Mad Boys (Blue Ivy Prep, #2)(21)

She smothered a yawn while we waited, then, courtesy of Jesse, she rolled me outside via a quiet exit. Apparently, some press had gotten word about the fire. We shoved all my hair up under a hat, but hopefully we could avoid attracting any attention.

Once in the car, we both sagged into the seats. I rested my head on Aubrey’s shoulder and she sighed. We weren’t heading back to the school. Our destination was a hotel in Monmouth that was over thirty minutes from the school and forty-five from the hospital.

Privacy.

“We’re already checked in,” Aubrey said when we got there. She even had two card keys in hand. Wait, that made sense: she set up a retreat zone before following me to the hospital. The fact we were checked in meant we went straight across the lobby to the elevator and then up to the top floor.

Oh, she got us the penthouse. Or what passed for one. When I gave her a look, she rolled her eyes.

“We deserve this, thank you very much, and you need to rest. It’s this or whatever they are doing for emergency housing back at the school. Since they already canceled our first three days of classes while they get everything sorted, we have time.”

Classes weren’t supposed to start for another two days…how much time did they need? Then again, arson, so everything was gone.

A sigh escaped me. All the music I’d been working on. Some photos. Most of it was replaceable.

Most of it.

In the room, I almost sagged again, because my guitar cases were waiting for me.

“I know how much they mean to you,” Aubrey said, dropping the keycards on a table. “Go shower. I’m ordering us food, then we’re turning on Netflix to binge something before we pass out.”

That…sounded really good.

“Phone?” I asked, grimacing at the sound I made. I needed the croak to go away now, but then I was coughing.

“I don’t know,” Aubrey said. “I didn’t see it in your things at the hospital, and we were in pajamas…did you leave it by the bed and only get your guitars?”

I barely remembered the yelling and the chaos. Just the fact I couldn’t breathe, I was coughing, the cases were sitting there and I snagged them. Even if it all turned out to be smoke and nothing else, I couldn’t afford to lose either of the guitars.

“We’ll order you a new one. We can brick the old one then restore the new one from the cloud. I’ll text Jackie if you want. I didn’t even think about them calling. Go shower… and rest your voice. I’m going to order hot tea with everything else.”

I gave her a thumbs-up and headed for the bathroom. There were new clothes on the counter, still with their tags on. Bless Aubrey or whoever she asked to get us what we needed. I was so tired. Images from the smoky hall, pushing on a door that wouldn’t open, and the sound of screams filled my head.

Then Ramsey had been there. Douchebag Two had ripped open that door and the smoke moved. The light had cut through the shadows like the scene had been lit especially for him.

I cranked on the water and then looked at my hands. They were cut in a couple of places. Scraped. Bruised. There was a band-aid on the back of my left hand from the IV, and I’d broken three nails.

No idea how I’d even managed that. Time to think about it later. The best part of climbing into the shower and scrubbing was washing away the scent of burnt embers. By the time I rejoined Aubrey, she’d set us up in the middle of the biggest king bed in one of the rooms.

She’d already turned on Netflix and had Love is Blind waiting for us.

I grinned. She hated this show, but Yvette and I loved it.

“Yes,” Aubrey said with a droll smile and patted the bed next to her. “I am the best. C’mon, let’s turn off our brains for a while.”

That sounded…perfect.





Nine





LACHLAN


The air outside reeked of the sulfur from the fire. Smoke clung to everything. Despite the bright sunshine and the promise of a cool breeze, heat radiated off the blackened brick.

A stack of detritus had begun to accumulate where they’d been carrying out the burnt-out remnants of furniture and electronics. Security was a definite presence, as were the arson investigators.

Students were supposed to stay clear, and they were chasing off the lookie-loos. The investigators were who I wanted to watch. They’d arrived shortly after dawn while the firefighters were still putting out the last hot spots. They’d pushed out a lot of ruined furniture and other debris from the windows.

Frankly, I kept expecting the headmaster of the school to come by to inspect it, right before he passed out. The millions they’d spent on all these shiny new dorms and a fire ate one alive in record time.

Record. Time.

“It’s so awful,” Payton said as she approached me. I was still sipping my coffee when she slid an arm around me, coughing almost “delicately.” It was more of a little hack to clear her throat than a real cough. “I was so scared.”

Uh-huh. I glared down at her, then focused on the building again. It was hard to tell where the fire started. I wasn’t any kind of expert, but if they suspected—

“Lachlan, baby,” Payton sniffled, running one hand over my chest even as she pressed her breasts up to my side. It wasn’t quite humping, but it was close. “I need to feel something else… and you’re here…”