Page 83 of The Broken Note

- Jinx

CHAPTERTWENTY

CADENCE

Jarod Cross’s bodyguard is waiting for me in the parking lot after school. I feel myself bristling when I look into his shadowy eyes. I’ve been around the slimy side of darkness my whole life and I can smell something on this guy. Something that makes me uneasy.

My phone rings.

It’s an unknown number.

I wonder if it’s mom.

“Hello?”

“Cadence,” Jarod Cross’s smoky, million-dollar voice, fills my ears. “Lucien is waiting for you in the parking lot. Do you see him?”

“Yes.”

“I’m afraid I’m preparing for a concert, so I’ll need you to come to me. Is that okay?”

There’s something in his tone that tells me there’s only one right answer to that question.

I tuck my bottom lip into my mouth. “Yes.”

“I’ll see you in a few,” Jarod Cross says. “I’m excited for our partnership.”

“I haven’t told you my answer yet.”

“You’re a smart girl. I know you won’t disappoint me.”

My skin crawls with warning. I hang up the phone and walk over to the man dressed in a full black suit despite the wickedly hot temperatures.

I’m not doing this for me. I’m not doing this for money.

I’m doing this for Serena.

She deserves to be returned to her rightful place and the person who lied about her and ruined her life needs to be punished. I won’t stop until I accomplish both. Whatever I have to do to get my hands on Jinx’s evidence, I’m willing to do it.

Lucien watches me with hard eyes. He opens the back door.

I climb in and he slams it shut.

My heart lunges to my throat. I dig my fingernails into the seatbelt as he takes off.

Should I tell Dutch where I am?

The thought shakes me to my core. Why am I thinking of him? Rather than being a damsel in distress, I should find my own way out.

Still. It’s better than driving off with some stranger who gives you the creeps.

But if I call Dutch, what do I say to him?

“I think your dad is dangerous, so I want to back out of this deal I made with him. Can you come and save me?”

There is no reality where that will go over well.

I’m on my own.

---