Page 34 of These Wicked Desires

“Tomorrow we’ll call Connor and Drew,” Kai says, closing his eye again. “Even Cole if he wants to help. We’ll get a plan in place and set a time. We are going to get her out of there.”

“Thank you,” I whisper.

Kai shakes his head, as if to say ‘don’t thank me.’

“Okay, enough talk.” Cade lifts Kai from his lap, ignoring Kai’s grumbling, and slides under the covers next to me. “Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow is a new day.”

Ellis

Waking up the next morning is difficult. I’m so warm and cozy with my legs and arms tangled with my guys. Sterling puts off the most heat, and with his chest pressed against my back, his hand resting on my belly, I’m extra warm. I peek an eye open and smile. How Cade is sleeping is beyond me. He’s on his back with both me and Kai resting our heads on his chest. My eyes slide closed again, contentment a warm glowing ball inside of me. This is how I want to wake up everyday for the rest of my life.

I’m just about to slip back to sleep when someone’s phone rings. Kai twitches and grumbles. Sterling groans and tucks himself closer to me. Cade sighs, his chest deflating under my head.

“Who didn’t turn their fucking phone on silent?” Kai mumbles sleepily.

“Just ignore it,” I say, snuggling into the bed even more.

The phone stops ringing, and we all relax in our pile of limbs and happiness. Until the phone rings again.

“Seriously?” Kai snaps. “Whose phone is that? I’m going to throw it against the wall.”

Cade sighs. “It’s mine.” He manages to disentangle himself from me and Kai, and climbs out of bed.

Kai immediately scoots over to me. His cooler skin makes me shiver at the loss of Cade’s heat. “Mmm,” Kai hums. “This is better anyway.” He buries his face in my neck, inhaling deeply.

Cade sucks in a breath, and all three of us look up. His throat works on a swallow before he slides his thumb across the screen and puts the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

I watch his eyes widen and his face drain of color. As the rising and falling of his chest becomes more rapid, I sit up. Something is wrong. I crawl to the end of the bed, never taking my eyes off of him.

“Wait!” Cade yells into the phone, but closes his eyes and lets his arm drop. Whoever was on the other end has already hung up. He sets the phone on the dresser with a shaky hand.

“Cade?” I hop to my feet and press my hands to his chest. Under my palms, his heart pounds hard enough I can feel it. “What’s wrong?”

He looks at me, his violet eyes devastated. “That was Kennedy,” he rasps.

My stomach drops to my feet and I have to sit on the edge of the bed as the room tilts. I already know what he’s going to say and I shake my head as if I can ward off the bad news.

“He’s threatening my family because I haven’t been working.” He runs his hands through his hair, yanking roughly on the strands.

Oh, gods. It’s my fault. It’s hard to breathe through the guilt bombarding me, but I take a deep breath that hurts my chest. “You have to go. Go back home.”

He’s shaking his head before I even finish speaking. “I’m not leaving. Especially not right now when we’re planning to rescue your sister.”

“Cade!” I jump from the bed and take his face in my hands. “It’s your mom and sister. You know what will happen if you don’t.”

His heartbreak is evident in his eyes. I can see how much this is killing him. But he places his hands over mine on his cheeks, and he stares at me. “I’m not leaving, Ellis. This is not up for discussion.”

“Cade—”

“I’m serious. Drop it.” His tone leaves no room for argument. He pulls from my grasp and snags a t-shirt from the floor, tugging it over his head as he heads for the door. “Call Connor and Drew. Tell them to meet us here in an hour.”

The door doesn’t quite slam behind him, but I still flinch. My eyes burn for more than one reason. I hate that he’s letting this happen to his family because of me. One day he’ll regret that, and I don’t want him to resent me for it when he does. And he’s never taken that tone with me. It stings, even knowing he doesn’t mean it.

I press my hands to my middle in the hopes it can ease the ball of nerves that formed at his words. The room is quiet, and I spin around to face Kai and Sterling, throwing my shoulders back and preparing for a fight. “We’re not ignoring this.” I didn’t let Sterling’s family continue to suffer under Noah, and I won’t let Cade’s family suffer under Kennedy.

Kai sighs and runs a hand down his face. “No, of course we’re not. I just don’t know what the fuck to do.”

That takes the wind out of my sails and I plop onto the bed, defeated. “There has to be something,” I whisper.

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