I wanted those feelings to go away, but when I tried to actually shove them out of me, something else took their place—a different pain, a different longing. A feeling I didn’t want to feel. It was ten times worse than the lingering daydream of Kevin, so every time I felt it, I ended up giving in to my old thoughts. Besides, he was family. That should count for something. His mother loved me like I was her daughter. That meant something to me, so even if Kevin was a lame asshole, I still had to keep him from getting killed.

“He won’t know.” Avery touched my arm again, lightly.

I moved my arm away and stepped forward. “But I’ll know.” And that was really all that mattered. I would know.

In just a few moments I was almost to them, but I had nothing planned. I was going to grab Kevin and drag him out. I figured he’d see reason once I pointed out Caden and Marcus, who were within eyesight. I was just a few steps away when I heard yelling behind me.

I twisted around, and my heart leaped to my throat.

Caden had Marcus pinned against the wall, leaning close. A group of guys ran for them, and without thinking, I changed course. Kevin became an afterthought as I pushed through the small crowd that had formed. Two men held Caden back now, though he wasn’t fighting or trying to get to his brother. He stood there glaring at Marcus.

“I can do what I want,” Marcus spat, his nostrils flared. Several guys held his arms too. “I’m sorry, Caden, but I’m not doing it.”

Caden grew still, eerily still.

I moved forward, almost close enough to touch him. One of the guys holding him moved to the side and cut me off, so I edged to the left until I was front and center.

Caden saw me then, and I could see the wheels turning in his mind.

Something not-good was coming. I chewed the inside of my cheek as I locked gazes with him. What was he going to do?

A cold and almost feral smirk adorned his face as he turned back toward his brother.

Oh no…

“Well, fuck,” he said, his voice so cold it sent shivers down my spine. “If you’re not going to help Colt out, you might as well take care of your own shit.”

Marcus went still. “What are you talking about?”

“Your girlfriend.” Caden’s smirk grew into a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. They were dead. “Last I saw, she was making out with Matthews back there.”

“Where?”

Caden laughed, cold and empty, and pushed past the two guys holding him. “You might want to examine your surroundings, Mark. Or maybe just check behind the palm tree between the last two pools.” He started to leave. He added over his shoulder, “Or not. I’m sure once she’s satisfied, she’ll find your side again.”

Then he was gone. The crowd swallowed him.

No one said a word, and I waited a beat, then pushed forward. Screw Kevin. Screw Maggie. Screw whatever happened to them now. I went after Caden.

He didn’t have to push his way through the crowd. It automatically opened for him. Not so much for me. I was at a disadvantage, and when I ran to the parking lot, he was already in the car and peeling past me.

“HEY!” I yelled, raising my hands in the air.

He braked, a little too close for comfort, right next to me. The passenger window rolled down. “What?”

I reached for the door. “Let me in.”

His eyebrows pinched together. “Why?”

“Let me in.”

He unlocked the door.

I opened it and climbed in. “Okay. I’m with you.” I had no idea what I was doing.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m with you.” I clapped the dashboard, pointing ahead. “Whatever you’re going to do, I’m in. You seem to need a friend. You’re in luck. I could use one myself. So I’m in.”

“I’m going to get drunk and have sex.”

“Oh.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “You still in?”

He was laughing now. He was still mad, but he was laughing.

For whatever reason—maybe I did want to go with him, or maybe I heard my own voice calling me boring and pathetic again—I sat back and folded my hands in my lap. “I’m in.”

He shook his head. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.” He shifted his Land Rover into drive and started forward. “But that’s your problem, not mine.”

He careened out of the parking lot, and I fell against the door. I grabbed the oh shit handle above my head, and I had a feeling that was going to be the theme for the rest of the night: Oh, shit.

North River had close to 250,000 people, so when Caden drove to the opposite end of town, I started to worry whether he knew where he was going. I was concerned right up until he pulled into a Mexican bar and grill. Just like at the country club, he bypassed the front door and went around to the back. He clearly knew where he was going.

Rounding the building, he hopped over a small iron fence that surrounded a copper-bricked veranda. Yes, it looked so easy as he merely touched the top of the side wall and leaped over like a damned gazelle.

I, on the other hand, was a tortoise. I eyed the bottom of the fence, trying to find a place where I could crawl under, but there was nothing.

Suddenly two hands found my waist and picked me up. Caden had that look in his eyes again, the one where he was half laughing at me and half exasperated. I grabbed his arms as he lifted me over the fence and set me down in front of him. And his hands didn’t move. He held me in front of him, looking down, and my pulse sped up.