of leggings and a t-shirt then head to the bathroom to handle my business and make myself look less like a troll. After I feel more presentable, I place a brand new toothbrush on the counter then step out of the bathroom to find Luc sitting on the edge of my bed with his hair falling out of the hair tie and several strands are hanging over his forehead.

“It’s all yours. Toothbrush is on the counter and if there’s anything else you need, feel free to help yourself.” As I walk by him toward the door, he wraps an arm around my waist then leans in and places a soft kiss to my forehead before letting his arm slowly fall away.

“I’ll be down in a few minutes.” I stretch up and kiss his cheek then make my way out of the room and down the stairs, heading straight to the kitchen to start on our coffee while he handles his business. By the time he makes it down, I have a cup poured for both of us and we decide to go sit on the porch swing out front so we can get some fresh air…which I should’ve known would mean we’d end up with a damn audience since Colt seems to have nothing better to do than piss me off.

“I don’t mean to pry and you don’t have to answer, but…I noticed your mom isn’t really ever home…” I’m actually surprised he just now noticed, or at least that he waited so long to ask about it.

“She’s a nurse and she works in the emergency department. Since my dad split, she spends more time working than anything and while she hasn’t come out and said it, I think she’s seeing someone too. She was off last Sunday, but dipped out with some lame excuse about pampering herself. My mom doesn’t pamper, so it was a pretty big tip off that she was feeding me bullshit, but all I care about is that she’s happy. If she found a guy who can make her happy, then I’m all for it.” His hand, the one that’s been holding mine since the second we sat down, squeezes my hand while he flashes me that damn smile of his.

“So, she’s at work now?” I nod my head and give him a shy smile.

“Yeah, she is.” I see the mischievous glint in his eyes, but even if I hadn’t, his playful smirk would’ve given it away.

“Alright, so…does that mean you’re mine for the day?” God, the things that simple question is doing to me!

“I’m yours for as long as you want me.” Okay, that was…crazy…but I realize that I mean it…every damn word.

“Promise?” I didn’t realize we had leaned closer until that single word is spoken only an inch from my lips.

“Yeah, I promise.” And then, he’s kissing me.

“Let me take you to breakfast?” His tone is confident, but I can tell this whole thing makes him nervous, but hell, it makes me nervous too.

“And just like that, you found the way to my heart.” He kisses my forehead then stands up with his hand held out for me and I don’t hesitate to take it. Once we both have our shoes on and have grabbed our wallets, keys and phones, we walk out of my house only to be met with Colt and Tanya as they make their way toward us.

“Wow, I can’t believe you actually found someone willing to lower their standards enough to go out with you!” I’ve never let Tanya’s words bother me before and with Luc’s hand firmly holding mine, I damn sure won’t be letting it get to me now. I give Colt a quick glance, hating that I can see the guilt in his eyes even though he says nothing. He used to never be this…weak.

“Damn, Tanya, it’s so sad that you think I’m so pathetic and unworthy, yet you dedicate so much of your time to being a bitch to me. You may have managed to corrupt and destroy everything that was good in Colt, but you have no power over me. You’re just a spoiled, self-entitled, arrogant bitch and once this chapter of our lives is over, all you’ll have to show for it is a relationship with a man who was too spineless to stand up to you and be himself while I’ll be living my best life, hopefully with the amazing man by my side. It’s sad, really. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have plans and listening to you spew your bullshit isn’t a part of it.” Luc wraps his arm around me, tucking me into his side as he leans down and kisses my forehead.

“In case she didn’t make it clear enough for you, fuck off.” I can’t help the laugh that slips out of me, but truth be told, I don’t want to.

Chapter 9

Cadence

I let Luc lead me to his car where he opens the door for me before getting in and driving us to the diner for breakfast. When we get there, Luc leads us to a booth in the back and once I slide in, he slides in right next to me and his hand immediately finds mine.

“So, if I’m yours for the rest of the day, what are your plans for us?” I use our linked hands to guide his arm over my shoulders so I can snuggle into his side.

“I have to run home to take care of my chores, but after that, we can go for a drive, or watch a movie. As long as I’m with you, I’m happy.” With no school today, I’m more than happy to cuddle and watch a movie, or go on an adventure. I guess I feel the same way he does since the only thing I’m really thinking about is spending time with him.

“Well, let’s get your chores done and see how we feel after. I’m down for anything.” So, after breakfast, we head to his house where I help him do his chores then we head out to the hiking trails at the state park. The scenery at the park is beautiful, but I honestly think it was all lost on me since the only thing I could focus on was Luc. By the time we return to his house, we’re both tired, so we curl up on the couch, both thankful his brothers seem to be occupied elsewhere, throw on a movie and that’s where we both fall asleep.

“Holy shit! This is the closest Luc’s ever got to getting lucky!” Hearing Dom’s comment has my eyes shooting open and the second I feel Luc’s arm pull me tighter against him, I know he heard it too. I try to stay calm, I swear I try, but then I look up and see that look on Dom’s face…the look that says he’s about to say something else and I’m done letting him be a dick to Luc.

“Dom, if you don’t shut your mouth, I’m going to remove your favorite appendage so you’ll never be able to get lucky again.” I feel Luc’s chest shake with silent laughter while Dom’s face pales slightly before he mumbles a weak apology and takes off upstairs.

“You’re trouble.” He seals his statement with a soft kiss on my forehead before letting his hold loosen so I can sit up. I grab my phone off the end table where I left it and roll my eyes when I see that I have a new text message from my mom.

Mom: He’ll meet you at the diner today at three. Don’t be late.

Me: Maybe I should stand him up so he can see how it feels to be abandoned.

Mom: Cade, don’t make this any harder than it already is.

Me: Sure, because I’M the one making it hard. Don’t worry, I’ll be there, but I refuse to play nice.

Mom: All I ask is that you hear him out. I love you.

Me: Love you too.

“I have to go to the diner at three to meet my dad.” I barely get the last word out before he’s wrapping his arms around me.

“I’ll take you by your place so you can change and I’ll come with you.” With a plan in place, Luc drives me home and drops me off so I can get ready while he runs a few errands for his brother. Luc had agreed to meet me at two, but it’s now two twenty and he’s still not here. I’ve tried texting and calling him, but he hasn’t responded to the texts and didn’t answer my calls. This is why I find myself climbing into my truck and heading across town to the crappy diner to meet with the man who helped create me only to decide I wasn’t worth the effort in the end. I spot him right away, looking almost exactly how he did the day he left as he sits in a corner booth with a cup of coffee like this is some ordinary lunch date.

“Rick, mom said you wanted to talk.” I know he can hear the edge in my tone, but it’s less than he deserves, so I refuse to hold it back.

“Please, have a seat.” I slide in across from him and I instantly notice how awkward this all feels now.

“Okay, I’m sitting. Now, can you get to the point of this little impromptu visit so I can go home?” He has the nerve to flinch, like my harsh words and cold tone are somehow unexpected.

“Cade, I know this whole situation was unfair to you and I want you to know that I love you and I only left because I had to do what was best for us all.” Is he serious right now? Him leaving me, never reaching out to me…him abandoning me is what was best for us all? Best for me?!

“Oh, please do explain how anything you did was what was best for me because, the way I see it, you only ever did what was best for you.” I know there’s no point in asking because, deep down, I know that no answer he can give me will make this any less screwed up…it won’t hurt less.

“None of this happened because you did anything wrong, Cade. Things with your mom and I…they got complicated. I wasn’t in love with her anymore. I had to make a choice and staying with her wasn’t an option.” He says it all like it should make sense, but it doesn’t…not even a little.

“So, you chose to not only abandon her, but to abandon me too…that was your choice. Now, let me tell you about my choice. I’m taking a page from your playbook, dad. I’m going to walk away and when I do, I’m going to forget you even exist…just like you forgot about me. Before I came here, I had hoped to get answers, to learn the reason why I just wasn’t important enough or worthy enough of even being a choice for you. I wanted answers, but, as with everything else in my life where you’re concerned, all I got is disappointment.

