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Lucia lifted her chin higher into the air and her gaze bore straight through Cadence as she uttered, “Sasha.”
Such confusion warred with hope inside of her chest. “How do you know?”
“Anyone can see when love is a poison. It’s not supposed to be like that. It’s supposed to be like my father and my mother. It is supposed to be Beaston and Aviana. Harrison and Audrey. Kellen and Skyler. It’s supposed to be like the Gray Backs, and the Boarlanders, and the Ashe Crew. It’s supposed to be like Jenna and Lucas. He cannot break free if you do not let him.”
Cadence shook her head, consumed by so many emotions. “I don’t understand.”
“Give him the good in you and watch him thrive. Or remain scared and watch him stay exactly as he is. Sasha feels good and whole if he is in the mud, but you…” Lucia angled her face. “You don’t drag him up. You give him the strength to drag himself up. I’ve seen.”
Cadence was speechless and just sat there like a lump on a log.
Jenna murmured, “Holy shit,” and leaned back in her chair with wide eyes trained on Lucia. “You sound like Beaston.”
Lucia shook her head hard. “I am just Lucia. I never wanted to be like my father.”
“Why not?” Jenna asked.
“Because…” Lucia looked at both of them in turn. “Because the visions are my whole life, and I still remember what life was without them. I miss me.”
Cadence closed her eyes at the pain in that admission. She’d never thought of how manifesting visions as an adult must’ve been for Lucia. Weston, her brother, was a few years into his visions now. He understood himself better.
When she eased her eyes open again, Jenna was staring at Lucia with such a soft understanding in her eyes. She leaned down suddenly, grabbed the bottle of sparkling grape juice, and poured more into Lucia’s empty cup.
Jenna lifted her glass. “To three friends, sitting in three chairs that have been waiting for us.”
Cadence had never had more gooseflesh on her skin than she had in this last ten minutes. Lucia was very tough, and blunt, and at times a little frightening, but she was special. She had so many more layers than Cadence had realized. And from the admiration in Jenna’s eyes, she thought her friend felt the same.
Lucia’s face cracked into a rare smile for just a split-second, and she ducked her gaze, then lifted her cup. Cadence leaned forward and clicked her cup against Lucia’s, the same as Jenna did. “To three friends.”
Chapter Eight
Cadence was tired, but happy as she waved goodbye to the girls and whispered her goodnights. She didn’t want to wake up the boys.
Kru had messaged earlier that Gunner was back home, but when she’d asked if he had Changed, Kru had changed the subject and said simply that everyone had survived.
She’d worried for a minute because Gunner was a monster, but she’d seen Kru in action. His saber-toothed tiger was a killer.
She checked his single-wide mobile home at the edge of the woods, and his truck was parked in front of it. He must’ve gone back to the bar for his truck. The lights were off, and a little disappointed sensation tickled right behind her sternum.
It was okay. He was sleeping. It was late and the night had been a long one, and he had work in the morning and he should be sleeping.
She ripped her gaze away from his house and pushed open her door.
She could smell him immediately. He’d worn the cologne that she secretly loved tonight. The light over the stove was on, and Kru was laid out across her couch, fast asleep. She froze.
He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and across his back were deep claw marks that were only half-healed. Geez. Those were going to scar. Fuckin’ Gunner. Anger swept over her and she wanted to go wake him up and throttle him.
His back looked so painful, but his face was relaxed in sleep, facing her. His hair was mussed, and he wore gray sweatpants—the literal sexiest thing a man could wear ever. His muscular arm hung from the couch and his hand rested on the floor. He was so tall, he didn’t fit on the couch, so his knees were bent and his feet dangled over the arm of the couch.
As she stepped forward slowly, the floor creaked underfoot. Kru tensed, then winced with the movement. A soft groan of pain left his lips as he locked his arm against the ground and opened his eyes.
A moment of confusion took him before he gave her a sleepy smile, and oh, that smile did something to her insides.
“Hey,” he said in a sleepy, gravelly voice.
She closed the door behind her and came to sit on the coffee table in front of him. “You don’t have to get up. That looks painful.”
His face twitched in pain as he eased up to a sitting position. She scanned his muscular torso, but there weren’t any injuries there, thank goodness. She had to put in actual effort to pull her attention from his flexed six-pack as he rubbed his eyes sleepily.
