A Very Merry Bromance (Bromance Book Club #5) (93)

“Other than eating my mother’s food, what are you doing here?”

“What do you think?” Vlad said. “You’re in crisis. We’re here to help.”

Colton sat up again, carefully. “Unless you can get that asshole to drop the charges, there’s not much you guys can do.”

“We’re not here about that, dipshit,” Mack snorted.

Colton looked at each of their faces as a sunrise of understanding pushed through the hangover clouds in his brain. Their presence had nothing to do with saving his career and everything to do with her. They were going to try to pull some book club shenanigans. “No. No way. Absolutely not.”

“Yep,” Noah said. “So get up, take a shower, shave your ugly face, and brush your goddamn teeth because your breath could wilt flowers.”

Colton threw the covers off his lap. “Forget it. Gretchen dumped me, and that’s all there is to it.”

Malcolm shook his head. “All there is to it? When has that ever been the case?”

Colton stood, but a wave of nausea had him leaning against the nightstand. The guys all backed up several steps to get out of the kill zone in case he spewed.

A few deep breaths later, Colton straightened. “Remember when you guys were all like, Don’t hurt her, asshole, and I was like, What if she hurts me?, and you guys were all like, Ha, like that would ever happen? Remember that?” He extended his middle finger and waved it back and forth to cover the lot of them. “Yeah. Fuck you.”

Mack rolled his eyes. “Stop being so dramatic. It’s a speed bump.”

“I told her I loved her, and she threw me out and said she’s moving to D.C. That’s more than a speed bump.”

“So? Stop her,” Mack said.

“I don’t have time to stop her. I have to figure out how to save my reputation and my career. And why the fuck should I try to stop her? She dumped me when I needed her, so don’t get any big ideas about planning some kind of grand gesture. If anyone needs to be grand-gestured, it’s me.” He jabbed his finger into his chest for emphasis.

The guys acted as if he hadn’t spoken. “Liv, Alexis, and Elena have all been trying to reach her,” Mack said, “but her phone keeps going to voice mail.”

“She probably turned it off. That’s what she does when she runs away from home. You’re wasting your time.”

His father’s voice suddenly called up the stairs. “Is Colton alive?”

“Barely,” Mack yelled back.

“Tell him to get down here. Now.”

Great. Now what? He looked at the guys, but they all just shrugged as if they had no idea what was going on. He wasn’t sure if he trusted them. Colton forced one foot in front of another until he was confident that he could actually walk. “What’s wrong?” he asked, stopping at the top of the stairs.

His parents stood side by side looking up at him. “He won’t take no for an answer and is threatening to stay out there all night if necessary,” his father said.

He sighed. “A reporter?”

“No,” his mother said in a stage whisper. “Jack.”

“Gretchen’s uncle?” Vlad asked. The guys had all followed him from his bedroom.

Colton started down the stairs, gripping the railing just in case. “What does he want?”

“He just keeps saying it’s urgent.”

At the front door, Colton pressed the button to the intercom for the gate. “What do you want?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Not without my attorney present.”

“Luckily, she’s right behind me.”

A horn blared to prove his point. Colton swore and hit the button to unlock the gate. Then he threw open the front door and stormed outside. A car sped up the driveway that he recognized as Jack’s.

Colton met him on the sidewalk as soon as he jumped out. “Why the hell aren’t you answering your phone?” Jack demanded.

“It’s dead. What the fuck do you want?”

Another car suddenly roared up the driveway. Desiree was behind the wheel, and Buck sat in the passenger seat with a steely glare. They, too, jumped out of the car and ran up the sidewalk.

“Why the hell aren’t you answering your phone?” Buck demanded.

“It’s dead,” came a chorus of voices behind him.

“You can’t do that,” Desiree said, pointing angrily. “Not when all hell is breaking loose. We have to be able to reach you.”

“No shit,” Jack grumbled.

“Will someone please tell me what is going on? Why are you here? I thought we weren’t meeting until later.” He pointed at Jack. “And I have no fucking idea why you’re here.”

Desiree, Buck, and Jack spoke at the same time. “He’s going to drop the charges.”

It was as if someone had lifted a blanket from a bird cage. There was a split second of sudden silence before the squawking began again. His parents and siblings raced down the porch steps.

“He what?” his mother gasped.

“When did this happen?” his father barked.

“How is that even possible?” his brother said.

Colton didn’t need to ask. Because the answer was in Jack’s eyes. Colton advanced, gripped the man’s shirt, and fisted it in his clenched fingers. “What did Gretchen do?”