Page 14 of If You Were Mine
With a sigh I opened the hardback book I had been trying to read through the headaches and pulled out the letter that I barely cared about.
Dorian,
It’s time for you to realize who you really are. For you to stand up against the blood in your veins and the history of where you came from. It’s time for you to do something with your life for once. To stop being the playboy who fucks around and never amounts to anything.
Take this. Take what I wouldn’t bother giving the others. Do whatever you want with it. But you know what you need to do.
For once in your weak life, make me proud.
Loren Cage.
My lip lifted in a snarl, and I resisted the urge to crumple the paper.
I had never liked my father. And truly I never loved him. And what kind of thing was that to think of the dead? I didn’t really care about what my dad thought. But he had given me a way out.
Because in addition to the main will, there had been a side benefit just for me.
I took the keys from the night table and looked down at them in my hand. The weight of them far heavier than it should be.
With a sigh I stood up again, but too quickly. My knee gave out, and I cursed, falling forward. I tried to catch myself at the edge of the bed but missed and ended up on my side.
Pain spliced up my side, and I cursed through gritted teeth, trying to breathe through the acidic taste on my tongue. The sound of running on stairs echoed through the area, and I cursed, trying to sit up before Aston barged his way in the room. But I was too late.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re on the fucking floor, Dorian. Let me help.”
“I’ve got it! You don’t need to help the invalid. I’m fucking fine!” I shoved Aston away and forced myself to stand, straining my side in the process.
“Dorian. I love you. You’re hurting. Just let us help.”
I whirled on my brother, one of the people I loved most in the world, and tried not to throw a punch. Because maybe hitting someone I knew loved me back would make things better.
“I’m fine. Okay? You don’t need to worry about me. I’ve got this.”
“You always do. But you can lean on someone.”
“So says Aston Cage. The Cage.”
I could have cursed myself at that, from the way that Aston staggered back.
Our father had been The Cage. The asshole name that came with the responsibility of an empire. And all the weight of the disappointment and cruelty of our father.
“I’m going to go help Blakely with dinner. I’ll see you in a bit.”
I should have opened my mouth to say I was sorry, to do anything. But instead I watched him walk away and then looked down at the keys in my hand that I hadn’t dropped.
It was time to go because I couldn’t be here. Maybe I could be near her. After all, I had promised Joshua. I didn’t want to see that look on my brother’s face again. So maybe it was time to open up the closets and search for all of those skeletons.
Because I wasn’t going to do that here.
I just didn’t know if I was going to be able to figure out what the hell I was doing in Cage Lake either.
Chapter Three
HARPER
“Okay, Lucky. Today is going to be a good day. The bakery is doing well. I have three cake orders coming in. The sun is shining. The tank is clean.” I paused and looked down at my amazing dog and realized he did not get my humor. “The tank is clean? You know, from one of the best movies of all time. Finding Nemo? We just watched it like last week.”
