Page 146 of The Broken Note

He nods. “I haven’t forgotten my promise. Pick a date and I’ll arrange the amusement park passes for your friends.”

“Yes!” Vi pumps her fist. My little sister hurries away, dancing like she just got a million bucks.

I turn slowly, pinning Dutch with a blistering stare.

“If you’re going to yell at me, at least do it in air conditioning.” He turns sharply and stalks to his car.

My sneakers thump the ground as I stomp behind him. “You’re going overboard.”

“You expect me to do nothing after hearing that your mom might have witnessed a murder?” Dutch growls.

“She’s a liar. It might not have been that serious.”

“It doesn’t matter.” He sinks into the front seat and juts his chin at the passenger side. “Get in.”

I grab his door to keep him from locking it. Dutch’s eyes slick over my body. Heat prickles through my stomach as his gaze darkens.

The dynamic between us is different with me standing and Dutch looking up at me. I feel powerful and a little untouchable like this.

The crack of attraction thickens until it’s overtaking me.

“Back off, Dutch. I can take care of my family by myself. I don’t need you. I don’t need anyone.”

If I say it loud enough and often enough, it doesn’t feel so much like a lie. It doesn’t feel like the thinly-composed armor that I’ve been wearing all my life. It feels real. More real than this…thingbetween us.

Dutch curves his fingers around my hips and my breath becomes uneven. He skims a rough hand down my side. His hands bear the scars of music. Years spent brutally sliding his fingers over nylon strings, wearing them down to hard beds.

“You don’t have to need me. You don’t even have to want me. But you’ve got me, Cadey. And since I’m here, you won’t ever have to struggle by yourself again. I won’t let you. I forbid it. ”

Broken notes haunt my mind.

Quiet. Steady. Trilling.

I whimper as his fingers slip behind my back and find the dip of my spine.

“You are more important to me than I am.”

My breath catches in my throat.

Dutch tugs me forward, pulling me into the car with him. His spicy cologne fills the air around me and I inhale, getting drugged.

His lips curve up sharply. Not a smile. No, not even close. A warning.

“How long are you going to fight me?” he whispers.

I blink unsteadily. “As long as it takes.”

Dutch’s hand grazes the side of my face, sliding a single fingertip down my throat. “How do you think I’d feel if something happened to you or Vi?”

“I told you. We’re fine.” My body loosens without my permission. It’s like I have no control around him. Like all my defenses have been so badly damaged by our past encounters that I can’t even begin to protect myself.

Dutch guides me up on my knees. He secures an inked arm around me, holding me steady as he rolls his chair all the way back. “Fine isn’t good enough. I want you safe.”

The chair makes a click sound, slamming to a stop. Dutch has it as far back as it can go, but there’s still not enough room. I’m squashed between his body and the steering wheel and the space gets even smaller when he closes the door.

“No one showed up yet.” I put a hand on his shoulder, my head falling back as his hands slip under my shirt.

The only bad guys I’ve encountered bear the last name Cross. But mom didn’t exactly drag them into my life. They came on their own.