Pretty in the Dark (Dark and Wild #2)

Chapter 11

11

JUNIPER

W ith his kiss and a smile still lingering on my lips, I made my way into the kitchen and pulled out the coffee beans and grinder. I wasn't a semi-professional chef like Cade was, apparently, but I could at least make coffee. Or something that passed for coffee. While the smell of freshly brewed bean juice filled the kitchen, I rummaged around the pantry for something semi-edible. A familiar tupperware container caught my eye, and I nearly squealed with glee. Bess's famous lemon and blueberry scones made my stomach rumble with hunger. How they'd escaped Dean's bottomless pit of a stomach, I didn't know, but I sent up a prayer of thanks as I pulled out the dish and set it on the kitchen island.

I fingered the polaroid photos that I'd picked up off the floor, tucking them into the pocket of my pajamas as I was getting dressed. Had Cade noticed them? I wondered if Cade would be as shocked as I had been to see that it seemed like our parents had at least been friendly with each other at one point. Something we were both raised to believe would only have happened if hell froze over. My gaze traced over my mother's face, her smiling eyes and the softness in them as she gazed at the mystery man. I'd never seen her look like that when she was alive. It was too early to text Stacy and see if she'd made any progress with Kage Diovolo. More than likely, she'd still be sleeping off her shift at The Pit, or a hangover. Probably both knowing Stacy.

Cade had told me that my brother wanted to meet with me. But then, I hadn't heard a peep from either of them for weeks until Cade had shown up at Dean's school. Now he was back in my house and I had more questions than answers. I decided then that he wasn't leaving until I had a few of them answered. I eyed the scones, debating on whether or not I should hide a few for later. Who knew how hungry Cade would be?

The man himself appeared in the doorway, leaning casually against it with his arms crossed over his chest. The fabric of his thermal shirt pulled taut, highlighting the thick curve of his muscled shoulders and biceps. Holy shit. I tore my gaze away, determined to not get distracted or drool in front of him, but not before I caught the smirk that curled at the corner of his lips, and the teasing tone of his voice. "Did you make that for me, pretty girl?" He nodded his chin to the counter where I'd placed the plate of scones and two steaming mugs of coffee.

I picked up one scone and glared at him. "Did I make them? No. I'm a walking kitchen disaster. Am I offering them to you? Also no. These things are like gold around here." I waved the scone in front of his nose as he moved to stand closer to me. "But answer some questions and I'll consider sharing with you."

A brow arched in amusement as he leaned to snap his teeth playfully at my hand. "If you're trying to bribe me, I know something else that would get me talking a lot faster than scones." The heat in his gaze had me sucking in a breath. Focus Juniper, focus! You want answers, not orgasms.

" Answers over orgasms? Interesting..." Cade grinned, and before I could close my mouth which hung open in shock, he'd reached around me and snagged a scone for himself, popping the entire thing in his mouth. Had I really just said that?

"What—" I glared at him and pulled the plate away. "No scones for you! I need answers."

He cocked his head, his gaze still heated as he gave me a slow once over, his gaze heating. "I don't know, pretty girl, I think I prefer orgasms."

I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "Cade, be serious." Something in my tone must have made him realize I was nervous, the anxiousness bleeding through. Was I really going to ask him? Was I really going to share the information I'd found with him? Yes. My heart sped up. No more secrets. No more lies. Cade had a right to know.

He eyed me expectantly, those hazel eyes searching mine, and I cleared my throat. "I found something, and I think you should see it. It's about your dad."

"You already told me about the file." A small frown creased his forehead, crinkling the scar that I couldn't help but think was sexy as hell.

"This isn't about the file. Although, maybe it's related. I'm just not sure how, yet." I slid the photo of the four smiling people across the counter to him. "I think our parents used to be friends. I don't think our families were always the enemies they made us out to be."

