Chapter 21 Cade
CADE
For the first time in weeks, I slept through the night.
I felt you the entire time—keeping my demons at bay.
I feel different. Though nothing has physically changed, my mind has.
I feel drained, empty, except for the little light in the back of my mind.
You. My peace, my calm in the chaos. If I have never lived for anything in my life before, I would live to chase this feeling. To chase you.
With you comes the knowledge I’ve been missing—magic is real, that much I can no longer deny.
There is much to consider. If Rosa White is pulling the strings, I need to find her.
I’ve murdered her daughter, and now her husband.
She has vast resources and no doubt revenge on her mind, with no family to speak of, and that makes her dangerous.
Then there’s the Covenant’s God, if it’s real.
I need to know more about it and I need to know it now. I can’t walk in unprepared.
I need to be ready for anything.
Jack will not be an easy man to convince that I haven’t completely lost my mind. Because as crazy as he is, our thoughts have always aligned. But the conversation will need to be had. I’m just not looking forward to it.
I quietly creep into the house. Calli and Jack are nowhere in sight—but I’m not alone. Not anymore. I cross the kitchen and head into the garage. Placing my duffel bag on the table, I begin to methodically clean my weapons and put them away, one by one.
I pull the hunting knife from the plastic bag and start to clean off the blood. The dry dark red stains on the blade begin to fade, mixing with the running water.
The sensation of ripping his stomach open, muscles and tendons resisting and popping while I tore through them, flashes in my mind and I shiver.
I drop the knife and shake off my hands as though it will remove the memory from them.
I step away from the sink and seat myself in the metal chair near me.
Hands on my back calm me and delicate fingers roam my shoulders and neck. I tilt my head back, hoping to see you, but I’m met with disappointment and an empty room. I close my eyes, a picture of you forming in my mind.
“There you are.” You’re trying to comfort me.
Don’t stop.
I grip the pendulum around my neck as if it’s my lifeline.
The memory of Allen quickly dissipates, leaving only the image of your touch pulling me into the moment. I reach for where I feel you but meet my own skin. Tracing my hand down my chest, I feel myself growing hard in my jeans. Shamelessly moving my hips.
I’m done fighting this.
I want this.
I pull my shirt up over my head and toss it to the floor, impatiently unzipping my pants.
I shove down the waistband of my boxers, my dick springing free, hard and desperate for friction.
I tease the head with my fingers, squeezing out the smallest amount of precum that has already beaded to the surface.
I feel your eyes on me, and I must look pathetic, but I don’t give a fuck. I spit on my hand and slowly fuck into it, teasingly moving up my shaft as I let out a quiet moan.
“Watch me, little ghost, I want you to see what you do to me.” My voice is low and raspy, my muscles twitching as I continue putting on a show for you. I like this, I like you watching me.
I close my eyes again; my imagination running wild with thoughts of you.
You slide onto my lap and pull me into a kiss, rough yet gentle.
Your hands wrap around my shoulders and your kisses make their way down to my neck.
You reach down and place me at your entrance and I slowly ease my way inside of you.
I feel myself stretching you as you begin to move your hips—while I kiss every inch of you I can reach.
Wrapping my arms under your legs, I stand, lifting you, holding you close as I drag you up and down along me.
“Do you like that? Do you like the feel of my cock stretching you?” I thrust slowly and deeply. Feeling myself reach my limit, I slow down, wrapping your legs around me, gripping your ass while I push deeper. Filling you as I hold you against me in my mind. I’m lost in you—
“Every fucking part of you,” I moan, holding on, desperate to not let you slip through my fingers again.
“This is our time, baby, and I can’t deny your intoxicating presence.”
Your phantom lips on mine pull me back to the present, as if to tell me you aren’t going anywhere. When I open my eyes, I’m still sitting in the chair holding my dick. I want to roll my eyes at myself. I want to tell myself how ridiculous this is.
I want to do it again.
I. Want. More.
Fucking more.
“Cade? Are you here?” I hear Calli call from the other side of the door.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. I jump up and button my pants, stumbling and tripping over myself to get to the workbench where I was cleaning my weapons.
Calli walks in and pauses, looking around the room.
“Hey! I wanted to talk to—um, Cade? Where is your shirt?”
