Page 140 of Cross Checked
And if Glory Days thought for one second that I was the kind of man who would see fear in her eyes and politely look away because the situation was complicated, then he had read me worse than he played hockey.
Which, after today, was saying something.
19
Bliss
The second Luke’s truck tore out of the Bennett driveway, the entire backyard shifted into loud, overlapping chaos beneath the glow of patio lights and drifting smoke from the grill.
Ryker paced through the grass with both hands braced on top of his head, breathing hard enough that even from ten feet away I could tell he was hanging on by threads. Knox looked equally furious, though his rage stayed quieter, tighter, the kind that sat behind narrowed eyes and clenched jaws instead of movement. Dad stood near the patio table staring toward the dark road Luke disappeared down with an expression I couldn’t even process because I had never seen my father look genuinely betrayed before.
Beside me, Cade stayed close enough that heat rolled steadily from his body into mine. One hand rested low against my back, firm and grounding, and even though the entire yard felt loud and emotionally overloaded, I couldn’t stop noticing him. The tension in his shoulders beneath the black shirt. The scrape on his knuckles from Luke’s jaw. The dangerous calm sitting over him now that the fight was done.
It should not have turned me on this much watching him lose his mind because another man thought he had any claim on me.
It absolutely did.
Because Luke’s anger always felt like punishment and Cade’s felt like protection. That distinction was currently doing insane things to my nervous system.
“Okay,” Knox snapped finally, cutting through everybody talking over one another. “Everybody breathe for five damn seconds.”
Ryker laughed harshly and pointed toward the driveway. “He called our sister a bitch and I have fuckin’ questions.”
“And he’s lucky Cade got to him before I did,” Dad said quietly.
The entire yard fell silent.
Holy shit.
Dad almost never raised his voice, which somehow made calm anger coming from him infinitely more terrifying. He looked around slowly at all of us before shaking his head once. “Not tonight.”
Ryker turned immediately. “Pop—”
“No.” Dad’s voice sharpened slightly. “Not tonight. Right now, everybody’s emotional and pissed off, and Bennett men are reckless enough without adding gasoline to this.” He exhaled slowly through his nose before finally looking at me. “Bug looks overwhelmed, and I’m not turning tonight into something worse.”
The second every pair of eyes landed on me again, my stomach tightened.
Cade’s hand slid more firmly against my back, thumb brushing once over my spine before he shifted subtly closer beside me like he physically couldn’t stop himself from shielding me now.
The movement sent another wave of heat spiraling low through my stomach.
This was becoming a problem.
Knox rubbed a hand over his mouth before nodding once. “Tomorrow then. Everybody cools off first.”
“Tomorrow evening,” Emma agreed quickly. “When nobody’s trying to commit felonies.”
“That feels directed at me,” Ryker muttered.
“It absolutely is.”
Despite everything, a small laugh escaped me.
Cade’s hand tightened briefly against my back when he heard it.
My body reacted instantly to every tiny thing he did now, and it was honestly getting uncomfortable.
Dad sighed heavily and looked toward the grill automatically. “I’ll barbecue tomorrow, and we can discuss whatever is going on or went on like civilized Michiganites and not neanderthals.”
