Page 128 of The Broken Note

I reach for his face, bringing it toward mine.

“No,” he says sternly.

I jerk to a stop at the rejection.

“Are there any more secrets, Cadey? Anything else I should know about?” He grits his teeth. Hands on either side of me. Knuckles turning white. “Tell me now.”

Secrets?

Like the fact that I’m working with Jinx?

Like the fact that his dad has ‘evidence’ of him dealing drugs because of me?

“What about you?” I deflect.

His eyebrow jumps.

I clutch the back of his neck tightly. My thoughts return to the night in the treehouse. The food delivery the next morning. The fact that he hasn’t brought up any concerns about us skipping protection.

“Is there anything you’re hiding from me?”

“Yes.”

My heart ricochets. I can’t hide my surprise.

“But it’s not my secret to share.”

I stare at him in confusion.

With a stern frown, Dutch cups my chin with his fingers and lifts my face. “Is that all you have to say?”

I narrow my eyes at him.

He waits a bit. And then he shakes his head. “One day, you’re going to be honest with me, Cadence Cooper.”

“Why should I?”

He closes the distance between us and kisses me. His tongue practically burns as it slides between my lips, making room for all the lashing, uncontrollable emotions he sparks to life.

Fire races through my belly, making my sore insides demand more. Demand everything.

Dutch eases back just enough to whisper over my lips, “Because you and me, we’re—”

“Damaged?”

His fingers trace my lips. “Inevitable.”

Heat cascades over me, obliterating the crumbs of self-control that lingered.

I arch my back on the slippery surface of the car hood and bring his head down for an explosive kiss that rocks the soul out of us both, falling so deeply into him that I don’t hear the phone ringing in the backseat…

* * *

Jinx: As promised, New Girl. A secret for a secret. Attached is a video of the real culprit setting the fire. Surprised? The cat’s out of the bag and it’s too late to turn back. Once a secret rises from the grave, it can never be buried again.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR

CADENCE