“Look, I appreciate the part you played in creating me and I appreciate the truck, but I think we should both just cut our losses at this point. You created a whole new family and I think you need to focus on them so you don’t fuck everything up with them the way you did with us. If you have any chance at redemption, it’ll be with them because something I realized the second I sat down is that there’s no way to forgive someone for abandoning you and betraying your trust…not to mention, I can’t really forgive you for hurting mom the way you did then up and leaving me to pick up the pieces.

“So, I think we’ve said about all there is to say here. I hope you have a nice life.” I get up, turn my back to him and walk the hell out. I barely make it out of the parking lot before the first tear falls and I know I shouldn’t just go home and for the first time in a long time, I don’t want to go to my thinking spot. I drive for over an hour before finally sucking it up and heading home…to an empty house…as usual. Have you ever had an emotional ache that was so intense that it becomes a physical ache in your chest? Well, that’s where I’m at and it sucks.

It’s nearly ten o’clock and I already got the usual text from my mom letting me know that, once again, she won’t be home, so I’ve been sitting in my room, curled up on my bed while some random show plays on the tv that I haven’t actually watched more than a few minutes of. I already got out all my tears and now I just feel…empty. I’m staring at my ceiling, my thoughts all over the place, when I hear the sound of a loud frantic knock echo through the house. I manage to drag myself out of bed and down the stairs, but I wasn’t prepared for Luc to be on the other side of the door…or to see him with bruises on his face and a cut on his eyebrow that’s bleeding.

“Luc?” I really don’t know what else to say, but seeing him like this…I can’t focus on the fact that he’s part of the reason I feel hurt…especially not when he pulls me into his arms and holds onto me like a damn lifeline.

“I’m sorry, Cade…so fucking sorry.” I let myself just feel him for a minute before I pull myself out of his arms and force myself to take stock of the various visible injuries.

“What happened to you?” My voice is flat and I don’t miss his flinch, but I feel too drained to even be angry with him.

“Cade, I swear I tried to get here, to get to you…” I hate that he’s trying to earn my forgiveness right now…almost as much as I hate that I want to give it to him. I spent the last several hours trying to come to terms with the fact that he’s just another person who abandoned me, but now here he is…and I don’t know what to do with that.

“What…happened?” I say each word slowly and I manage to get just enough edge in my tone to get his full attention.

“Can we sit down? I swear, I’ll tell you everything, just…not out here…not where your nosy as hell neighbor is watching us.” I could tell him no, maybe I should, but instead, I step aside and let him in. He stops just inside the door then follows my lead as I head back upstairs to my room. I don’t sit down once we’re in my room, I head straight to the bathroom, grab the first aid kit, wet down a washcloth then head back into my room.

“Sit.” I point to the bed and he doesn’t even hesitate to plop his ass down, his eyes tracking my every movement. We’re silent as I work to clean him up, almost like we’re both too damn afraid to be the first to speak…to break this fragile moment where I’m not hating the way his absence hurt so much and he’s not just another in the long line of people who wasn’t there when I needed him. I finish cleaning and tending to his injuries then start putting everything away when he stops me, taking my hands in his as he takes a deep, shaky breath.

“Alex and Jonah…they asked me to take them to pick up Jonah’s car from the shop. I swear to you, I had no fucking clue that the shop’s owned by Grady and I sure the fuck didn’t know that Jonah’s car was there being loaded with product. When I dropped them off, someone tailed me. I didn’t realize I was being followed until I was almost home. I couldn’t let them go to my place, not with Dom and dad being there, so I drove to the park.

“They jumped me…I laid low, waited till I knew they were gone. I was so fucking afraid that if I came here, or if I called you…I thought they might hurt you too.” I want to be angry because anger is a much easier emotion to hold onto, but I can see the truth written all over him. He’s scared and it’s not because of him getting his ass kicked by a bunch of thug ass pricks…it’s because of me. He’s afraid they were going to hurt me.

“Where are Jonah and Alex? Do they know what those bastards did to you?” The way his eyes widen as his head snaps up so he can meet my gaze, I know he can hear the venom in my voice.

“They don’t know. I haven’t been home, haven’t called. As soon as I knew it was safe, I came straight here.” The fact that he came here…came to me before even reaching out to his own family, that hits hard and I can’t even stop myself from pulling him into my arms, letting his head rest on my stomach while his arms instantly wrap around my thighs.

“I’m sorry, cade. I swear to god I wanted to be there with you, I wanted to be there. Shit, I’m so fucking sorry.” Each word is muffled as he speaks it straight into my stomach, but I hear him and, more importantly, I hear the pain and frustration behind them.

“Where are Jonah and Alex?” He pulls his head back and looks up at me while I carefully sweep the loose strands of hair out of his face.

“They should be home by now.” I take a deep breath then pull his arms off of me, taking his hands in mine as I pull him to his feet.

“Let’s go. We’re going to go have a word with those assholes.” He opens his mouth, likely to argue, but he must see the fire in my eyes because he snaps it closed and follows me out to my truck.

Chapter 10

Cadence

The drive to his house is quiet, but the closer we get, the more my anger begins to rise. It takes less than fifteen minutes to get to his house and less than three for me to park and storm my ass up to the door with Luc trying to catch up. I should knock, god knows I should, but I rip the damn door open and am unsurprised when I find them sitting in the living room with Dom and Marcus.

“Hey, Cade! How’s…” I don’t let Alex finish his greeting, the greeting that’s cut off when my fist slams into his jaw.

“You both are assholes! You had Luc drive your ass to a fucking pick up and your boss’s guys followed him and beat the shit out of him! What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I take a step forward, but am stopped when two strong and very familiar arms wrap around me.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Luc’s voice in my ear calms me just enough to keep me from throwing another punch…barely.

“We didn’t know they tailed him, Cade, I swear we didn’t…” And then Alex had to go and open his damn mouth.

“You had him drive you for a fucking pick up! You pulled him into your shit when you damn well know he doesn’t want any part of it!” I hadn’t even noticed that Marcus got up, not until I hear his voice coming from right next to me.

“You had him drive you for a fucking job?!” Luc’s hold on me tightens, just enough to comfort me as I watch Alex and Jonah squirm under their dad’s heated glare.

“It’s not like we had him go in with us or help with delivery. We just had him drop us off at the shop. Wait…how the fuck does Cade know, Luc? You fucking told her?!” Luc doesn’t hesitate, not even for a breath.

“Yes, I fucking told her! I couldn’t be with her if I didn’t let her know what the fuck she was getting herself into! Fucking look at me! You think I could risk something like this happening and not have her know why? I won’t lie to her, so I made sure she had a choice! You…you both lied to me and that is why I ended up like this! I was supposed to be with Cade, I…was supposed to be there for her and instead, I got pulled into your bullshit!” I can hear the crack in his voice at the end and I can feel each ragged breath as his chest remains pressed tightly against my back.

“We didn’t know, Luc! You think we would’ve let them do something like that to you?!” I know he’s upset about not being there when I met with my dad, but I kind of assume the trembling, the break in his voice and the sharp, ragged breaths are because he was scared shitless when a bunch of thugs jumped him…but he quickly proves me wrong.

“What if Cade had been with me? What if they go after her because of you? I swear to god, I don’t fucking care that you’re my brothers…if anything happens to her because of your shit…I’ll fucking end you.” His angry, cold tone even has Marcus looking at him with wide eyes, but I also see pride there. Luc is usually more quiet, reserved when he interacts with his brothers from what I’ve seen, so this side of him is surprising.

“We’ll handle it, Luc. They won’t fuck with either of you again. We’re sorry…so damn sorry. You’re right…we fucked up, but it won’t happen again, we promise it won’t.” Both Alex and Jonah are nodding as Alex delivers a promise I don’t think either of them can keep.

“Marcus, I’m taking Luc home with me for the night. I’m sorry for just barging in here like that, but I’m not sorry I hit Alex.” Luc’s hold tightens and Marcus smiles at me and shakes his head.

“Don’t apologize. I’ll take care of things here while you take care of Luc.” I give him a soft smile then turn in Luc’s arms, gently grab his cheeks and pull his lips to mine.

