Page 122 of The Obvious Check

“If you run, you know I’ll find you.”

I don’t say anything because I don’t trust myself.

“And if I can’t find you…” Luke clicks his tongue. “I’ll go through your friends and family. Maybe I’ll start with Madison. She seems like a sweet girl. Guys would love her here.”

He steps closer, his voice sickeningly calm. “Maybe I’ll tie Dash up and force him to watch herworkfor me. Then he can see how much she could really earn.”

I grab Savannah’s hand and shove the door open, rage boiling in my chest. The cold night air smacks into us, sharp and unforgiving, but it does nothing to cool the fire raging inside me. My jaw clenches so tight I feel it crack, my pulse hammering against my skull. How fucking dare he threaten my sister and best friend.

Savannah’s fingers tighten around mine, and it’s only then that I realize she’s shaking. She’s scared, and something I’ll never admit to her is, I’m scared too because for the first time in years… I don’t know how this ends.

Chapter 28

“You’re not really going to fight, are you?” I ask quietly as we enter the apartment. It’s the first thing I’ve said since we walked out ofBehind Closed Doorshand in hand. I was too afraid to talk in the car with the reality of everything weighing heavy on me.

Stanley trots up to greet us, his tail wagging, and Cade crouches to pet him, his jaw tight and eyes far away.

Sighing, he turns back to me. “Of course not. That’ll risk everything I’ve worked for. I only agreed to it because I wanted to get you out of there and I figured that would have much less bloodshed than beating the shit out of everyone who thought it was okay to touch you.”

He takes in the bruises on my arms and I try to swallow down the pain, but my throat still burns from Mark’s hands.

The implications of what he’s done aren’t lost on me. Luke isn’t just threatening me now. He’s threatening Cade’s entire existence. His family, his friends, his dog, and Cade is risking that all on the off chance he can get me out of there without a fight. Tears burn at the back of my eyes because this man is willing to burn everything just for me and I’m so undeserving ofit. “You shouldn’t have saved me,” I whisper. “I can figure out another way.”

Cade steps toward me, and his hands cup my face as his thumbs brush softly over my cheekbones. When his fingers tighten ever so slightly, I only feel us and the connection we have with each other. “Yes, I do,” he counters, his voice unwavering. “Because somewhere in all of this, you saved me.”

I try to take a step back to process the gravity of his words, but he won’t let me leave him.

“You saved me, Savannah.”

My breath hitches and I shake my head, completely lost. “Cade, that’s not—”

“I don’t know how or when it happened,” he goes on, voice low and full of conviction, “but you did. You walked into my life, and suddenly, everything made sense. Every choice, every mistake, every moment that led me here, it was all for this. For you.” His thumb skims over my lips, reverent and slow. “And I’m not about to stand by and watch you get dragged down any further by a guy as terrible as Luke.”

I exhale shakily, my entire body betraying me, and lean into him like he’s the only thing keeping me standing. I should be pushing him away, protecting him, but I can’t. Not when he’s looking at me like I’m something precious and worth fighting for.

“Cade…” My voice trembles.

He dips his head, his forehead resting against mine, his breath fanning over my lips. “I would tear the world apart for you, Savannah,” he whispers. “You just have to let me.”

Cade tilts my chin up, his eyes flickering between mine like he’s searching for something—permission, maybe, or a sign that I want this just as badly as he does.

How doesn’t he realize he’s all I ever wanted?

His lips brush against mine, and he gives me a soft, tentative kiss at first. When I don’t pull away, he deepens it. It’s firm and all-consuming, cementing everything we’d been dancing around since the moment we met. His hands drop to my waist as he pulls me closer, pulling me flush against him and I feel the tremor in his grip.

He breaks the kiss, his eyes burning into mine. “Marry me this week,” he says.

“What?” I whisper, certain I’ve misheard him.

“I need you to marry me legally this week.” His voice is firm and urgent as his fingers press into my hips. There’s no hesitation in his face. No doubt, just certainty. “I know it sounds crazy, but we need to do this.”

“Why?”

His grip tightens like he’s afraid I’ll slip away if he doesn’t hold on. “Because I’m going to do everything I can to figure this out before the fight,” he says, his voice steady but filled with conviction. “But if I don’t… if something happens to me… I want it all to go to you. Ineedit to all go to you.”

I shake my head, overwhelmed by the sheer weight of what he’s asking. “Cade… No.”

“Please,” he says, his voice softening as he reaches for my hand. His fingers are warm despite the chill in the air. “I want you to have it all. Every last thing. Stanley, my assets, the apartment. You can take everything. It’s not like my family or my sister need it. You do.”

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