is it?”
“No one can know. You are the only one who can know about this,” I say, getting worried now and wanting to take it all back.
“Liv,” he says and sighs. “I really don’t want to get swept up in all of your drama again. I will come back to work, but this time there are going to be massive boundaries. I already have a list.”
Of course, he does. That doesn’t surprise me one bit. He is very fond of his lists.
“No drama,” I say quickly, although that remains to be seen.
“What then?” he asks.
“I need you to…there is something off about…” Ah, just spit it out, woman. “Devon is up to something shady and I need to know what it is,” I say in a rush and he blinks at me before he turns away with a sigh of complaint.
He pulls back onto the road and says, “No chance.”
“Cade, please,” I beg him.
“If you want to know so badly, why don’t you just ask him?” Cade says.
“Because he won’t tell me!” I say in exasperation. “He is keeping it from me for a reason and I want to know what it is.”
“How do you know he’s keeping something from you?” he asks.
“I know my charge,” I say. “I know him too well and he has been acting strangely since I came back from the Dark Fae Kingdom in March.”
“How so?” he inquires, unable to stop himself.
“He has been avoiding me. He won’t look me in the eye, he is moody and brooding and defensive, even evasive, and we haven’t been together properly in months, coma notwithstanding. It is almost like he doesn’t want to and that,” I slam my fist on the dashboard of my Aston Martin, “is the surest sign.”
“Christ,” Cade mutters. “This is drama, Liv. I want no part of your sexual goings-on. You want him to fuck you, then just ask him to.”
I glare at him and his crass choice of words. “I don’t want him to fuck me,” I say haughtily. “I want him to be with me, properly.”
“Lady, you have not changed one bit,” he says, and, in spite of this conversation, I smile as we are definitely back to “our normal” now. “And speaking of, two husbands? How does that even work?” he asks and then adds, “No wait, don’t tell me. I really don’t want to know.”
“It doesn’t at the moment,” I complain anyway. “CK won’t make love to me yet. Cole needs me, and he fucked me once, but I have been so tired since I woke up…”
“Jesus!” he yells at me. “Stop talking! In what universe do you think I want to hear any of this?”
“Sorry,” I say sarcastically. “You asked. But back to Devon. Will you find out what he is up to? Please?”
“No, I am not spying on your charge for you,” he says determinedly and grips the steering wheel even tighter.
“Please,” I say again as we have run out of time and are back home. We crunch up the gravel driveway and come to a stop. He turns to me and says, “I will do a bit of digging. If it leads somewhere that I want no part of, then I am out. Got it?” he says.
“Got it,” I say and smile gratefully at him.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he says and gets out of the car.
I follow him quickly, but before I can take two steps, Lincoln is out of the house and slamming Cade up against the car.
“Linc!” I shout at him. “Let him go.” I pull on his arm, but it is like trying to budge a mountain.
“No, Liv. You may have forgiven him for what he did. Whatever your reasons are for doing so are between you two, but he didn’t just try to kill you. He left me without my Alpha. He made me watch you lie unconscious and bleeding day after day, getting weaker and weaker, and wondering if you would ever wake up again. He doesn’t walk away from that with me. You are mine to avenge and he will pay,” he growls, slamming Cade into the car again and causing the alarm to go off. As he pulls back his fist to punch Cade in the face, my cries are lost in the shriek of the alarm. Cade drops, but Lincoln holds him up and punches him again in the stomach. I am horrified, I cannot let this continue, but I am in no fit state to stop it. The alarm silences momentarily and I hear Cade grunt in pain.
“Lincoln!” I bark at him. “Do not touch him again!” My authority is unconvincing even to my own ears and he ignores me.
“Liv,” Cade rasps as he falls to his knees after another blow from Lincoln. “Let him do this.”