“Come on, let’s go for a ride.” He smiles against my lips then takes my hand in his and leads me out of his house. The drive back to my house is quiet, but Luc holds my hand the whole way. As soon as we pull up in the driveway, we both climb out and make our way inside then head straight to my room.

“So, cuddle and a movie?” There’s a noticeable strain in his voice and when I turn to look at him, I notice every tense muscle. I pull my phone out of my pocket, connect it to my sound bar and start my favorite playlist then toss it on my dresser. I feel heated and yet my entire body shudders from the intensity of his gaze…it’s a thrilling yet terrifying feeling that’s so unfamiliar.

“I thought you were ghosting me…that you were going to leave me like…” He closes the distance between us and before I can finish, his hands are gently cradling my face and his lips are on mine. When his forehead presses to mine and his hot breath fans my face, I can feel his hands trembling as he holds me while his green eyes stare into mine.

“I’m never going to leave you, Cade…never.” And I believe him. I take a step back, his hands falling to his sides as he watches me with a mixture of concern and curiosity. I grab the hem of my shirt, slowly lifting it, sliding it over my head then tossing it on the floor. I watch as his eyes instantly darken, slowly dragging down my body as they take in each new inch of skin that’s now on display for him. As I reach my hands behind me to unhook my bra, he steps forward, stopping me with a gentle touch as his eyes lock with mine.

“Can I…” I nod, unable to fight my smile as his fingers gently trace their way up my arms, over my shoulders and down my back until he reached the clasp. He fumbles a little, but manages to get it undone then gently hooks his fingers under the straps and slowly slides them down my arms until it falls to the floor at my feet. I watch as he grabs the bottom of his shirt and rips it over his head, giving me my first unobstructed view of his tanned, toned chest and the tattoos that always lay hidden beneath his shirts and jacket…but I also see the bruises there.

“Shit…Luc…you’re gorgeous.” His deep chuckle has me smiling, but I wasn’t joking, not even a little. This man…bruises and all…he would put the gods to shame.

“You’re absolutely breathtaking, Cade.” I notice the way his hands shake and I know he’s nervous because I am too…but I know I want this, so I decide to show him the only way I can think to. I hook my thumbs around the waistband of my sleep pants at my hips then slowly slide them down until they drop to the floor. I hear the hitch in his breath, but he quickly follows my lead. His lips crash back into mine as he pulls me flush against him while easing me back until my legs hit the mattress. He eases me back gently, laying me down with his body covering mine.

“Are you sure about this, Cade? We don’t have to rush into anything.” The softness in his voice and the way his hand gently cups my cheek like I’m something precious to him, there’s not a doubt in my mind about what I want.

“I’m sure.” He presses a soft kiss to my lips, my neck then hooks his fingers in my underwear as he presses a kiss right over my heart. I lift my hips as he slowly slides them down then tosses them on the floor before removing his boxer briefs then climbing back up and settling beside me. I can feel how unsure he is of what to do, but this is something we’re both discovering and learning together. I grab his hand and guide it to where I’m aching for him, using my fingers over his to guide his movements. All it takes is one soft moan from me and he takes over, clearly feeling more confident.

Between the feeling of his fingers stroking me and the heated kiss, it takes only a few minutes for me to be arching off the bed, moaning his name as I hold onto him for dear life. While my mind is still fighting through the haze left behind by the sudden rush of pleasure, I feel Luc position himself between my legs and it’s enough to clear my mind as my eyes lock with his.

“Cade…” I can tell he’s planning to ask if I’m sure and I don’t need him to. I press my lips to his, shift my hips so that he’s lined up where I need him then I speak the words against his lips that seem to be his undoing.

“I love you, Luc.” I feel his restraint snap, yet he doesn’t take me like a wild animal, not my Luc. He slowly pushes forward, easing his way into me while I try to mask any sign of discomfort. The stretch is intense and is teetering on the edge of pleasure and pain as his eyes remain locked with mine, but I don’t want him to stop. I feel his pause when he hits my barrier, but then his lips are on mine and with a single, hard thrust, he’s taken from me the one thing that I could never imagine giving to anyone else.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. God, I love you, Cade. I love you.” He completes his declaration by peppering my face with kisses until his lips return to mine.

“And I love you.” He gives me the most heart stopping smile before taking my hands, one at a time, and lacing his fingers with mine as he begins to move…slowly at first until we find our rhythm. I’ve read books, watched movies and even heard other girls talk about how awful or how perfect their first time was, but this isn’t like any of them. We started out unsure, confused and then things were awkward and sloppy, but the look in his eyes…the way his hands hold mine and each tender kiss…it’s everything I could ever imagine and more.

I feel him roll his hips into me and I swear, it has me seeing stars as I arch into him, my walls tightening around him and my hands squeezing hi tighter. I feel his muscles tensing, his pace increasing and movements less coordinated as we both are consumed by the pleasure as we find our release together. We simply lay there for a few minutes, letting our heartbeats steady and simply enjoying our connection, but then he carefully stands up and holds his hand out for me.

“Come on, lets take a shower and get cleaned up before bed.” I’m not completely clueless, I know what happens when a woman has sex for the first time, so I know to expect the blood…and other things, but what I didn’t expect was for Luc to not be at all bothered by it. He helps me wash up in the shower, with me returning the favor, then leads me to the bedroom where he help strip off the sheets with the small blood stain while I grab fresh ones from the linen closet, which he helps put on. Once we finish, we curl up in my bed, turn on a random movie and I fall asleep in the arms of the man I love…yes, I can’t even deny that I love Lucian.

Chapter 11

Lucian

It doesn’t matter how many times I replay the events of last night in my mind, it still feels like a dream. I was furious when I missed being there for Cade and I wasn’t lying when I told her I tried. I did everything I could to lose those bastards, but I just couldn’t shake them. I didn’t want to show up at her house all beaten and bloody, but I refused to go home with her probably assuming I abandoned her. It couldn’t be further from the truth. I led them away from anything that had to do with her and away from my home to protect her, Dom and my dad.

It’s only six in the morning and I’ve been laying here for half an hour, just watching her sleep and trying to figure out how the hell I got so damn lucky. I gently tuck a few stray strands of her black hair out of her face and that’s all it takes to have her stretching and letting out the cutest damn groan.

“What time is it?” Her sleepy voice has me smiling like a damn idiot and I don’t even care. I press my lips to her forehead which has her smiling as I answer her.

“It’s just after six.” She buries her face in my chest while shaking her head which has me chuckling until she locks those beautiful grey eyes with mine.

“Six…when it’s not a school day?! You’re a monster, Luc…a damn monster.” That earns a full fledged laugh from me, but it dies in my throat when she shifts herself until she’s straddling me. It isn’t until this very moment that I remember the fact that we went to bed right after our shower…naked. I can’t even help how my body responds instantly, but the sexy moan that slips out of her before her lips meet mine makes it clear she’s more than happy with it.

Every rock of her hips, every time she nips my lip with her teeth and every time she moans softly into my mouth…it drives me a little crazier. I can feel how wet she is as her core easy slides up and down my hard length with every hip roll until she suddenly stops. I feel her hand slide down my chest, my stomach and then she’s wrapping her fingers around me, positioning me before slowly sinking down…taking me inch by inch until I’m buried to the hilt. I can tell she’s still not used to the sting just from the sharp breath she sucks in through her teeth…but it doesn’t stop her.

She sits up straight, clearly feeling nervous as she begins to gently roll her hips, experimenting until she seems to find what she likes. I can’t even lie, I like anything she does because everything feels like heaven with her. I don’t know if this is how it’s supposed to feel, but I do know that I never want to stop feeling this with her. She picks up her pace and I can’t even stop myself from thrusting up into her, wanting to see her shatter before my release hits me and it’s not far behind.

I grab onto her hip with my left hand and my right hand cups her cheek, drawing her eyes to mine just in time for me to see her coming undone as her body tenses and her walls grip me so tightly that it pulls me over the edge with her, leaving us both panting and covered in sweat. Instead of climbing off of me, she simply lays down on me with me still buried inside her while I stroke her back with one hand and her hair with the other.

