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Chapter 29

We decided not to go hiking and went home instead. By now it was late afternoon.

On the way there, I leaned my head against Kaden’s shoulder and held his hand, which rested on my thigh.

By now, there was only a small, dark yellow mark on his hand as a reminder of the incident at Hillhouse, and I caressed it with my thumb.

When we reached home it was raining cats and dogs. Dashing along the short path to the front door was enough to soak me through. Kaden laughed as he heard me cursing. Rain didn’t bother him at all.

I hadn’t even opened the front door all the way, but Kaden was already inside. He grabbed my hand and pulled me after him up the stairs. I laughed, remembering how he’d already done something similar before.

“Are you planning to make another dent in the wall?”

He turned to me and grinned. Then and there he grabbed me around the waist and lifted me up, though we hadn’t reached our floor yet. He kissed me wildly, sending an electric tingling through my entire body.

“I need a shower,” murmured Kaden, and carried me the rest of the way up, my legs wrapped around his body.

“Me too.” I laughed through our kiss.

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

Once upstairs, he set me down and reached again for my hand. Laughing, we turned the corner.

Kaden stopped so suddenly that I ran into him.

He let go of my hand. It dropped limply. It was as if he’d turned to stone.

“Kaden, what—”

“Get out.”

Confused, I stepped forward.

Leaning against the wall at our apartment door was a guy wearing a suit and white shirt, a matching jacket flung over one shoulder. His dark blond hair was loosely styled, and he regarded us with an amused smirk that made me instantly uncomfortable.

He looked like the little boy in the photos at Rachel’s house.

A lot like Kaden. And then again not.

“I mean it,” Kaden said in a threatening tone. “Get out.”

Kaden’s features froze like a statue, he was that rigid. I was starting to feel scared.

“Nice to see you, too, bro,” said Alex. Unlike Kaden, his body seemed relaxed. His gaze wandered from Kaden to me. He smiled. “Who do we have here?”

This inquiry seemed to wake Kaden from his shock. He grimaced, grabbed me by the arm and pulled me with him to the apartment door. His grip was strong and hurt, but I didn’t complain. I trusted Kaden, and if he reacted this way there must be a good reason.

He didn’t let me go until he’d unlocked the door and pushed me ahead into the hall.

“It’s about Dad, Kaden. He wants to sell a part of the company.” Alex was still standing in the same position, still leaning casually against the doorframe. He hadn’t even raised his voice.

“Why should I care?” Kaden shot back and chucked his jacket toward the coatrack. I bent down to pick it up and hung it on a hook.

“They’re the shares he’s wanted to transfer to you since your twenty-first birthday. You know he’s been trying to get you on board for ages. But if you don’t want the shares, he’ll sell them.”

Kaden tried to slam the door shut without another word, but Alex was quicker. His foot shot forward like lightning, blocking the door from latching. With the flat of his hand, he pushed it back open.

“Just sign the papers, and I’ll leave,” he pleaded.