“I didn’t want to get any blood on it,” I grumble. That sounds believable enough, my voice rough with pent-up desire.
“Okay…” she says slowly, her voice tinged with suspicion. “Well, I need to talk to you when you get the chance, cool?”
“Yep. I’ll meet you in the library after I’m done here,” I answer quickly, trying to rush her off.
She walks away and shuts the door as I lazily grab my shirt off floor and pull it over my head, narrowing my eyes at the empty room.
“I can feel you smiling. Don’t laugh at me, you fucking started it.”
After I finish, I grab a bottle of water from the fridge and head into the living room to find Jack on the couch. I sit down next to him.
“I need you to do some research for me,” I start, looking straight ahead.
He looks at me curiously. He is already aware of Rosa White, I updated him on everything except… I attempt to summon the words to say to him but stop myself. He won’t believe me, so I settle with—
“I need to find out if there is any information on how to kill a God.” I keep my voice bland, but my fingers curl around the water bottle, making it creak.
He bursts out laughing until he sees my very serious face, his jaw dropping.
“You’re fucking joking, right?”
“No.” I’m serious. “Our next targets are going to be more dangerous, and we need more information. We need to play their game, make them think I believe, and then we can use that knowledge against them. If there is a way to kill their ‘God,’ maybe I can convince them to give up chasing Calli.”
“That’s fucking stupid, Cade… but I guess I get what you’re going for. Fine.” He groans. “I’ll do some research, but you’re better off asking Calli—this is more her territory and we both know it.”
“That’s what I’m going to talk to her about now. How is she?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been sick, and she has been a total hermit, either holing up in the library or her room. Honestly it seems like she’s avoiding me after—” He cuts himself off abruptly, looking away.
“After what, Jack?” I say his name as a warning.
“I—um, it’s hard to explain,” he stutters, avoiding my eyes. I stand, staring down at him, my eyes narrowed.
“Try anyway,” I hiss.
“She’s been off, and weird shit has been happening, which you would know if you were fucking here,” Jack says with a snap in his tone, finally looking up at me.
I raise an eyebrow and nod slowly, still looming over him.
“You’re right, I’m not here. I’m trying to fucking save her.”
“Tell yourself whatever you want to sleep at night. This is about what you saw, this is about revenge. You could have taken her anywhere and hid from them.” His voice is rough with displaced anger.
I lift him from the couch and shove him against the wall, getting in his face.
“I don’t know where the fuck this is coming from,” I growl, shaking him.
“They are searching for her, and if you think for a fucking second that if I thought there was another way I wouldn’t have taken it…
You know as well as I do how lucky we’ve been to have not been found this far, mostly because of you, and we’re grateful for that, but I’m doing a fucking service getting rid of these evil bastards.
So check your fucking tone when you speak to me. ”
He shoves my hands away and looks to the side, resentment all over his face, arms crossed over his chest defensively.
“I’m sorry,” he finally grumbles, shoulders drooping. “I didn’t mean that. I’m just worried about her. And you. You’re my best friend, Cade, and I love you both like family, but shit is getting weird. Maybe we should pick up and leave. It’s not too late.”
“Jack.” I sigh, running a hand over my face. “We know who is leading them, we have a target, and now we just need a plan. No one knows where we are. We are all safe here. For now.”
“It’s only a matter of time, Cade,” Jack argues, stubborn as always. “There’s a detective that’s been snooping around the disappearances. Requesting files from years ago, even going as far as pulling your parents’ file.”
“I covered my tracks. They won’t find anything,” I reassure him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “How do you even know that?”
“I keep tabs on your past cases—victims, their families, any police digging around. I won’t bore you with the logistics.
Just know I’d see it if your name got brought up.
And lately… I’ve noticed a pattern.” His voice is tight with anxiety and I give his shoulder a squeeze before finally stepping back.
“Can you keep them off our trail?”
“I’ll do what I can, just… just… start wearing a mask. The last thing we need is for someone to notice you, and dude, your scar is a dead giveaway. For now I’ll do what I can to get info on Rosa.” He sighs, slumping back against the wall, looking tired.
I nod my thanks and leave the room, heading for Calli, but as I approach the door to the library, I stop dead in my tracks. I feel frozen, like I can’t move an inch. The air feels so heavy, and my skin is buzzing on its surface, hairs raising…
What is this?