“I love you, Cade.” I never thought I’d find someone like her, certainly not so quickly after moving here, but I’m so damn glad I did. She doesn’t just accept the good parts of me, but she accepts all the bad parts too. Hell, I was pretty sure when I stumbled up to her door, bruised and bloody, after failing to show up when she needed me, I was sure she would send me away…that she’d be done with me.

“I love you too, Luc. So, we should shower, get dressed and get some breakfast.” I couldn’t be happier with her suggestion, even though I know we’ll be getting a lot of looks with me looking like I lost a fight to a UFC fighter.

“Sounds good, but I need to swing by my place to change.” She gets up, takes my hand and drags me to her bathroom where we have a mostly PG-13 shower before getting out and getting dressed. It wasn’t until our shower that I saw the bruises on her knuckles from punching Alex and while I’m proud of her, I’m pissed that my brothers created a situation where her hitting one of them was even an option.

As soon as we’re dressed and ready, we head out to her truck, but I don’t miss her former best friend glaring at us from his porch. I may be way off base here, but either he has feelings for her, or he’s a damn creep for the way he watches Cade. We get in her truck and make the fifteen minute drive to my house and I’m immediately pissed when I see Alex and Jonah’s cars parked out front.

“If you don’t want to go inside…” I try giving her an out, but I know better, god knows I do.

“Oh, no…we’re both going in together.” She gets out without giving me a chance to respond, but it’s not like there’s a damn thing I could say anyway, so I follow her lead. We walk in and it’s easy to see that Cade’s ready for another fight, but both of my brothers look at her like they’ve been cornered by a wild animal…which is only made more entertaining by the black eye that Alex is sporting.

“How are you holding up, Luc?” Jonah is the first to speak just as Dom walks out of the kitchen and stares at us like he’s waiting for some action.

“Like I got the shit beat out of me, thanks for asking. I’m going to change and then I’m taking Cade to get breakfast.” I take her hand and lead her up to my room without waiting to see if they have anything to say. It takes me longer than normal to get changed thanks to Cade taking it upon herself to kiss each and every bruise, not that I’m complaining. When I’m finally ready, we head out with my brothers saying nothing more than a quick goodbye and head to the diner.

“So, you ready for all the questions and rumors to start flying Monday?” We just got our coffee when she asks and I can’t hide my smile when her tone is so playful.

“Let the rumors fly. There’s only one person in that school whose opinion of me matters.” Most girls would fish for more, push for clarification or validation, but that’s just not Cade.

“She sounds like one crazy woman.” I smile and nod, but a question comes to mind that I feel like a dick for not asking sooner.

“What happened with your dad?” She takes one last drink of her coffee then sets her cup on the table and lets out a soft sigh.

“He told me that him leaving and him and my mom getting divorced basically wasn’t my fault. He said staying with her wasn’t an option. I pointed out that him abandoning me was a choice and then I made clear that I was making the choice to cut him out of my life…then I left.” Fuck, and she faced all that alone because I got pulled into my brother’s shit! I wrap my arms around her and try to push my anger down because that shit’s not for her.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there, Cade. I feel like complete shit for not being there with you.” Her arms wrap around me and she holds me tight.

“It’s okay, Luc. We’re good, so stop beating yourself up over it.” As if she doesn’t already own me, she leans up and gives me the sweetest kiss before snuggling into my side and grabbing her coffee. I keep one arm around her as I return to drinking my own, but that’s when her ex best friend decides to make an appearance…Macy, not Colt.

“Wow, you two move fast. What the hell happened to you, Luc?” I swear, I don’t know what the hell Cade ever saw in this girl.

“Hi, Macy, nice to see you. Oh, would you look at that, our food’s coming, so please excuse us.” I want to laugh, but I manage to bite it back…barely. Macy does that weird girl hair flip thing before storming off to the other side of the diner…where Colt and his bitch girlfriend are sitting…nice.

“Well, that’s a new development.” She looks up at me then follows my gaze to the table where all three of them now sit.

“Yeah, they can have each other. I got the only person whose opinion of me matters sitting right here.”

It’s been almost two months now since the day I showed up on Cade’s doorstep, broken and bleeding. We quickly became a hot topic at school, mainly because of my bruises the first day back, but things have died down. I got to meet Cade’s mom, finally, and she seems nice, but that was five weeks ago and she hasn’t been home since. Cade and I spend most of our time at her house, but stay at mine on Thursday nights so we can have dinner with my family.

Alex and Jonah have finally got themselves back onto neutral terms with Cade, but she made herself very clear that if any of the rest of us get caught up in their shit again, she’ll beat the shit out of both of them. If anything, the little message from Grady has both of my brothers planning the end of their work for him. We’re not sure how it’s going to play out, if Grady will let them quit without putting up a fight, so things are a little tense around my house at the moment.

They delivered their news during our Thanksgiving dinner and while we’re all happy to hear that they’re planning to get out from under Grady’s thumb, it’s no surprise that we’re all wondering what kind of backlash they’ll get from Grady and if it’s going to drag us all into it with them. Unfortunately, we know that there’s only one way to find out.

All the stress from the mess my brothers have made and the stress of semester finals coming up, Cade and I have barely had a minute to breathe. That’s why I planned out a date night for us that will start with a trip to my uncle’s cabin in the woods and end with us just curled up together. No drama from my brothers, no school, just us for an entire night. I got everything set up, made sure that everything was absolutely perfect, and now I’m on my way to get her. It doesn’t surprise me when I find Cade sitting on her front porch waiting for me, but I’ll never stop being surprised by how damn beautiful she is.

“You ready, gorgeous?” The way her smile lights up her face, it’s enough to take my breath away. I make my way to the start of the sidewalk in front of her house and she’s already making her way down the steps.

“Ready for a night with just you and me? Hell yes!” She jogs up to me and jumps right into my open arms, crashing her lips into mine.

“Damn, I’ll surprise you every damn day if this is how you’re going to react.” She smiles so damn bright as I set her back on her feet and take her hand in mine. I open her door for her then hurry to the driver’s seat once she’s seated and the door is closed. The drive to our destination takes less than thirty minutes and the smile on her face is enough to make me melt.

“So?” I would’ve like to bring her back to the field for a picnic, but with the nights getting colder, I wanted to make sure she’s comfortable too. Sitting in front of us is the small, one bedroom cabin that Jonah, Alex and Dom helped decorate with lights and clean up for me, an apology of sorts for the shit they put me through.

“It’s perfect, but…who’s place is this?” I never got around to telling her about my uncle, but it’s mainly because there’s nothing to say. He moved a few states away four months before we moved here, so my dad bought his house and the cabin. It worked out well for all of us since we needed a place after my parents divorced.

“My dad bought it from my uncle. Come on, let’s go eat dinner and relax.” I should’ve known better, I really should’ve. We made it through dinner just fine, but relaxing turned into a heated love making session in the living room…then another in the bed…then a third round in the shower. We didn’t relax, but we sure the hell crash out the minute our heads hit the pillow, wrapped in each other’s arms.

Chapter 12

Cadence

Okay, so I’ve never been one of those girls who understood the whole love and dating thing. I never understood how you could become so wrapped up in another person that you can’t imagine your life without them…then Lucian came along. In such a short time, he’s become such a vital person in my life. We spend all of our time outside of school together and, as crazy as I would have found it to be only a few months ago, I’m perfectly okay with it.

We’ve finished our finals for the semester and when the bell rings in the next ten minutes, we’ll be on break for the next two weeks. For the first time since things went past friendship with me and Lucian, we aren’t leaving school together, though we are meeting up after he picks Dom up and takes him home. Luc walks me to my truck, gives me a toe-curling kiss then watches me drive off before getting into his car.

Have you ever had a feeling that something bad was going to happen? I’m talking about the gut churning, nerve tingling feeling of dread that anchors in bone deep and won’t let go? Well, I made it one block from the school before that feeling flared to life and by the time I was four blocks away, the alarm bells in my head were going off full force. I was almost to my house when I noticed a strange car parked on the curb, so I followed my instincts and kept driving while pulling out my phone to call Luc.

“Hey, gorgeous. I’m just pulling up to the house now, so I should be at your place in about twenty minutes.”

