Corrupted Chaos (Tarnished Empire)(45)

I narrowed my eyes at him even as my heart clenched at the idea. “Of course not. I don’t care who you sleep with. We’re just getting each other out of our systems, right?” I threw his initial reason for hooking up with me in the bathroom back in his face.

I only did it to have him correct me, though, because when I imagined Penelope and Cassie eyeing him up, I saw red.

“That’s good. Because I packed this aloe vera for anyone who’d bend over for me. Not specifically for you.” I swear he said it to get a rise out of me, and when I wrinkled my nose at him in disgust to cover my hurt, he full-on laughed. “Go have fun out there. Supposedly, we have to know everyone’s names for the damn campfire tonight. Come back for lunch.”

“Or I’ll come back to sleep, and you can eat lunch with whoever will bend over for you.” I stomped to my purse, grabbed lip gloss and a towel, and left him. I swayed my hips a little more than usual, hoping he was watching me the whole way.

When I heard him growl out a curse and mutter, “That outfit is a damn joke. Barely covers your ass,” I smirked to myself and flipped him off before turning the corner to get the hell out of that cabin.

The sun on my skin and the sparkle of the lake brought me back to the real world. I texted my sister on the way to Lucas’s cabin to check in on Bug. She was driving in every now and then to check on my cat, while my apartment building staff fed him twice a day.

Me: Bug still alive?

Lilah: The cat still lives.

Dom: Why the hell are we group chatting about this?

Declan: They wanted to make us feel bad that we didn’t offer to take care of her pet even though we live across the country.

Lilah: Well maybe you should all live closer.

Declan: Yeah, my job would allow for that.

Me: Doesn’t the NFL only last a season.

Declan: I’m kicking your ass when I see you, Izzy.

Me: I’d love to see you try.

Lilah: Does that mean everyone’s coming home soon?

Dimitri: I’m never coming home. Mom’s putting something in the water back there. I don’t want to be the next one giving her grandkids.

Lilah: Come on. My baby does need cousins.

Me: Oh no. She got to Lilah too. We might need to kick her out of the group chat.

Dom: I’ve sworn off women for this very reason. Izzy, you’re the only one I’m talking to from now on.

Lilah: Oh please. Izzy’s about to go down the same rabbit hole as me anyway.

Declan: What’s that supposed to mean?

Dom: Is she dating someone?

Dimitri: She’d better not be fucking around with someone dangerous like you were, Lilah. Izzy, are you being careful?





Each of my siblings, but especially my brothers, were so damn overprotective I couldn’t fathom telling them that their baby sister was screwing around with her boss, a mobster.

Especially not after Lilah married an Armanelli and they punched Dante square in the face.

Me: Lilah, look what you started. For NOTHING. I’m on a work retreat. Leave me alone, Hardy boys. Your baby sister is fine.





Declan called me as I trekked up Lucas’s porch stairs. His deep voice cut me off before I could even say hello. “You’re not doing something dumb, are you?”

“Well, hi, asshat. Nice of you to call and see how I’m doing.”

“I’m in the middle of my workout, and Lilah is dropping silent clues like I don’t pick up on that shit.”

Of course Dom called right then. I rolled my eyes. “Now Dom’s calling. Literally nothing is happening. She’s just taking the heat off herself. You guys are so overprotective. Please stop.”

He sighed like he didn’t want to worry about me, but he did.

All of them did. Because I’d made them worry too much before. “So you’re good?” he asked, and my heart squeezed. Declan was the closest to me in age other than Lilah. And he would have got on a plane immediately if he thought something was wrong.

“I’m fine, Dec. Go back to your workout. Tell the fam you talked to me, too, so they don’t all keep calling.”

He agreed that he would, and I heard some texts go through as I hung up.

Lucas was at his door, smiling like he hadn’t seen me in ages. “No bears ate you!” he exclaimed.

I punched him in the arm, and he pulled me under his shoulder. “I’m not working at all today. Cade told me he’d see me at the campfire, so I say we take today to have some fun.”

“Our itinerary literally says to do so and there’s food and drinks all day.”

I scoffed at how easygoing it seemed. “I’m surprised this isn’t more by the book.”

“I think Mrs. Stonewood is in charge of these events, and she believes people work best with a team they trust, positive reinforcement, and low stress levels. I’ve talked with her a few times because I host the mindfulness group.”

“She sounds like she has the right idea.” I shrugged as we meandered over to my original cabin and Rodney waved us in. We met with his bunkmates, Melanie and Lorenzo. We all sipped the coffee Rodney made, and he told us he was excited for the rest of the day.

We went swimming and paddleboarding, met more of the team, and enjoyed what felt like a vacation. There were sixteen of us, so we could hang with some in the cabin if we didn’t want to swim, grill with others if we didn’t want to sunbathe, or catch up with old friends if we didn’t want to engage with new ones.