Piper
Most people left after the fight, except the cage bunnies who were hanging on the fencing surrounding the ring. You could pick them out due to their lack of clothes, bleached hair, caked-on makeup, and the stench of overpowering perfume that emanated from them.
I stayed in my seat, waiting on Cade to leave the locker rooms. I knew he’d come looking for me, just as he knew I’d hang around.
The door on the far side of the arena opened, and Cade strode through, Levi on his right and Blake, the Cade lookalike, on his left. The cage bunnies left their perches and ran towards them, boobs thrust forward and eyelashes batting. I didn’t move from my seat. If Cade wanted to talk, he could come to me. I wasn’t about to throw myself at him like the hussies who were trotting after them like lovesick puppies.
I shouldn’t have worried. Cade’s eyes found mine, and with determination, he brushed the women aside and made a beeline for me. I tried not to be pleased at his blasé attitude towards the Hooters waitress wannabes, but it was difficult to hide my smile. When he was five feet away, he stopped abruptly and searched my face, and a slight grin broke through my tough-girl façade.
“Long time no see.” I said the words with a shrug as if it was no big deal that the boy I’d once thought hung the moon stood before me—not a scratch on his body from the fight he’d just won.
His hand pushed his wet hair behind his ear, and he glanced down at the ground.
“Yeah, it’s been a long time. I was surprised to see you back in Atlanta. Last I’d heard, you’d moved on with your life to bigger and better things.”
I flinched at the bitterness in his voice. Who had told him that? Had he searched for me?
“Who did you hear that from?” I couldn’t keep the accusation from my voice. I’d pined over Cade for nine years before moving on with Jake, and all this time, he hadn’t bothered to find me or reach out. Not even to continue our friendship. It hurt more than I wanted him to know.
Anger boiled inside of me. I wasn’t going to let him get me all worked up again. I shook my head. “You know what? Just forget it. It’s not important. See ya around, Cade.”
I turned, ready to flee. I didn’t know what I was thinking coming here. It wasn’t like Cade could say or do anything to make what had happened last night or all those years ago go away. What was done was done. He’d chosen his side last night.
His hand reached out, grabbing my elbow and stopping me. “Wait. Why are you angry with me?”
Incredulity was written on his face, which only served to enrage me more. “Why am I angry?” A bitter laugh escaped me, giving away far more of my inner emotions than I’d wanted. “Why am I angry? Oh, let’s see…”
I started counting on my fingers. “You took off and never came back. You didn’t call or send a letter or even a freaking email. Oh, and you’re friends with losers from a drug cartel, letting them escape last night when they should have gone to jail for killing those two guys.”
Cade took a step closer, never dropping his hold from my elbow. I tried to not let his closeness or his hand on my skin affect me. Really, I was cool as a cucumber. His breath was warm on my face and smelled sweet, like mint gum.
“I left you?” He shook his head, obviously trying to rein in his temper. “I left you. Right. Let me tell you the real story. I came back. Will told me you’d moved on with your life. Without me.” Cade pulled me closer, our thighs touching, his hand moving from my elbow to my waist. “Second, yeah, I didn’t reach out. You’d been clear with your message that you didn’t want me to reach out, so I didn’t. And third—”
This time his lips almost touched mine as he finished his words. “Not everything is as it seems, sweetheart.”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat, the one that said I wanted him to finish closing the distance and place his soft lips on mine. We’d only kissed once, but I had just turned seventeen. He was eighteen, almost nineteen, and leaving me. I’d been desperate, and when he’d slung his leg over his Harley and climbed on, I’d rushed over and planted my lips on his. The kiss was awkward at first, but then Cade had pulled me close and taken control.
I’d held on to that kiss for years, longing for a repeat. Hoping he’d show up at my doorstep and tell me that leaving me had been a mistake. Then his words registered, and I took a step back.
“Wait—what do you mean, Will told you I wanted to move on with my life? I never said that.”
Cade’s eyebrows pinched together. “That’s what he said. I returned from California the following summer. He said you’d already moved to college, and he wouldn’t tell me which one you’d chosen. Then he said that I’d only hold you back. He said I wasn’t good for you anymore.”
He tried to hide it, but I saw the hurt, the absolute crushing of Cade’s soul. I wanted to piece it back together, but I no longer held that ability.
“I don’t believe you. Will would never do that to hurt me. I cried for months, Cade. Months.” Years, actually. I didn’t tell him that I hadn’t even dated until Jake—nine years later—had finally persuaded me after months of trying to get me to go out with him. I’d lived a sad little life, and I didn’t need Cade knowing more than he already did.
“Why would I lie about that? Ask Will yourself. I didn’t reach out because I thought that’s the way you wanted it.”
I could see the truth in his eyes, but I needed to hear it from Will. Nothing made sense. The reality that I’d believed wasn’t reality after all. Will had betrayed me. The only father I had. Sure, he was probably trying to protect me. But how would life have turned out differently had he not interfered?
I wouldn’t have met Jake.
I wouldn’t have lost him either.
“I’ve got to go.”
“Wait. Don’t—stay, Piper. We need to talk.”
I shook my head, already backing away, putting distance between us. “I’m sorry. Some other time.”
“How do I find you?”
But I didn’t stop. I ran outside, cursing myself when I got to the sidewalk outside and realized I’d have to wait for the valet to bring my car around. It was the same guy as before, and he raked his gaze over me. He did that chin nod thing to let me know he saw me and would get my car, turning and sprinting to the parking lot across the street. I guessed that was where they’d parked all the cars. It made sense. It was a vacant lot, and the gym’s lot wasn’t near big enough for all the fans who had piled in that night.
I took slow breaths, trying to calm my racing heart. Sliding my phone out of my pocket, I punched in a message.
Did you tell Cade I never wanted to see him again when he returned from California?
My phone rang, Will’s name popping up on the display. I hit ignore and texted again.
It’s a yes or no question, Will. I’m not ready to talk.
Yes. But you need to let me explain.
Not tonight, I don’t.
I turned the phone to silent and put it back in my clutch. Looking up, I heard the rumble of my car as the valet brought it around.
“Your car, ma’am.” The valet stood, holding the door for me. I slid inside, knowing that I was giving him a prime view of my cleavage, but I couldn’t bring myself to care right then.
“Thank you.”
“I, um, get off in an hour, if, you know, you’d want to—”
I held up my hand and offered him a smile. “Maybe another time. Thanks.”
The valet’s face fell a little, but he braved on. “Of course. Maybe I’ll see you around here again sometime. Have a good night.”
Not likely. I closed the door and drove through the streets of Atlanta toward my apartment. I could hear my phone vibrating in my clutch, but I wasn’t going to address Will tonight. I reached over and turned it off. The betrayal I felt, the loss of all the years I could have had with Cade, was all too much. It felt like the grief I’d experienced all those years ago all over again.
Will had done that to me. The man who’d promised to love me and protect me like his daughter had let me believe for years that I wasn’t enough for the boy I loved. And make no mistake about it; I’d loved Cade Montgomery—fiercely—entirely.
I parked in my spot and walked to the front door, taking my keys out of my clutch and searching for my door key. Would we be married now? Have kids? Could I have prevented the deaths of six people if Cade had been with me? Would he have fallen off the deep end and skirted the wrong side of the law?
I didn’t think he would have. And I knew, in my heart, I knew we would still be together. The passion we’d felt for each other still lay there under the surface like a snake waiting to strike.
The lock clicked, and I turned the handle, pushing the door into my apartment. A noise caught my attention, and I tried to whirl around, when blinding pain shot through my head. I saw the floor come up to meet me, and just before I made contact, the world went black.