“Luc, don’t! Stay there! I just passed my house and there’s a strange car parked out front. My mom’s car isn’t there, so it’s not someone there to see her.”

“Shit, okay, where are you right now?”

“I’m just over a block away from my place now.”

“Okay…don’t panic, just come to my house and we’ll figure it out, okay?”

“Okay. Shit…they’re behind me! I can’t bring them to you, Luc…I won’t…”

“Cade, I’m getting Jonah and Alex and we’ll meet up with you. Do you remember how to get to the clearing?”

“Um, yeah…I think so.”

“Okay, go there. Just take the highway toward Bellview and the turn off is five miles out where the sign for Lark Lake is.”

“Okay, I’m going.”

“I want you to stay on the phone with me. Don’t hang up. I promise I’ll come for you, Cade. I love you so much and I’ll be there as fast as I can” I can hear doors opening and slamming closed then muffled shouting before another door opens and closes and I hear the sound of his car starting.

“Are they still following you?”

“Yes…” I’ve just left city limits when the car speed up and tries to pull around me, but I see the turn for the lake and take it going thirty five, my truck fishtailing and barely missing one of the wood fence posts on the side of the road.

“What was that noise, Cade?!”

“They tried to run me off the road. I turned at the lake turnoff, but I can see their headlights now. They’re catching up.”

“We’re about ten miles from the turnoff, Cade. Just hold on!” And that’s when I hear a loud sound, almost like a gunshot before my truck begins to swerve.

“Shit! I blew a tire! I need to pull over and make a run for it!” I shut off my headlights and pull into a small tree covered area then turn off my truck, grip the keys in my hand with each of my three keys sticking out between my fingers. I grab my phone then rush out of the truck and take off into the trees. I run, faster than I think I’ve ever run before, but it doesn’t take long to realize that it’s just not fast enough…only minutes in fact.

“Well, you really made us work for it, didn’t you, sweetheart?”

Lucian

The connection for our call was awful and I’m pretty sure I heard her running, at least it sounded like heavy breathing and feet pounding dirt…it could’ve been crackling and static, I guess. With Alex in the back seat and Jonah in the passenger seat, we’re all watching the road closely, looking for any sign of her. We’re just over two miles down the dirt road when Alex whisper yells from the back seat.

“There’s her truck!” She managed to pull it off into a narrow section of dirt between some trees, she’s pretty damn clever. Unfortunately, there’s another car parked crooked next to her truck. I catch sight of Jonah loading a magazine into his gun and loading one into the chamber before he kicks off the safety and climbs out with me and Alex following him.

The call is nothing but static now, so I end it and try dialing again only to have it go straight to voicemail. We make it just over one hundred yards when we hear an unfamiliar voice, so we follow it and within minutes we see two men standing in front of a tree and Cade is sitting on the ground with her back against the tree, but it’s the look of pure rage in her eyes that has my heart damn near stopping.

“You know, it’s nothing personal, but we were told to deliver a message, so that’s what we plan to do.” I don’t know who this guy is, but I sure the hell know who sent him.

“Awe, how adorable. Big, bad Grady sent his little lapdogs to handle his dirty work?” God, this woman is mouthy, but I fucking love it. I didn’t even notice until now that Alex has his gun drawn too and they both move into position before making their presence known.

“Pete, Chris, you seriously hunting down unarmed women for your boss? Here I thought you were better than that. Shit, she called you lapdogs, but even a lapdog has more backbone than the two of you.” Jonah and Alex each have their guns trained on the men, but my focus is on Cade…until I see the blood on her forehead right at the edge of her hair line. Knowing my brothers have these bastards handled, I make my way straight to her, quickly pulling her into my arms.

“Shit, they hurt you? How bad is it, gorgeous?” She clings to me like a lifeline and shakes her head.

“It’s not bad, just going to have a headache from hell in the morning.” I hold her tighter against me as I give Jonah a stiff nod before turning and heading back for the car.

“We’ll get her truck back to our place. See you two there!” Alex sounds more than ready for me to get me and Cade out of here, no doubt eager to kick the shit out of the two bastards. Whether he wants to admit it or not, he respects the hell out of Cade for standing up to him and punching him to protect and defend me. We may have our issues, but we’ll do anything for family.

By the time we made it back to the cars, Cade was barely awake, so I took the keys from her and left them on the driver’s seat in the truck then get her secured in my car and head home. One of the guys must’ve messaged Dom because he’s waiting with he door open as soon as I pull in. I get Cade out of the car, holding her like a bride, and carry he inside and straight to my room upstairs. She’s sound asleep as I carefully lay her in my bed and I’m more than a little surprised when Dom runs in with a first aid kit, wet washcloth and two bottles of water.

“Thanks, Dom.” My voice is barely more than a whisper as I jump right into cleaning her up so I can assess her injury.

“Yeah…is she going to be okay?” I nod my head, though part of me isn’t so sure. Yeah, she should be fine physically, but what kind of toll will this mess take on her mentally and emotionally? I feel guilty for bringing her into this, but I feel like there was no way I could stay away from her either.

“It’s a small cut. She should be okay.” Even as I say the words, I can’t help doubting the truth in them now.

“Dad should be home any minute now. I’ll let him know what’s going on. You just take care of her.” I give him a nod, but my eyes don’t leave her. I remove her shoes for her then kick off my own before I climb over her and settle onto the bed with her body immediately turning toward me and snuggling into me. It’s like muscle memory now, her body craving mine as much as mine craves her. Just her touch alone is enough to calm me and just being near her is addictive. With my arms around her and her head on my chest, I find myself drifting off while my mind continues to torture me.

“No, I fell asleep at Luc’ last night. What?! Are you serious? No…I…okay, I’ll be there soon. I love you too.” I woke up to the sound of Cade’s ringtone, but kept my eyes closed, listening to the one sided conversation while Cade whisper yelled her side. I wait until I hear her set her phone back on the nightstand before making it known that I’m awake.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” The second I hear her take a shaky breath, I’m sitting up and wrapping my arms around her.

“That was my mom…someone broke into the house. She said Colt saw someone leaving around four this morning. I…I need to go home. She’s waiting for me with the cops.” She grabs her shoes, making my arms fall away from her, then starts slipping them on.

“You want me to go with you?” Something feels off and my mind automatically assumes she’s blaming me for this, which she has every right to, but then she nods. I waste no time slipping my shoes on then we both head out, taking my car since I have no clue what Jonah and Alex did with the keys to her truck. Hell, I don’t even know which one of them brought her phone to my room, but I know she didn’t have it on her when I brought her home. The drive to her house is quiet, but she surprised me when she reached for my hand the second I was pulled out of the driveway.

“We’re not telling them shit about last night. We were together, watching movies and fell asleep.” I know why she’s saying it, but I honestly expected her to be angrier about this whole mess. She should be angry, but her voice is soft, not a single trace of anger at all.

“We’ll handle this however you want to, Cade. If you want to tell the cops the truth, I’m with you. If you want to tell them we were at my place all night, I’ve got you.” She squeezes my hand and lets out a soft sigh as she continues staring out the window.

“I know you’re over there blaming yourself and your brothers, but don’t. What happened to you was on your brothers, but what happened to me, that was all on that prick, Grady. Your brothers were trying to get out and clean up their mess, so we can’t take this out on them, Luc. I’m okay and after we deal with this mess at my place, we’ll sit down with your dad and the boys to figure out what we need to do.” God, she’s too damn good for me, but I hate that she’s going through so much because of my family’s shit.

“Okay.” There’s really nothing more to say, especially since I don’t want to get her upset before we come face to face with not just her mom, but the cops.

Chapter 13

Lucian

When we pull up to her house, there are three police cruisers parked out front as well as her mom’s car in the driveway. As a result of her yard being crowded, I park on the curb in front of Colt’s house then hurry to get to her door and open it for her. We walk up to her house, hand in hand, and both of us ignore the looks we’re receiving from Colt and his friends as we make our way to the porch where her mom is talking to four uniformed officers.

“Cade, this is Officer Lawrence, Simmons, Clark and Wilson.” Cade gives a tense smile and a nod of her head while offering a soft ‘hi’.

