Pretty in the Dark (Dark and Wild #2)

Chapter 21

21

CADE

“ 7 5…76…77…” I huffed, my abs straining as I counted out my sit-ups on my living room floor. I was on my third round after finishing a heavy workout session in the garage gym below me.

My townhome was mid-distance between the shop and the historic part of Wild, in a newer district that had been built up within the last five years. Another gift from Kage after he’d found out I was perfectly content sleeping on the couch at the shop. I’d tried to explain to him I’d looked at multiple apartments and homes, but every time I set foot in one, all I could see was the nine-by-five prison cell that I’d spent all those years in, closing in on me. He’d handed me the keys and said I would never be able to leave that cell in my mind if I didn't first leave it with my body.

In time, I understood what he meant. I no longer saw the gray walls whenever I closed my eyes. Or felt the slamming of barred doors behind me. But there were still some things that I couldn’t let go of. Like finishing a workout the way I’d done every day that I’d spent in that cell, by pushing my body to the point of exhaustion with push-ups and sit-ups until I nearly passed out. Sometimes it was the only thing that cleared my mind.

The sound of my security system alerting me to someone at my door pulled me out of my thoughts, and I set my phone back down, determined to ignore it until I caught a glimpse of blonde hair the color of gold-spun sunshine on the security camera feed.

What was Juniper doing here?

She buzzed again, and I realized I’d been staring at her on my screen instead of answering her. I hit the button and buzzed her up before walking into my kitchen to make a protein shake.

Juniper appeared around the corner a moment later, and I had to catch my breath. Somehow, the sight of her standing in my home shifted something inside of me. Her wide, blue eyes took everything in. From the modern kitchen that faced an open-concept living room, to the circular stairs that led to a loft-style bedroom area. Everything was open and I had a free line of sight from every corner of the house. Kage had done a good job picking a space that didn’t make me feel like the walls were closing in on me. Even the windows that lined most of the living room wall faced the towering mountains as a backdrop to the city, so that I could see the lights and modern sprawl that spread out before them.

“Wow.” She cleared her throat after a moment. “You have a really nice place.” There was a stiffness in her words, a distance that I hated hearing. But I’d put it there, hadn’t I? I’d slammed the door closed between us when she’d asked me for the one thing I couldn’t give her. The truth.

“Thanks.” I squeezed my shaker bottle and inwardly cussed at myself. One word? Really? That’s all I could get out? I sounded like the neanderthal she said I was.

Clearing my throat, I waved awkwardly at the living room and the large modular couch that took up most of the space. “Do you want to sit down?”

She opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again shifting uncomfortably and shook her head. “No…I…”

Something was wrong. I could see the worry and fear in her eyes. I stepped around my kitchen island to stand in front of her. “Juniper, what’s wrong? What happened?”

“He took her, Cade.” Her voice trembled, tears welling in her blue depths, and something inside of me snapped.

My fingers dug into the soft leather of the jacket she wore as I closed the distance between us and grabbed her arms. “Who took her? Who are you talking about, Juniper?”

The words tumbled out of her, spilling like the tears that fell down her cheeks. “Kage took me to his warehouse. I saw Jax there. I know, Cade. I know everything. I know about the tattoos. I know about the Diablos. I know about how you spied on me.”

My gut clenched as rage spiked. Fucking Kage. Of course he wouldn’t waste an opportunity to pull Juniper deeper into his schemes. “What do you mean Kage showed you the warehouse? Why the fuck did you go with him?”

My anger leaked into my voice and Juniper responded by jerking out of my grip. “Because I asked him to!” She snapped. “Because he’s the only person who’s at least been honest with me. Yeah, he’s a fucking murderer and probably more than a little on the unhinged side, so I’m not exactly sure what that says about me since he’s my goddamn brother and we have the same damn DNA.” She took a deep breath before shoving at my chest with her finger. “But he doesn’t hide who he is from me.” Those blue eyes that I wanted to drown in looked up at me, not full of anger or rage like I’d expected, but instead, they radiated with pain and regret. “He also doesn’t protect me from the shadows. Or care if my car has the right tires. Or pay for my brother’s school just to keep him out of trouble.”

