Page 180 of The Broken Note

My rules.

I’ve never had to give up that power for anyone. Never felt the need to.

I close my eyes and try to picture a world without Cadey in it. All I feel is immeasurable pain, darkness, lashing winds and so much emptiness.

I can give up here. I can move on. I can find some other girl to screw and bear me a child, but I don’t want to.

Even if it means I have to die, it’s Cadey or nothing.

“I love her,” I say, my eyes springing wide open. “I love her.”

Finn bobs his head, looking pleased. “Then what the hell are you waiting for? Go get on that plane.”

* * *

CADENCE

The first thing I see when I pry my eyelids apart are beautiful amber eyes. Gold and honey. A worried gaze.

My heart picks up speed.

Dutch?

I reach out and touch his face. It’s warm.

Tears sting my eyes and I cup his cheek. What is this feeling in my chest? This… swelling emotion. Why does it feel like home?

“Cadence,” a voice that is not Dutch’s rings in my ears, “drink this.”

I blink and gasp when Hunter’s face comes into focus. He’s stripped out of his shirt and is just wearing a wifebeater. He holds out a bowl of soup to me.

Panicked, I scramble up and look down at myself. When I see that I’m wearing a robe and nothing else, I grab the blanket and pull it up to my chest.

“What happened last night?” I croak.

“You drank too much, so I took you back to the hotel room and then…” Hunter glances at the floor where my panties and bra are lying haphazardly.

My heart lurches to my throat. I don’t remember much about last night except for drinking too much and goading Hunter into kissing me at the pub.

I try to sit up straighter, but my head hurts like someone’s slamming it with a hammer.

“Don’t try to move too fast,” Hunter says.

I flinch when he puts his hand on my arm to help me. He notices and withdraws.

Awkwardness falls heavy between us.

“I need to use the bathroom,” I whisper.

Hunter nods.

I roll out of bed and scramble to the bathroom. Once I’m in there, I lock the door and try to make sense of what happened. It’s hard to think straight with my pounding headache, but I collect all the evidence.

The rumpled bed.

My naked body.

Hunter’s naked body.