“Cadence McClaine, it’s a pleasure to meet you, though I wish it were under different circumstances. We’ve already spoken with your mom, but we were wondering if you can think of anyone who might have done this, or if there’s anyone you’ve seen lurking around the neighborhood that seemed out of place.” Cade’s brow furrows and she genuinely looks to be deep in thought before slowly shaking her head.

“No, I haven’t seen anyone strange and, I mean, sure there are people at school who are jerks, but I don’t think any of them would break into my house. Have there been any other break ins in town? Is this some part of a weird small town crime spree or something?” God, she’s good! Her tone is a perfect mix of worry, fear and confusion. She plays it off so well that even I would believe her if I didn’t already know the truth.

“There haven’t been any increases in criminal activity and this is only the second break in we’ve had reported in the last six months. I’m going to give you both a card and if you think of anything or notice anything unusual, please contact me right away. I appreciate you rushing over here to talk to us.” Cade completes her stellar performance with polite handshakes for each of the cops then even tells them to have a good day as they were leaving.

“Cade, I’m having Rosa come over and clean up the mess and the contractor will be here to fix the windows and the door this afternoon. Lucian, would your father be alright with Cade staying at your place for the next couple nights? I’m scheduled to work the night shift and we’re already short staffed.” I know she’s a single mom and I probably shouldn’t be mad that she’s going to work after this, but seriously?! She’s going to work instead of staying with her own daughter?

“Yeah, she can stay with us.” Her mom thanks me before heading back into the house and I can’t help being pissed that she seems so damn unconcerned about how Cade’s feeling about this whole thing. Sure, Cade and I have a damn good idea of who did this, but her mom doesn’t know that and if she did, she’d have even more reason to worry, not less.

“Cade! Everything okay?” Cade leans into me the second Colt’s voice calls out to her and it pisses me off that he feels he has a right to ask about her after how he’s treated her and the way he allowed his girlfriend to treat her.

“Everything’s fine, Colton.” The ice in her tone has me smiling and I refuse to bother trying to hide it as we turn to face the prick.

“Is there anything I can do…” I want to shut his shit down, but I know she doesn’t need me to fight her battles, something she quickly proves.

“No, there’s not. We aren’t friends, Colton. We don’t owe each other anything. You’ve allowed your bitch of a girlfriend to be a complete bitch to me while you stood by and said nothing…did nothing, so don’t pretend to be a decent human being now. Luc, can we go home?” I don’t even want to dwell on the fact that hearing her refer to my family’s house as ‘home’ made my heart stutter.

“Yeah, let’s get you home, gorgeous.” I lead her down the stairs and to the car, helping her in before getting in and getting us the hell away from Colt and his bullshit. She’s quiet the whole drive home, but holds onto my hand like it’s her lifeline. When we get back, we get out of the car and walk in together, joining my brothers in the living room with us sitting on the loveseat while they’re all sitting on the couch.

“Someone broke into Cade’s house around four this morning. I think we all know who did it. Cade’s staying here for a few days while her mom has shit at her place sorted out, but we need to figure things out and get this shit handled before someone ends up getting hurt…again. So, what’s the plan?”

Cadence

“So, what’s the plan?” I can hear the strain in Luc’s voice and I know he’s angry, probably blaming himself for all of this. Maybe I’m wrong for not blaming him, but I just don’t. He didn’t make those assholes chase me and he didn’t make them break into my house, so I can’t blame him for the things those bastards did.

“Dad is reaching out to one of his contacts to see about handling this mess. He explained everything and the guy seemed pretty confident that he could handle it.” I’m not sure what kind of contact they’re talking about. Is this guy part of the whole criminal world, or is he working on the legal side of things?

“Okay, then what are we supposed to do while he gets things in order? I’m not going to risk Cade’s safety while we sit around waiting for him to fix this shit.” I grab Luc’s hand, trying to help calm him down as his voice nearly reaches shouting levels.

“Dad’s going to be home early today, so we’ll ask him what we need to do, okay? I know your pissed at us and you have every right to be. It’s our fault this asshole is doing this shit and we’re sorry, Luc. We didn’t mean for any of you to get caught up in this shit.” Jonah’s words do nothing to ease the tension in the room. If anything, Luc seems to become more tense.

“They followed Cade…hunted her down…they hurt her and, if we hadn’t got to her when we did, they would’ve done worse! It was bad enough that they used me to send a message to you, but now they’re targeting her! I can’t let them hurt her…I won’t!” He gets up and storms out the back door, leaving me with his older brothers who are clearly feeling like shit over this whole thing. Sure, they screwed up, but I knew that they were into some shady, illegal shit and yet I still went all in and I can’t even bring myself to regret it.

“I’ll go talk to him. You guys focus on getting things sorted on your end.” I give them a weak smile then get up and make my way to the back door, finding Luc on the wooden step once again.

“Hey, we’re going to figure this out, Luc. We’re going to be okay.” And that was apparently the wrong thing to say. He stands up and starts pacing, burying his face in his hands as his breathing becomes more frantic.

“Cade…this…I can’t let you get hurt…I can’t let you be involved in this. The guy, my dad’s contact, he works with an organized crime unit. They’re going to go after Grady and shit’s going to get messy. I can’t let you be around when it does. You need to stay away until we have this sorted out and the dust settles.” Part of me knows he’s doing this to protect me, that he just wants to keep me safe, but the other part…the part that’s apparently running the show, feels like he’s abandoning me just like everyone else has.

“What are you saying? Are you saying you want me to leave? To stay away from you?” I don’t bother trying to hide the hurt in my voice, not that I think I could right now.

“Yes.” One word…three letters and it hits so damn hard.

“Alright. God, I don’t why I thought you would be any different than any of the other people in my life. I’m going home, but when I walk out that door, we’re done. I’m not going to sit around waiting for the dust to settle because I deserve to be a partner, not some burden for your to shoulder.” I don’t wait for him to respond, I can’t handle hearing him say anything else that might further break my already broken heart. I storm inside, grab the keys to my truck off the key holder by the door and I leave.

Okay, so I might’ve sounded brave and confident when I told him I was leaving, but the thought of going home is, quite honestly, terrifying…which is why I’ve been driving around, not stopping for anything more than getting a soda from the first fast food place I came across. I silenced my phone right after pulling out of Luc’s driveway and I’m a coward for not having the nerve to check and see if he messaged me. I think it’s more out of fear of seeing that he didn’t message me because I don’t want confirmation that he really is like everyone else in my life who left me without looking back.

After driving for over two hours, I finally decide to suck it up and go home, mainly because I have nowhere else to go. When I pull up, I can see that they finished the door and windows, so I go in through the garage door, making sure I lock everything behind me. I take my phone and keys up to my room, locking the door once I’m inside and heading in to take a shower.

I know it’s pathetic to hide in a shower while I cry since it’s not like anyone’s here to witness my breakdown, but maybe I’m trying to hide the tears from myself too. Maybe I’m trying to hide from the reality that I fell in love with someone who was able to let me walk away without fighting for me. Yes, I understand that he’s doing it to protect me, but we’re supposed to be in this together, not pushing each other away when things get hard. I finally get out when the water runs cold, dry off, throw on a pair of sleep pants and a t-shirt then lay down and stare at my phone on the nightstand.

“Well, time to rip the band aid off.” Yeah, yeah, so I’m talking to myself…sue me. I grab my phone, unlock the screen and there it is…but it’s not the proof I was expecting. I thought I’d see nothing, but there are more than twenty unread texts and four missed calls, all from Luc. I’ll admit, I stare at the screen for several minutes before finally opening the text thread to read what he wrote, but I finally do…and now I’m crying again.

Luc: Cade, I’m so damn sorry. Please, come back so we can talk.

Luc: You were right, I was trying to protect you, but we’re in this together. Please, at least let me know you’re okay.

Luc: Where are you? Are you okay? Tell me where you are and I’ll come to you. I need to see you, Cade. I love you, please let me know you’re okay.

Luc: I know you’re mad and you have every right to be, but please just let me know you’re alright.

