Vincent (Made Men, #2)(81)

“Yeah, you do! You need to tell me why you disappeared for over a month without returning any of my calls and texts.” Adalyn slapped her arm again.

“Let’s sit down.” She sat on her bed and Adalyn plopped down beside her, giving her a curious yet still mad look.

Lake bit her lip, not knowing where to start. The beginning. She needs to hear all of it.

“The day after Nero’s graduation party, I found out my father owed Dante a lot of money, and he was going to hurt him. So, I did the only thing I knew to do and offered to pay him back. I gave him all of my college fund money, but that wasn’t enough, so we worked out a deal that I would work for him.”

She took a breath, her vision starting to become blurry. “The job wasn’t exactly legal, and I wasn’t proud of what I was doing. I was so embarrassed, and that’s why I couldn’t tell you.” She wiped at a tear that strolled down her face.

“Then Vincent found out, and he helped me for a month to get out of debt with Dante. We became”—she didn’t know how to tell her the next words—“close. I didn’t mean or even want for it to happen, but it did, and that’s why I kept away from you. I couldn’t face you. You are my best friend, Adalyn, and I feel like I betrayed you. I’m so sorry.”

“Sooo”—Adalyn raised her eyebrow— “does this mean you’re not going off to college now?”

“Adalyn, did you even hear me? Me and Vincent are together.” She wanted to shake some sense in her. Punch me in the face or something!

Adalyn shrugged. “Well, I knew it was going to happen eventually.”

Huh? “You knew?”

“Yes, I’m not stupid. I figured something happened that night we went to Poison, and you refused to tell me.” Adalyn raised her hand. “By the way, you can keep that to yourself now. I don’t need to know what happened.”

Lake blushed a little before she took her in for a hug. “You’re the bestest friend I could ask for, and I don’t deserve you.”

“Oh, hush.” Adalyn hugged her back. “You didn’t answer me. Are you still leaving for college?”

She fell back on her bed, sighing. “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

Vincent’s deal with her was that if she came back, he would let her leave and go to any college she wanted, no matter how far. The fact that he had said that to her showed her how selfless he was, and it made her heart ache in a way which scared her shitless.

Adalyn fell back on the bed beside her. Lake knew what she was thinking about—the two had been friends for so long it wasn’t hard at this point to tell.

“Do you love him?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered.

Adalyn looked away from the ceiling to face her. “I guess it would be hard to. He is a dick.”

Lake busted out laughing, and then Adalyn quickly followed. The two were both cracking up to the point they laughed so hard and for so long they forgot what had made them start the first place.

Adalyn was the peanut butter to her jelly, the chip to her dip, the pop to her tart. It feels good to see my best friend again.

The two talked about everything they had missed from each other’s lives for what seemed like hours, and Lake wasn’t ready for it to end anytime soon. Vincent and Nero had to work again that night in the casino to make up for missing the night before. If she wasn’t going to be able to distract herself from that fact by having fun out, she was going to bring the fun to her.

Lake smiled at her, her wheels turning for what to do tonight.

“You are not going to believe who lives beside Vincent.”

“Who?” Adalyn asked.

“Elle. Do you want to come over and hang out with me and her while Nero and Vincent go to work?”

Nero isn’t going to like me very much.

Adalyn was already excited. “Oh, my gosh, yes! We should invite Maria and Chloe, too.”

“You’re a genius, Adalyn.” Lake laughed mischievously, going through her contact list and pressing ‘call’ over Elle’s name.

Nero is going to hate my fucking guts.





Chapter Fifty-Two

The Difference Between Life and Death



“How in the fuck did this happen?” Nero looked at Elle when Vincent came in with Lake and Adalyn.

“Holy shit, this is insane!” Adalyn ran through the place, going straight up to the wall of glass windows and putting her hands and face on the glass to look down at the city.

Lake smiled at Nero. “Don’t worry. Chloe and Maria are coming, too.”

Elle gave Nero a kiss on the cheek before he started to throw real daggers at Lake instead of with his eyes. “I’ll make it up to you later.”

“Yes, you fucking will.” Nero looked at her, the way of how she was going to make it up to him clear in his green eyes.

Lake heard something on the other side of the door and watched Vincent go and open it. Amo and Chloe were on the other side of the door, laughing.

“See you later.” Amo grinned down at her, letting it be known that he was going to be the one to take her back home, as well.

Chloe looked back up at him and smiled. “That sounds good.”

Lake had never seen Amo smile, like really smile, before that moment. In the short time since she had met Chloe, she honestly didn’t believe she had seen one from her like that, either. Go Team Amo!