Anti-Stepbrother(25)
I regarded Caden. “Are you from here?”
“What?”
I pointed to the houses. “The girl back there implied you’d know this area. Is your house one of these?”
He started to laugh, but stopped himself. “You’re serious?”
“Yeah.”
He straightened in his seat and shook his head. “I live with your stepbrother. And you were at Marcus’ house. We don’t live up here.”
“Why’d she imply you would know this neighborhood?”
“My brother knows this neighborhood. His girlfriend lives up here.”
“Maggie?”
He nodded. “She’s from North River. She still lives with her parents.”
“Oh.”
“You mentioned a friend before. Was that the same girl you were at Marcus’ party with? Avery?”
I nodded. “She said she went to high school with Maggie. She must be from North River too.”
He took another right, turning into a cul-de-sac, and slowed to point out a large white-bricked house. “That’s Maggie’s. I thought they might come here to hang out for a bit.”
There was no gate or wall, so we were able to see the house. The only car parked in the driveway was a silver Prius. “That’s not hers?”
“I don’t think so, but it doesn’t matter. Marcus’ truck isn’t here.” He leaned forward to get a better look, then sat back and maneuvered his Land Rover in a circle, heading back out. “I’ll keep looking.”
“Maggie’s with him, right?”
“Yeah.”
“His phone is off, but is hers? You could call her.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You have her phone number?”
“You don’t have your brother’s girlfriend’s phone number?”
The corner of his mouth lifted up in a half smirk. “Do you?”
Well. I squared my shoulders. Fuck. He got me with that one.
“Stepbrother,” I mumbled, but I shut up after that. We drove for a few more blocks in silence, but we weren’t finding them. The few blocks stretched into a few miles, and it wasn’t long before we had searched the entire neighborhood. Caden paused at a stoplight. There was one more street to check, but he hit the turn signal. He was going to go left, which led back to school.
“Is it important?”
“What?” He didn’t spare me a glance as he waited for the light to turn green.
“Whatever you need to find your brother about. Is it important?”
He grunted. “Fuck yeah, or I wouldn’t be driving around searching for his ass.” He eyed me. “Why? Don’t tell me you actually do have Maggie’s phone number?”
I flushed, shooting him a dark look. “No, and I’m sticking with my story.” I’d been holding my phone in my hands the entire time, and it had grown heavier and heavier the longer we looked. “But I could call Avery and ask for Maggie’s number.”
“Fuck, girl. Why wasn’t that option A?”
There was no heat to his words, and I smiled as I dialed the number Avery had made me program into my phone the night we went to Marcus’ party. Caden turned off the blinker and when the light turned green, he went straight, pulling into a gas station. The phone was still ringing when he got out to fill up with gas.
“Hey.” Avery answered. Loud music and laughter almost drowned her out, but she yelled, “What happened to you? We just ran into your stepbrother, and you’re not with him. I thought I saw you get into his truck. Where are you?”
“Yeah, no. That didn’t happen.”
She let out a groan. “He ditched you, didn’t he?”
“What?”
“He did, right? You can tell me if he did. Again. I know full well how shady he can be. Ditching a girl, even if she’s his stepsister, is something I can totally see Kevin doing. I’m so sorry. You must’ve felt like I ditched you too. I really thought I saw you get into his truck. Wait, where are you? Did you go back to the dorm?”
“That’s why I’m calling.”
The gas stopped, and I felt Caden take the nozzle out of the truck to put it away. I glanced over my shoulder, but he wasn’t paying attention to me. He bypassed his door, heading inside as he pulled out his wallet. I held back a sigh, watching him from behind. He was gorgeous. His tattoos were a little too enticing. Even a loose-fitting shirt couldn’t hide the athleticism beneath, and as my gaze fell from his broad shoulders to his trim waist, lingering on where his jeans rested over his ass, I must’ve let out some sound.
Avery piped up in my ear, “What? What’s going on?”
“Huh?” I couldn’t tear my eyes away. His ass was one I’d cup in a drunken stupor and smile from satisfaction at the memory when I was sober.