There are seventeen more messages that are pretty much the same as the first four that I barely skim through. During my little shower melt down, I came to a realization that pretty much sucks. I was so quick to be angry with him for pushing me away and not fighting for me, but then I realized something…I left without fighting for him too. Where I was angry before, now I feel guilty and don’t know what to do. I decide to at least be a decent person and respond so he’s not sitting there panicking over whether or not I’m safe.

Me: I’m safe.

Yes, I know, not the best response ever, but I don’t know how to put everything I’m thinking and feeling into words and I don’t want to screw things up even more. It takes him literally only a minute to reply and his message has me bawling like a petulant child.

Luc: Please tell me where you are, Cade. I’m so sorry and I know I shouldn’t have pushed you away. I was freaking out and said a lot of stupid shit. I don’t want you to stay away. I don’t want you to leave. Please, let me come to you and we can get through this. I love you, Cade, so damn much. I’m sorry I hurt you.

Me: I went home.

Chapter 14

Lucian

From the second she walked away, I knew I screwed up and all I wanted was to tell her not to go, but I couldn’t get the words out. By the time I ran inside, she was already gone and my brothers were looking at me with wide eyes. I didn’t need to tell them what I did, it was pretty damn obvious. I pulled out my phone and tried calling her, but when she didn’t answer, I sent the first text message while standing in the dining room with my brothers still staring at me.

“Luc, why’d she leave? Where’s she going?” Alex’s tone makes it clear he knows why, but I tell him anyway.

“I told her she needed to stay away until this mess is cleaned up…” Jonah doesn’t let me finish, but his words only add to my already panicking mind.

“Damn it, Luc! She’s god only knows where, alone, while Grady’s already made it clear that he’s going after her! She should be here where we can keep her safe, not out running around by herself!” I send off the second text before pulling my keys out of my pocket and heading for the door.

“I’m going to go look for her.” I guess I knew it would happen because when they both get up and follow me out the door, I’m not the least bit surprised. We load up in my car and take off, diving by every place I can think of that she might go, even the clearing where we had our first date. It’s almost noon when she finally texts me back saying she went home and I speed the whole way there. We pull up just after twelve-thirty and I can’t decide if I’m pissed off scared as hell when I see Colt pounding on the front door while yelling for Cade.

“Cade! Open the door! Please, open the door!” My brothers and I reach the door seconds after I park my car, but my anger immediately turns to worry when Colt turns and I see the tears streaked down his cheeks.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Yeah, my tone isn’t even close to as angry as I tried to make it, but it doesn’t matter right now.

“I saw someone in her room…a guy with a black beanie and black coat. I tried texting her on my way over here and have been yelling for her and pounding on the door, but she’s not answering!” The guy looks like he’s on the verge of hyperventilating, but I get it.

“Move!” Alex pushes past us and breaks the window next to the door then reaches through, unlocks it and leads the way inside.

“Cade? You in here?!” Alex is calling for her as he makes his way through the downstairs while I go straight for her bedroom with Colt’s dumb ass following behind me. I don’t know what I expected to find, but there’s definitely signs of a struggle. Her nightstand closest to the door is knocked over, her phone is on the ground near her bathroom door and most of the papers and pens that were on her desk are scattered across the floor.

“Jonah! Alex!” I hear the thundering footsteps coming up the stairs and they reach us seconds later, both of them taking in the scene with tense expressions.

“Call dad, Luc.” I do as I’m told, knowing I have no fucking clue how to handle this situation and knowing that I need to trust them right now if I want there to be a chance of finding her. The second I told my dad that they took her, he asked me to send her address then hung up. As much as I’d really rather not be near Colt right now, I suck it up and have him stay so he can explain what he saw so I don’t risk leaving anything out.

It’s been three hours since Cade sent that text and we’re now sitting in her mom’s house with Colt, my dad, his contact, Mike Bowers, and my brothers as they run through everything for the hundredth time, all of us waiting to hear back from whoever Mike has been talking to for help. Cade’s mom, Nora, has been an emotional wreck this whole time, accept when she first showed up and lashed out at me and my brothers. She, obviously, blames us and she’s not wrong to do so. Alex and Jonah tried to defend me and make her see how I had nothing to do with it, but the only thing that calmed her down was me promising her that I would do anything to get Cade back safe, even if it meant putting my own life on the line. Since then, she’s been sitting on the couch, crying uncontrollably.

“Okay, one of my guys might have something. He’s sending over surveillance footage for one of Grady’s storage facilities.” Mike’s words have all of our attention, but I’m the only one who gets up and moves closer.

“I’m going with you. She’s going to be scared, she might be hurt and I can keep her calm enough to get her out of there.” Yeah, no one likes the idea, least of all Nora, but I’m not asking for permission here either.

“It’s too dangerous, Lucian. We can’t put another person in danger right now. Let us handle this.” Mike must not understand that this wasn’t me asking, but we’ll fix that real quick.

“I’m going, end of discussion. If you won’t take me, I’ll follow you there, but I am going.” I feel a hand on my right shoulder then another on my left and I look up to see both Alex and Jonah sanding beside me.

“We’ll drive him if we have to. Throw a vest on him if you have to, but he’s just going to go on his own if you don’t take him, so might as well keep him where you can watch over him. Better to work with him than to work against him, right?” Alex follows up his words with a firm squeeze of my shoulder.

“Your kids are pains in my ass, Marcus. Fine, vest and you stay in the car while we raid the facility. You can be with her as soon as we get her out of the building.” I agree immediately, unwilling to risk having him go back on his offer.

“Fine. When do we leave?”

Cadence

Well, I didn’t really see this one coming. I probably should’ve, or at the very least, it shouldn’t surprise me, but it does. I never thought I’d be able to say this, but I’ve been kidnapped. How ridiculous is that? I was locked away in my house, wallowing in my misery, when some prick broke into my room, trashed it and took my ass to this musky, old warehouse looking building on the outskirts of town. I had figured they’d beat the hell out of me like they did Luc, but, aside from the backhand I got for mouthing off, they didn’t touch me beyond carrying me around and tying me to a chair.

I guess I always assumed that being kidnapped would be more exciting…more action-packed. This whole experience has been highly disappointing. The guy they have checking on me has only come in twice, but he simply checks the knots on the rope, offers me a drink of water and then he leaves. No conversation, no threats, just quiet and thoroughly boring. I suppose I should be more worried about what these assholes have planned for me and I was at first, but now…I’m bored.

Oh look, here comes the lapdog asshole now! I watch as he walks in, makes his way over to me, checks the ropes, grabs the bottle of water and puts it to my lips. This is getting old quick. I know several hours have passed since they brought me here, but could they at least bring in a tv or radio?!

“Hey, jackass, can you bring me a tv or something? I’m bored out of my damn mind in here.” Imagine that! He glares at me, sets the bottle back on the wood crate against the wall the walks out of the room. This…is…ridiculous. I don’t know how much time passes before the door opens again, but this time, it’s not the lapdog walking in, but someone who looks like he has an ego bigger than his IQ…a lot bigger. I mean, the guy is literally strutting his shit like he’s some gift from the gods while looking like some white-trash, gangster wannabe.

“I hear you’re unhappy with your accommodations. I think you fail to understand your current situation, bitch. You’re not a guest here and my men aren’t required to treat you like one. I think we’ve been rather kind and generous considering the mess your boyfriend and his family have made for me. I should’ve let my guys teach you a lesson then dump you on your boyfriend’s porch in a broken, bloody heap.” Well, this is obviously Grady…not really surprising. I guess I had thought he’d be a little more…well…just more.

“Uh-huh…that’s fascinating and all, really, it is, but what’s the end game here? You took me from my home, made a mess of my room and…what? What’s the point? You think this will make Alex and Jonah decide to keep working for you? Do you think they’ll pay you to get me back? I just don’t see the bigger picture here. Shit, there is a bigger picture…right?” Yeah, my mouth isn’t doing me any favors, that point only proven when the back of his hand collides with my left cheek and knocks the damn chair over. So, Grady has a fragile ego…got it.