Cade's frown deepened as he picked up the photo and studied it. If it shocked him or he had any knowledge of who was in the photograph, he gave nothing away. His features remained blank except for the frown. "This is just a picture, Juniper. It doesn't really tell us anything."

"Well then, maybe this picture does." I pulled the second photo out, the one with the people in masks, and slid it toward him. "Look at the names on the back."

His scar glinted in the morning light as he looked at the photo and then at me. "This is the masked photo you told me about?"

I nodded, fingers tightening on my coffee mug in anticipation. Would he know?

He flipped the photo over and genuine surprise crossed his handsome face. Hazel-green eyes flicked up at me over the photo. "You think our parents were involved in this..." he paused, searching for the word, "...group?"

"They were involved in something." I shrugged and picked up another scone, taking a bite and letting the familiar burst of flavors settle my nerves. "But what, I can’t say. And if our families were friends at one point, what happened to make them hate each other so much?"

I took a sip of my coffee and observed him. He'd made no mention of the other man in the photo. Almost purposefully. A gnawing suspicion grew. "Who is he?"

Cade's mouth thinned into a grim line but he didn't answer me.

I set my mug down.

"You know who he is."

"Juniper..." His voice was a low growl of warning.

"No." I blinked as realization dawned. "You knew who he was even before I showed you that picture."

"Juniper, I didn't know about the picture or anything that you've shown me so far." He was being purposely evasive, and it was pissing me off.

"What aren't you telling me, Cade?" I pushed away from the counter and angrily poured the rest of my coffee down the sink. I didn't have the stomach for it anymore. "Since I've come back, you've done nothing but harp on my ass for lying to you all those years ago, and yet, here you are withholding information from me."

"That's not the same as ly—," I whirled around, my hands shaking as I gripped the edge of the counter and cut him off.

"Oh fuck you and semantics. Yes it is. You can throw sprinkles on shit but at the end of the day, it's still shit. It still stinks." I grabbed the photos and held them up. "And this smells like a massive pile of sprinkle-covered shit." I was seething now, the kitchen island suddenly becoming a buffer between us. A no-mans land of space that connected and divided us at the same time. Was this how it was always going to be between us now? Bridges mended only to break apart at the first strong gust of wind?

Cade only gave me that blank stare that said he wasn't going to reveal anything. "I'm telling you the truth. Call it shit, call it whatever you want. This is the truth. I know nothing about these photos. I know nothing about why our parents seem to be friends here."

"But you know something about the man in that photo."

His jaw flexed, the muscle ticking in agitation. "I know something. That's all I can say."

"Then you can leave." I was done with this bullshit. I'd opened up my cards and laid them all out on the table for him to see. I'd held nothing back. But it looked like Cade was still not willing to be as open with me.

"Juniper," I cursed the way my name on his lips sent tingles through me, even when I was raging, seething, at him. "I was going to say that's all I can say because I’m not the person you need to be talking to." His voice was flat, as if he’d shoved all emotion behind a steel wall.

“Oh, you mean like this mysterious brother I've never met? And tell me, exactly when am I going to be allowed to ask him questions? You protect him like he’s the fucking President or something." Was I a little bit pissed that the brother I'd never met still hadn't come forward to introduce himself? Maybe. I heard a phone vibrate on the countertop.

"Now, actually." Cade was looking at his phone with a frown creasing his handsome face.

"What?" Suddenly my mouth was dry. He couldn't be serious. I hadn't heard from Stacy yet. I needed my meeting with Kage before I met the man who was supposedly my brother. I needed to be armed with information, and I was most definitely not.

Cade's jaw tightened as he looked up. He didn't like this either. "Your brother is waiting for us. He's at my shop now." He stood up and stepped away from the counter. "Get dressed, Juniper. You're about to get the answers to all of your questions. I just hope you're ready for them."

My world tilted as I watched him storm off to the front of the house, his phone pressed to his ear, but I was too lost in my own thoughts to hear what he said. I was going to meet my brother. I should be excited, happy.

Why did it feel like I was going to meet my fate?