Page 82 of The Darkest Note

Mom’s track record of bad decision-making has to skip a generation. Dutch Cross isn’t the kind of guy who’ll promise a future and actually deliver. He’s the kind of guy who’ll take a woman’s mouth and virginity and then vanish into the blackness that he came from.

I don’t want to see what a mess he can make of my heart. I won’t ever give him that opportunity.

“Why am I wearing this?” I ask.

“You’ll find out,” Dutch says cryptically.

I have a bad feeling about this.

First of all, Dutch’s band will be playing at my old high school. Which means he’ll be playing in front of my baby sister.

Viola already has a huge crush on Zane. Thanks to Breeze, she’s now a fan of The Kings. She’ll approach them for sure and if she sees me with them, she’s going to act as if we’re all friends.

I don’t want these worlds colliding.

“I’m not going,” I say.

The three handsome brothers stop midway to the door.

Bending over, I pretend to have a stomach cramp. “Suddenly, I’m not feeling well.” I fan my face. “I think I might have eaten something with peaches in it.”

“Did anyone feed her peaches before we came?” Dutch growls at his brothers.

They exchange looks.

“No,” Finn says.

Dutch frowns at me. “I didn’t see you eating anything since lunch.”

“You don’t know everything I’ve done since lunch,” I shoot back.

Zane looks amused. “Is there something we should know about?” He arches an eyebrow at Dutch. “Brother?”

“Stop screwing around,” Dutch warns me.

“Stop thinking you own me,” I answer back. “You don’t.”

“Get in the damn car, Cadence.”

“No.”

Finn glances at me in concern. “Did you really eat something with peaches? Dutch mentioned you were allergic.”

Shoot. I need to spin another lie to make this one more believable. I slam a hand on my hip. “I might have been making out with a football player this afternoon. I think he might have eaten peaches for lunch.”

Dutch moves like lightning across the room. When he stops, he’s closer to me than my next breath.

His eyes drill into me and his hand falls on my lower back. A little sound escapes from my throat, and it seems to bring out the beast in Dutch because his eyes darken instantly.

The sight of him bearing down on me has desire pounding through my veins.

I can’t kiss him right now.

His brothers are watching and I need to keep a clear head so I can keep him away from Vi.

I lift my hands to push him away.

Instead, his fingers latch onto one of my wrists. I don’t miss the way we both take a sharp intake of breath.

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