Page 13 of Breaking Hudson

“I certainly wasn’t joking,” Hudson says. “They’re right. We get married, we have a lot more support.”

“It’s not uncommon for people to keep their engagements a secret. Get Makayla and Kaylee to throw some shit together,” Jayden says.

“Who?” I ask.

“Makayla is Colton’s wife and Kaylee is Jayden’s,” Dallas says.

“Is that what you want?” Hudson asks me.

“Look… I’ve been in love with you for as long as I can remember. I want this forever, so if you do too, let’s get married. I mean, hell, you’ve already threatened to get me pregnant,” I say.

“Alright,” Hudson says with a smile. “Let’s get married.”

“Yeah?” I say excitedly.

“Mhmm,” he smiles. “Next Saturday.”

“Always a Saturday,” I say with a smile. He kisses me hard before grabbing the backs of my thighs and picking me up. I giggle and wrap my arms and legs around him. When he sits me back on the table, he cups my face.

“There is a fight tonight. You don’t have to be here for it,” he says.

“Are you fighting?” I ask.

“I am,” he says.

“Then I’ll be here,” I say.

“Guys, do y’all care to come with us to her house? We are going to get the rest of her stuff. Everything else is getting donated.”

“Hell yeah,” Dallas says. “Let the motherfuckers show up.”

“Y’all ready to go then? I’d like to get some time with the bag before tonight,” Hudson says.

“Let go,” Jayden says.

We all pull into the driveway. Not all the vehicles can fit, so a few are in the grass. The street is quiet but we all immediately notice the blacked-out SUV down the block.

“Is that…” I go to ask.

“Don’t look at them,” Hudson says. “Let’s just focus on this.”

I nod and go first up to my door. When I turn the key in my lock, it doesn’t click. I know we locked it when we left. Why isn’t it locked now? I stay standing in front of the door, staring at the handle. I don’t understand. No one is rushing me, but I know they are all confused. Something is wrong. I don’t know what, but I don’t think I want to go into this house.

“Colette,” Hudson says softly, gently resting his hand on my back.

“Something is wrong,” I say.

“How so?”

“The door. You locked it. I saw you lock it. It’s not locked right now. I turned the key, and it did not click. Someone has been in this house,” I say. I glance behind me, and I see that the blacked-out SUV has the passenger window down. I cannot make out who it is, but there are two people in that vehicle, at a minimum.

“Dallas, do you want to…” he starts to ask.

“No!” I snap when I look back and notice that there is a thin wire connecting from the door frame to the bottom corner of the door itself. “Get away from the house. Back up.”

Hudson immediately grabs my arm, and we back away from the house. All of a sudden, an explosion goes off and Hudson wraps his arms around me before bringing us both to the ground beside the truck. He is shielding my body with his, but I can still feel the shift in the air when the blast goes off. Somewhere on the street, tires screech as the SUV drives away. I turn my head just enough to be able to make out the letters. “RYY” on the plate, followed by numbers that I can’t remember.

“Fuck. Are you okay?” Hudson asks, pulling me up to sit as he checks me for injuries.

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