“For a while.” He leered. “I’m thinking I chased the wrong cousin.”
Peyton smothered the shudder of revulsion rippling down her spine. She began collecting the cards from the table and stacking them. “So the baby isn’t yours then?”
Cade didn’t miss a beat. “No.”
“Funny, she looks a bit like you.”
That earned her a laugh. “Next thing you know, you’ll be asking for my DNA.”
“Well…” She gave him a predatory smile of her own. “If you’re offering, I won’t say no. It’s a good way to put this to rest once and for all.”
Cade picked up a glass of beer from the table. He drained it, licked the rim with deliberate slowness, and then handed the glass to Dawson. “Here.”
Peyton blinked in surprise. She didn’t know whether to be happy or disappointed at the prospect that Grace wasn’t Cade’s daughter.
Happy. Definitely happy.
As soon as Dawson took the glass, Cade’s hand shot out and grabbed Peyton’s arm. He pulled her into a standing position. Dawson lunged, but two of Cade's men caught him. The glass in his hand tumbled to the floor in the struggle and shattered into pieces. Peyton stared at the shards.
Cade completely ignored the commotion between Dawson and his men. “This is one of my favorite songs.” His voice was smooth as honey. “Dance with me, Princess Peyton.”
She nodded automatically, and as he turned to lead her onto the dance floor, Peyton shot Dawson a reassuring glance. His expression was thunderous, but the men holding onto him loosened their grip. He made no move to follow her. Peyton appreciated the way he let her call the shots. He didn’t like it—she knew that much—but he respected her enough professionally to do things her way.
Cade wrapped an arm around her waist, cupping her other hand within his meaty one. He pulled her close. Peyton’s insides revolted at the touch, but she leaned into it all the same, letting him take control of the dance. He swayed her along to the sound of the country music ballad. “Your husband looks irritated.” His tone was amused.
“Ex-husband,” she corrected. She wanted to create as much distance between her and Dawson as possible. Cade hadbasically ignored him, but he’d allowed Dawson into the bar for a reason, and she sensed the undercurrent of male hostility. “He’ll get over it.”
“I’m surprised he let you go.”
“He didn’t have a choice.”
“And yet…here you are…in my bar. Together.”
“He’s helping me find Lilia.” She pulled back far enough to look him in the face. “That’s all I want, you know. To find my cousin. The rest doesn’t matter as long as she comes home alive.”
Cade hummed, forcing them back together again. His breath was hot against her ear. “You’re walking a dangerous line, Princess Peyton. I happened to like Lilia, which is why I’m cooperating, but this is a onetime deal. I didn’t have anything to do with her disappearance.”
“What about the attempted kidnapping of her child?”
“Also not me.” His hand slid up and down her back. “I gave you my DNA. I have nothing to hide.”
“What you gave me is now shattered all over the floor.”
He shrugged. “It’s not my fault your ex bungled things.”
“They knocked it out of his hand. Don’t insult my intelligence, Cade.”
His hand tightened on hers. “Don’t insult mine. I don’t care about Lilia’s rugrat, and I’m not foolish enough to target two cops.”
“Then members of your group did. We have evidence.”
“My men don’t blink without permission.”
“Well, then we have a problem.”
“Do we?” Cade’s tone was once again amused, but when he leaned back to look her in the face, there was none of it in his expression. It was cold. Hard. Deadly. “I’ll say it again, Princess Peyton, you’re walking a dangerous line. If I were you, I’d focus my attention somewhere else. It’d be a shame if something happened to you or yourex-husband.”
The threat chilled her blood. Still, Peyton kept her expression schooled and her tone even. “If you didn’t have anything to do with Lilia’s disappearance, then someone is working hard to make it look like you did. Isn’t that a problem?”