She stepped in closer and placed a hand on my chest, just over my heart. “He didn’t tattoo my art on his chest. Or remember how I take my coffee.” My breath caught as I fought the urge to lean down and inhale her honeyed scent. To breathe her in so deep that she was permanently etched into my soul.

“My brother doesn’t hide who he is from me because he doesn’t care about shielding me. Either I’ll survive, or I won’t.” She chuckled, half a smirk curving her beautiful lips, even as the tears still streaked down her cheeks. “And I’m ok with that. I really am.”

She took a deep breath and continued on. “So you can be mad at Kage for opening my eyes to the darker aspects of his life all you want. But you have to understand something. It’s my choice if I want to step into it. I’m not afraid of the dark, Cade.” Her head tipped back and her gaze pierced my soul. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“You should be, pretty girl.” It was my turn to step away from her. I lifted my hands up, brandishing the cuts and bruises on them. “You don’t know the things I’ve seen, the things I’ve done, or the lengths I would go to protect you.” I dropped my hands to my sides once more, but before they could fall, she reached out and snatched them into her grip.

“You mean like taking out the sheriff?”

My jaw flexed, and images of punching Kage in his big, fat fucking mouth flashed through my brain. “He told you?”

She shook her head. “He didn’t need to. I put two and two together after the visit to the warehouse, and Jax gave up the name of the person helping to track me.”

She dropped my hands and held her own out. “You think you’re the only one with dark secrets? My scars may not be visible like yours, but they’re there if you would open up your eyes and look. If you would just listen to me when I speak.”

Realization came to me like a punch to the gut. Juniper knew about the photos.

“Juniper I—” but she held up a hand and cut me off.

“I don’t want your pity, Cade.” Her blue eyes welled with tears again that she blinked away. “You already gave me the greatest gift when you took out the son of a bitch for me.”

“How long?” My voice almost broke. Visions of the sheriff’s mangled face danced in my head, and I wanted to dig him up just to drown myself in his blood once again.

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. What does matter is that Edmund has Stacy, my best friend. And if he’s taken her, then who knows who else he’s willing to go after to get to me?” The look of wild fear in her eyes told me she was already thinking of everyone who was close to her. Her friends from the Emporium, and her brother.

She gripped my arm again and tipped her head back to stare deep into my eyes. Those brilliant blues seeking mine, searching, asking, but more than that…accepting. She didn’t question the murder. She didn’t push me to tell her why or judge me. “I need you Cade. I need the real you. The one you try to hide from me. The one you tried to hide when we were just kids. I needed you then and I need you now. But just like it’s my choice to stay or walk away from the dark, it’s your choice too. I’m not going to manipulate you like my brother would. But if we’re going to survive what’s coming, we have to be honest with each other.” She stepped in closer, and the honey and lavender scent of her washed over me once more. “You’re not the person I need protecting from. You're the man I love.”

Her confession slammed into me like a freight train. My fingers found her chin as I tipped her head back further, my large body caging her smaller one. She loved me.

Her words from the other night under the bleachers came back to me. “I was corrupted long before I ever met you.”

She’d been trying to tell me all this time. All those years ago she’d been trying to show me who she really was, and I’d blindly ignored it. But she’d seen me. She’d known who I was all along and accepted me.

She loved me. All of me.

The urge to protect her, to shove her in a vault while I handled whatever evil doings Edmund had planned was overwhelming. But that’s not what she was asking me to do.

She loved me. She knew I had killed for her. Stole for her. Lied to and manipulated her. And she loved me.

She didn’t want a knight in shining armor. She didn’t want the rich daddy’s friend. She wanted the killer. She wanted the man with blood on his hands. She wanted me. And I was going to give him to her. No more hiding who I was just to protect her.

“Juniper…” My head bent down, my hands moving to cradle her face.

“Yes, Cade?” Our breaths mixed as our mouths barely brushed against each other, lips tingling with the contact.

“I love you, too.”

Her eyes lit up as a gasp fell from her lips, and she tried to push forward to press her mouth against mine, but I pulled away. “I love you, pretty girl. But right now? I’m going to fuck you like I don’t.”