Page 72 of The Ruthless Note

My twin doesn’t drop the subject. “I thought you were with her that night.”

“I wasn’t.”

Finn smirks at me. “Was it Paris then?”

“Who?”

“The girl who threw the party Friday night.”

“Her name is Paris?” My eyes bug. That’s a simple enough name to remember.

Finn and Zane start laughing.

“Like you remember all the girls you’ve slept with,” I mutter.

Zane wipes away a tear. “I don’t, man, but you were literally at her house Friday. She was grinding on you while you were listening to Cadence play piano. I’m pretty freaking sure her name came up.”

Did it?

Zane’s right. I did have a girl rubbing all over me while Cadence was on the piano looking like my every dirty fantasy come to life. But I wasn’t paying attention to that girl as much as I was using her to hide how my body was responding to the meresightof seeing Cadence in costume again.

I glare at Zane, feeling exposed. “Did you work on that drum solo like I told you?”

His face drops. “You’re obsessed.”

“November Bash is in a couple of weeks.” I press my pass against the scanner beside the practice room door. It turns green and admits us with a beep. “Halloween is coming up too. We've got gigs lined up all the way through. There’s no time to—”

“Hey, I was waiting for you.” Sol’s voice drags me out of manager-mode.

I stop short, my good mood shifting on a dime. There was a moment that night at the party when I was telling Sol to let Cadence go and he considered not listening.

I saw the glint in his eyes. The stubbornness.

And it made me wonder if I would have to turn on my own best friend.

It didn’t come to that, but the impression lingered.

I owe Sol. I don’t want to fight him, but I’m also not going to let him waltz in and mess up what I’m doing.

Cadence is mine.

Mine to torment.

Mine to own.

Mine to break.

I don’t share.

“What’s with the tension?” Zane jokes. He saunters in and hooks an arm around Sol’s neck. “We should hit another party tonight, Sol. You’re out of practice. I didn’t see you dancing once on Friday.”

“I still had fun.”

“Fun?” Finn saunters to the mini-fridge and pulls out a water bottle. “I didn’t see you having fun.”

“I had fun with Cadence,” Sol says, his eyes swinging to me.

My brothers go still.

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