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Darius launches at him, his fist swinging. His knuckles connect with Cade’s jaw, and Cade flies backward. He hits a wooden chair as he goes down, the chair splintering. Then he’s lying on the floor, with Darius on top of him, and he hits him again.
Cade doesn’t even fight back. He just lets his brother beat him, taking every hit. Blood flies, spattering across the wooden floorboards.
“Enough!” Reed roars.
He grabs Darius by the shoulders and drags him off. All the fight has gone out of Darius, too, and he allows his father to pull him away from Cade.
Cade just lies there, his chest rising and falling, his handsome face a bloodied mess. The sight of him brings tears to my eyes.
“I never meant to get you all killed,” he whispers to none of us in particular, staring up at the ceiling.
“You didn’t,” I say. “We’re all still alive. Look at us. We’re fine.”
Fine might be pushing it, but we’re not dead yet. We still have a chance.
What will happen if we are rescued, though? Will those same men still come after Cade? Come after Darius? If they learn of our relationship, maybe they’ll even come after me.
I suddenly understand what Cade was thinking. Would I choose to sacrifice any of them for us to be back in civilization? Not in a heartbeat.
We might have our challenges here, but, for the most part, we’re safe.
And we have each other.
Chapter Forty-Two
Laney
IT’S OUR FINAL NIGHTin the cabin. Tomorrow, we leave, and I’m sick with heartache and sorrow. Though I’m frightened to stay, it also feels as though leaving the cabin means saying goodbye to the relationship I have with these three men.
The others are out collecting final supplies, but Reed comes home early and alone.
He stops short when he sees me. “Why are you crying?”
I lift my head and stare at him in disbelief. Can he really be this dumb?
He carries on speaking. “You’ve barely eaten all week. You don’t talk to us anymore. What’s going on?”
I widen my eyes. “Are you serious?”
His forehead crumples. “What do you mean?”
“For someone who is forty years old and acts like he knows his shit, you are really fucking stupid.”
“What are you talking about?”
I shake my head and sit up. “No one in my life has ever really wanted me around. My mother barely even knew if I was there half the time. The men who came into her life—including you—left again just as quickly. I never even knew who my father was. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you don’t want me either.”
He comes and sits beside me on the couch.
“Of course I want you around, Laney. We all do. But you don’t have to give your body to us for us to care about you.”
“I know that, but I want to be loved.”
“Youareloved. We all love you.”
I shake my head. “Not that kind of love, Reed. I don’t want to be loved as a sister or a daughter. I don’t want gentle kindness. I don’t want you to be fuckingfondof me. I want intense passion. I want obsession. I want to be consumed by all of you. That’s not the kind of love you have for a family member—step or otherwise. And every time I look at any of you, I can tell that I’m not the only one who feels this way, but you’re making it seem like how we feel for each other is wrong or dirty. How can it be wrong to love someone so powerfully?”
“We’re related, Laney,” he says softly, but I hear the pain in his voice.
