Page 167 of Their Cruel Play
“Oh.” It could have been so much worse.
“I don’t want him near you.” Luke reaches out and takes my hand.
“It’s inevitable though. He’s your father.” I squeeze his hand and give him an encouraging smile. “We still don’t know what he wants you to find?”
He shakes his head. “Caden is coming. He just figured he’d show up later. So only I have to go to the guest bedroom in the morning.”
I nod, but my mind is stuck on what my father might have that would belong to Luke’s dad. “The only thing I have from my dad is the motorcycle Mom gave me for my birthday.”
Luke straightens. “Is it here?”
“Yeah, in the shed. I just have to find the key.” I stand and Luke stands with me. “It might be nothing. I didn’t even know about it until my birthday and haven’t really thought about it since.”
He grabs the back of my neck and kisses me. My insides swirl with fire. I grab onto his shoulders.
“Go get the key, princess,” he says against my lips.
My knees are weak. Fuck, he’s potent. I release him and go to my room. A lot has happened since my birthday. I’m not sure which drawer I put it in. I open and close a few drawers before I find the box my mom gave me.
When I come downstairs, Luke is talking to someone. I hesitate, but then I hear the low rumble of Caden’s voice. What is wrong with me? Do I still not trust him?
I don’t dwell on it as I approach them. “Found it.”
“Hey, little nympho.” Caden draws me into his chest for a hug. His cinnamon scent surrounds me and makes me feel safe. It eases that brief moment from the stairs.
My eyes open to meet Luke’s. Trust isn’t really something they offered at first. They didn’t trust me, and I didn’t trust them. But now?
Now, I’m fucked. I want to trust them. I want to know the truth of what they’ve done in the past so that I can move on with them into the future. Our future.
At first, I thought Caden didn’t trust me to handle art class on my own. But today, Tanner only spoke when necessary and didn’t taunt me in front of Caden. He seemed to be back to the planning stage. I should be mad Caden pushed into the group, but I enjoy discussing art with him.
It wasn’t about not trusting me. It’s about backing me up and protecting me.
I need to trust in at least that. Besides, Caden makes art class enjoyable again.
“Are we going to stand here and hug all day or are we going to go look at your father’s motorcycle?” Luke makes an impatient noise, which makes me smile as I look up into his eyes. They’re not cold to me anymore. I’ve seen him get cold with others still though.
Caden squeezes me against him before releasing me. “You’re just jealous.”
Luke’s hand finds mine and he shakes his head at Caden. “Not at all. Just anxious. Whatever her father took might help us untangle ourselves from our fathers’ webs.”
I lead them outside to the shed and unlock it. Luke checks around it to see if there’s any evidence of the shed being tampered with.
“He wouldn’t need access to you if it’s out here.” Luke joins us at the door. “There’s got to be more to it.”
“I don’t know what my dad left behind.” I rub my hand on my thigh. “Mom doesn’t really talk about him, but I could ask. Honestly, I don’t remember much about him. She might know what we’re looking for.”
“Let’s see what we have first.” Caden rubs my back before Luke steps into the shed. We follow him in.
A drop cloth covers the motorcycle in the back corner.
“I don’t know what to do with it.” I pull the cover off. The other reason I hadn’t thought about it. I don’t need a ride to school. I don’t know what kind of repairs it will need. If it even starts up.
Caden runs his hand over the black metal body. “Nice.”
“If it’s been out here for years, my father would have checked on it already.” Luke studies the bike and the shed.
“There are a lot of places to hide shit on a bike like this.” Caden holds his hand out to me and I drop the key into it.