“You’re a mouthy little bitch. I suggest you sit here and shut the fuck up before I gag you. Don’t worry, I have big plans for you.” Uh, yeah, somehow I doubt that. If he’s trying to sound intimidating, he failed. Maybe he should stick to slapping me around instead. I, of course, don’t voice this thought as he leaves the room and closes the door…leaving me bored…again.

I must’ve dozed off because my body jolts when I hear the sound of gunshots and muffled shouting coming from outside the metal door. I’ll admit, it’s the most excitement I’ve had since they took me out of my bedroom. I listen to the noise as it slowly gets louder util it falls silent. The sound of someone messing with the lock on the door has me lifting my head and my vision comes into focus just in time to see the door swing open.

“Are you Cadence McClaine?” I know I’m giving this guy a “what the hell do you think” look, but just how many other people are they expecting to find? I doubt that Grady prick has rooms filled with abducted women. Still, I nod and watch as he walks over and gets to work untying me.

“My name is Mike. We’re going to get you out of here. Can you walk?” I roll my eyes as I stand up, only swaying a little before getting my bearings.

“Lead the way.” He tosses a smirk over his shoulder and shakes his head at me, but he does lead the way out of this musky, metal hellhole. I barely make it out the door when I hear my name being shouted by an all too welcome voice…Luc.

“Cade!” It takes a second to spot him, but he’s already running toward me, pulling me into his arms as soon as he’s close enough to.

“I’m sorry, so fucking sorry. I love you and I don’t wat you to stay away. I was a fucking idiot and was stuck in my head, but I didn’t mean it, Cade, I swear I didn’t mean it.” Okay, that’s too much right now, so I make sure to cut him off before he can keep rambling.

“Okay, I need to go see the medic guys and I need coffee. You can grovel later.” When he pulls back and looks at me, I can tell he’s worried I’m pushing him away, but that’s not the case, so I grab his hand and lace our fingers then pull him toward the ambulance. Once they have me strapped to the stupid bed and Lucian’s by my side, I watch as he pulls out his phone and makes a call.

“Hey, dad. We got her. She has a few bruises, but seems okay otherwise. Yeah, we’re on our way to the hospital. Yeah, just bring her down. Love you guys too. Bye.”As soon as the paramedic is done checking my vitals, Lucian takes my hand in his and lifts it so he can place a soft kiss on my knuckles.

“My dad has your mom, Alex and Jonah, so he’s bringing them to the hospital. I should give you a heads up, I think your mom officially hates me and blames me fore all of this. I guess she’s right though.” Ugh, could he just stop acting like I didn’t know what I was getting into when our relationship began?!

“Listen and listen good. You gave me a chance to back out before anything started between us. You laid it all out there and I still chose you and everything that came with you. Even with everything that’s happened since we became a we, I still choose you. I love you, even if you were a complete dick for pushing me away. I’m sorry I left the way I did instead of fighting for you to see that we should’ve been facing this together. While you were stuck in your head, my own insecurities got in my way. Now, I’ll handle my mom, but I want you with me when I do it. If you want to be with me, there’ll be no more of us facing shit alone.” He leans forward and presses his lips to mine in a soft, sweet kiss that’s too damn PG for my liking, but I get it…we have an audience.

Chapter 15

Cadence

By the time we reach the hospital, get me checked out and get me to a room for a twenty-four observation that I really feel is unnecessary, everyone is here. My mom was quick to voice her hurt, anger and irritation with the fact that I allowed Luc to be in the room while they checked me over and did their tests and scans, but didn’t have them bring her back. That was an unpleasant conversation.

Having to tell your own mom, that you love dearly, that you feel more connected to and supported by the guy you’re dating than you do by her? It didn’t go over well. Hell, it went over about as well as the conversation she started about how she doesn’t want me seeing Luc anymore. Yeah, that won’t be happening and I made that very clear to her. Mike came in right at the end of that conversation and brought a few police officers with him to ask some questions about my abduction, Alex and Jonah’s involvement with Grady and had Luc and I verify, again, that we had nothing to do with it all.

We didn’t finish up with everything until nearly one in the morning and, after her fifth time being called by the emergency room in twenty minutes, I sent my mom off, insisting she go to work. I mean, she works downstairs for heaven’s sake! Once she left the room and everyone else cleared out, it was just me and Luc, who didn’t leave my side the entire time.

“So, what now? Do you guys have to go into witness protection or something?” Don’t laugh at me! I read and watch a lot of crime dramas!

“No, nothing like that. Mike said Alex and Jonah will need to testify if they want a chance to come out of this with little to no jail time, but me, Dom and dad are in the clear. Mike said they got all of Grady’s guys. The asshole had a list of everyone who works for him and the jobs he’s sent them on sitting right on his laptop.” He shakes his head, but I get it. Grady was an idiot.

“And what about us? Where do we stand after all this?” Now, this question is one I’m nervous about hearing the answer to. I’m fairly sure he’s not leaving me, but there’s that annoying little voice in my head that’s damn sure he will.

“Well, now we work through this shit, starting with getting you the hell out of here, and then you hopefully let me make up for being a complete jackass.” Okay, so he made me smile…

“Well, we both were assholes, you know. I really am sorry for just taking off the way I did. I knew it was stupid even while I was doing it, but my insecurities…the part of me that’s just waiting for you to decide I’m not worth the effort anymore…that part was running the show. I love you, Luc.” That earns me a stunning smile and a sweet kiss that, once again, is too PG for my liking. Yes, I know, the hospital isn’t the place for this crap.

“I love you too, Cade. Oh, I hope it doesn’t bother you, but I had my dad tell Colt that we found you and that you’re okay.” Okay…that’s…unexpected?

“Why?” I really don’t see how this even ended up being a thing? Why would Colt want or need to know if I’m okay?

“Cade, when we got to your house, Colt was trying to pound your door down. He said he saw some guy in your room and rushed over to try to get to you. I don’t know how he saw into your room, but he stuck around with us until Mike and his guys showed up then told them everything he saw. I only had my dad tell him because I thought it was the right thing to do. Are you upset?” Huh…am I upset? The answer comes surprisingly easily…

“No, not really. As for how he saw, his bedroom is right across the yard from mine. Hell, I didn’t even realize I had left my curtains open. Just so you know, he’s still an asshole…just a little less of one than he was before.” He hums his agreement, but the second I yawn, he goes into loving boyfriend mode in a flash. He pulls the blanket up and tucks me in then settles back into the chair beside me.

“Alright, why don’t you get some sleep. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Epilogue – Cadence

The last year of my life has been one crazy ride. I lost my two best friends, made a new best friend who became my boyfriend, I graduated from high school with my boyfriend, my mom finally admitted that she’s been seeing someone…for over seven months…Luc and I moved into our own apartment, my dad sent me an absurd amount of money for graduation then paid to cover the cost of me going to school to become a mechanic and the final noteworthy event was the trial.

Grady was convicted of all charges and so were all his lapdogs. Grady got thirty-five years in total while his lackeys all got between ten and twenty years. Alex and Jonah got off pretty easy, both ending up with three years probation instead of getting a prison sentence. Luc and I, of course, had no involvement in the trial, beyond me giving a video recorded statement about my abduction.

I did talk to Colt after I got out of the hospital and while he expressed interest in fixing our friendship, I made it clear that there was no friendship to fix. I thanked him for what he did to help the day I was kidnapped, but I also told him that one act of kindness doesn’t make up for letting his girlfriend treat me like shit since the minute they started dating. He was clearly upset by this, but said he understood.

Luc is going to school to become a mechanic as well and his dad has already guaranteed that we both will have jobs at his shop the second we have our certifications, so we’re both pretty damn excited. It wasn’t until after I got out of the hospital that I found out Marcus owns his own shop, yet another thing he bought from Luc’s uncle.

It’s crazy to think that in all the chaos in my life, all the things that fell apart and all the hurt I had forced upon me, I found the one person who grounds me…who makes me feel like I’m worth loving…worth staying for. We may not be perfect and we’ll surely have some rough roads ahead, but I finally found someone who’s not only worth fighting for, but who’s willing to fight for me. This isn’t my happily ever after, this isn’t a story after all, but this is the beginning of something amazing and I’m ready for the ride of my life.