Addicted After All(123)
No. She has to be bluffing. Right?
The three of us share a look, undecided on our next route of action. If we reveal ourselves, she could call the cops anyway. Once she learns the famous heiresses from that trashy reality show toilet-papered her yard, she’ll take revenge. They all do.
There’s only one solution.
I pull out my cell.
{ 38 }
LOREN HALE
In the basement gym, I sit on the edge of the weight bench, not even going for another rep. I steal a glance at the baby monitor, paranoid that my son needs me and I’m two floors below.
“He’s fine,” Connor says, taking off his gloves.
“Did you develop magical powers in the last five minutes, love?” I ask, knowing it will irritate him.
He doesn’t even blink. “Process of deduction,” he tells me. “If you can’t hear him crying, it means he’s still sleeping. There’s no magic involved in that.”
Ryke drops down from the pull-up bar and picks up his water bottle. “Move,” he tells me. “I need the bench.”
I check my watch. “Aren’t you going a little hard there, bro? It’s past midnight.” He’s already lifted thirty minutes ago, and he usually prefers a core workout in the gym since his arms are pushed to the max when climbing.
“Just move.” His jaw muscles tic.
And then it clicks, and I break out into a grin. “Is this you working off your sexual frustration?”
He runs a hand through his damp hair. “I don’t know why you’re f*cking smiling at me. You aren’t getting laid for four more weeks either.”
“What can I say, I like when people share in my misery.”
He throws his dirty towel at my face. I catch it in the air just as Connor switches the television channel.
“What about you?” I ask Connor. “You angry Rose is doing this pact?”
“Angry, no,” Connor tells me. “She says it’s her way of being supportive of Lily, but she’s doing it to one-up me.” He combs his fingers through his hair, fixing the wavy strands. “She forgets that I can wait without a problem, even if I don’t enjoy it. If this win makes her feel better, then I’ll give it to her.”
He’s lucky Rose isn’t here. She’d kill him for that last line. I don’t think she likes being handed a “win.” I shake my head at him as I switch the weight bench with Ryke. “Rose would gouge out your eyeballs for that.”
He grins. “I know.” He sets his gloves aside. “I’m going to make up for the lost time in one night. She’s not going to like me by the end of it.”
Ryke mutters, “I don’t even want to know what that f*cking means.”
I point at Connor. “Kinky. Hardcore.”
Connor leans against the treadmill with a larger grin. “You forgot infallible genius.”
I open my mouth to play into his arrogance, like I usually do, but my cell rings on the floor. I quickly pick it up, already seeing the caller ID: LILY.
Ryke shoots to his feet, and Connor is by my side in seconds. My brother won’t admit it aloud, but half the reason he’s working out until exhaustion is because Daisy’s sleeping outside. Without him. The first time in a while. He’s worried about her.
I put the phone to my ear.
“Lo,” Lily whispers, so softly that I can barely hear. “Lo, are you there?” Her voice edges on alarm.
My muscles constrict. “Why are you whispering?” Maybe there’s a bobcat outside or some kind of animal. I scratch the back of my neck and take a deep breath, forcing myself not to jump to conclusions.
“We’re on a mission…” she trails off. “We need backup. STAT. Over and out.”
What. The. Fuck.
I hear Rose’s voice. “Not out,” she hisses. “You didn’t even give him our location.”
“Lo, you still there?”
“Yeah—”
Ryke tries to grab the phone, to put it on speaker. I shove him back and press the button, just in time for Lily’s reply.
“We need a getaway ride. We’re at the neighbor’s house. The big stone one. You can’t miss it. There’s…um…”
“Toilet paper,” Daisy finishes in a whisper.
“Okay. Bye,” Lily says and hangs up.
Ryke sets his hands on his head. “You’ve got to be f*cking kidding me. All of them?”