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“Cade!” I protest.
With my empty hand, I shove at his chest. He’s solid as rock and doesn’t budge. He reaches up and grips my jaw between his thumb and forefinger, and then drags his thumb over my bottom lip.
“Shame you’re still only seventeen.”
I scowl. I don’t know why, but it feels like him saying that minimizes me somehow, like he thinks it makes me less important. One thing I always want is to be taken seriously, and the fact he doesn’t just because of my age pisses me off.
“I’ll be eighteen in a few days,” I snap.
He smirks, and it dawns on me that I might have just said the wrong thing.
He doesn’t move his body. “A few days, huh? Think we’ll still be here then? Lost out in the middle of nowhere, with no one around to judge us or to report anything.”
What’s he saying? That he can do whatever he wants because there’s no one around to hold him accountable? The thought shoots fear through me, but also something else. A thrill of excitement. No, I don’t want to think like that. Cade is a fucking asshole, and not only that, he’s my stepbrother. That he’s also huge and a little scary and right now he has his fingers on my lips, sending a dark thrill and tingle down through my core to coalesce between my legs, means nothing. Or so I keep telling myself.
I swallow, and I wish my voice would come out stronger than it does. “Reed won’t like this.”
He smiles again, the corner of those perfect lips curling. “You really think I give a fuck what Reed likes or doesn’t like? Besides, I’ve seen the way my father looks at you. He might be acting like he’s the perfect stepfather right now, but it’s all an act. That isn’t who he really is.”
“You’re lying.”
“Am I? You think he’s all reformed or some shit, but think about it for a minute. This is a man who walked out on his pregnant girlfriend when she had his other baby to look after as well. He’s the sort of man who married some other woman he barely even knew, and walked out on her, too.”
“He’s different now,” I insist. “He’s changed.”
Finally, Cade creates space between us. He releases me and steps back, and, to my surprise, I find myself missing the solid shield of his body. While he’d been crushed against me, for once I hadn’t given any thought to the never-ending expanse of forest that stretched all around us. I hadn’t thought of the bugs that seemed to constantly buzz in my ears and land on my skin, leaving me itchy, or the possibility of wild animals stalking us. All I’d thought about was him, the proximity of his body to mine, the way he’d stared into my eyes, and the touch of his thumbon my lips. While I was focused on that, I wasn’t thinking about how we might die out here.
“Sure, you keep telling yourself that,” he says. “Maybe certain parts of him are changed, like he’s not abusing alcohol and drugs anymore, but that doesn’t make him a different person.”
I still refuse to believe him. I need to believe Reed is a good man. I’m relying on him to save me. To protect me. But what if Cade is right?
“He raised both of you,” I say. “He turned his life around foryou. Look at the lives you’re both living. He must have done something right.”
“The first time he heard Darius play, it was like dollar signs appeared in his eyes.”
“You’ve done pretty well out of your brother, too,” I point out.
“Darius and I, we watch out for each other. You think he’d live half as well as he does without me?”
“Darius is perfectly capable of taking care of himself.”
“I watch his back. I’m his eyes. You think his level of fame only brings with it adoring fans? There are people out there who are all kinds of crazy. Because he’s in the public eye, they think they know him. They think they have a right to him. And I’m not just talking about women, either. One time, he got back to his dressing room to find a guy in there. He said Darius was his muse and, in his head, had convinced himself that they were best buddies. Darius had replied to one of his comments on social media at some point, and this guy had taken that to mean they knew each other now. He claimed that he should be on tour with Darius and refused to take no for an answer. When we asked him to leave, he got violent and produced a gun. I was the one who took him down, who prevented anyone from getting hurt. You think Darius would be able to handle shit like that without me?”
I raise my free hand in defense. “Okay, okay. You don’t need to explain yourself to me.”
“No, you’re right. I fucking don’t.”
He turns his back on me and stalks away, leaving me standing there, my heart still racing, a pool of half squashed berries held in my t-shirt.
Chapter Seventeen
Reed
I DON’T LIKE LEAVINGthe others behind, but finding water needs to be a priority.
I haven’t seen any signs of a well having been dug near the property. I can only assume whoever built this place had intentions of digging one at some point, but then never followed through.
Working on the theory that water runs downhill, I follow the downward slant of the hillside. I keep an eye on my location, ensuring I’ll be able to find my way back again. It won’t do any of us any good if I end up lost out here.
