by Lily White
He chuckles.
“He belongs to you. Always has. He told me you know about the bet.”
Another thread of anger stabs through me. “Yes. And I’m not happy about it.”
Silence and then, “Would it make you feel better to know that he wanted to talk to you long before Mason gave him that opening? The only reason Ezra jumped at the chance was because it gave him an excuse to chase you.” He shrugs and grins. “I mean, you were the virgin princess after all. Who wouldn’t want to tap that?”
My jaw drops and I smack his shoulder. “That’s fucked up.”
“I’m only joking.” His playfulness is shining through, and it calms my aching heart. “Kind of,” he adds with a wink.
I hear the door creak open a few seconds before a deep voice filters through the room.
“There better be a damn good reason you both are on the bed. And it better not be for the usual reason.”
Turning, I lock eyes with Ezra. Damon folds his arms beneath his head and answers, “We were just about to have our last goodbye fuck. Did you want to join us?”
Ezra’s eyes narrow on his brother, but I can’t seem to care. I’m too busy being thoroughly pissed off to see that Ezra’s face is worse than Damon’s.
“When I told you I trusted you to deal with the issues between us, I didn’t mean it like this. In fact, I’m seriously pissed off you fought Damon.”
His stare turns back to me, a grin stretching the corner of his arrogant lips as he winks.
Pointing at his chest, he says, “Beast, remember? I’ll let her highness do things her way, and I’ll do things my way.”
I roll my eyes.
“I’m not a queen.”
“Yeah, you are, Red. You always have been.”
My eyes snap to Damon.
“Why do you two keep saying that?”
“Because no other woman has ever been able to put us in our place,” Ezra answers, his tone serious. “And you have a tendency to bark orders and make us obey without trying.”
“It’s seriously fucking annoying,” Damon adds.
I’m looking between them, still not believing it.
“Well, in that case, no more fighting. Either of you. Not unless you want your asses handed to you by me.”
Another arrogant grin from Ezra.
“Is that a promise?”
“Not a good ass handing,” I warn.
He walks over and lays down on the other side of me, the three of us moving so we’re on our backs.
Ezra curls his pinky with mine, while Damon does the same on the other side.
I close my eyes because having them both here is like taking a full breath for the first time.
“No more fighting,” Ezra says. “With Damon, at least.”
I want to smack him, but refrain. At least it’s a step in the right direction.
Several minutes pass silently as we lay together. Leave it to Damon to screw it up.
“So about that goodbye fuck.”
“You son of a bitch,” Ezra growls as he crawls over me to get to his brother.
“Boys! Both of you, stop it!”
The twins go still, their eyes locking to each other before glancing at me.
“Queen,” Ezra whispers.
We all bust out laughing.
Ezra
“Have you two worked out your issues yet?”
Leaning back in my seat, I kick my feet up on Tanner’s coffee table, my lips curling in challenge when he arrows a stare at them and back to my face.
“That’s a four-thousand-dollar table, asshole. I’d appreciate it if you get your scuffed boots off it.”
“Stop spending so much money on furniture,” I answer, only for Gabe to laugh from his usual position near the wet bar in Tanner’s living room. “And yeah, Damon and I worked it out.”
Tanner arches a brow.
“Figured that by how fucked up your face is at the moment.”
“You should have seen it a few days ago,” I mutter.
“So then where is Damon?”
Jase answers from where he’s lounged back in a chair, his eyes glued to his phone while he scrolls the screen.
“Out with Shane.”
“Fuck,” Tanner curses beneath his breath as he stabs a hand through his hair, obviously frustrated. “We should find them before they’re in jail again.”
Taylor looks up from his laptop, casting a glance at Mason then over at us.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
“Although we might not be,” Gabe says after swallowing down the whiskey in his glass. “Currently, Luca, Ivy, Emily and Ava are out for girls’ night. Is anybody else here worried about what they’re planning as revenge against us?”
Laughter bursts from Jase’s mouth.
“Sounds like the four of you have a problem. Who the hell let those women out of sight? Dumb move, especially with Ivy there.”
The room goes silent for several seconds as we all consider that.
Emily has no reason to get even with me about anything. She can’t still be mad about the cabin thing. But then again, it’s only been a few days since we decided to work things out.
Shit.
“Maybe one of us should call them and see what they’re doing.” I shoot a look at Mason. “Call Ava.”
He grins, a relaxed expression on his face.
“Ava has no reason to be mad at me for anything. But you three? Yeah, you’re fucked.”
Tanner, Gabe and I all look at each other, Tanner breaking the awkward silence.
“They wouldn’t.”
“Have you met Ivy?” Gabe counters.
“Which means they would,” I groan.
Annoyance flashes across Tanner’s expression.
“Whatever, we’ll deal with that later. For now, we need to plan our next steps in the server drama. It would have been seriously fucking nice for Shane to be here since our next step is finding and cornering Brinley. Anything new on that, Taylor?”
Without looking up from his screen, Taylor answers, “I’m going with Shane to Myth next weekend. Mason’s coming with us, I think.”
“I am.”
Tanner looks at Jase.
“I thought you were going.”
“Not into it,” Jase answers without bothering to look up from his phone.
Dropping his weight down next to me, Sawyer stuffs a few chips in his mouth.
“Probably because you’re still up at night crying about Everly.”
That gets Jase’s attention.
“Man, shut the fuck up about that before I get out of this chair and walk over there.”
“Bring it on,” Sawyer laughs.
“Both of you, shut up,” Tanner barks. “Jase, why are you not into it?”
I run a hand over my head, not in the mood for this shit tonight.
Over the past few nights, I’ve barely gotten any sleep while over at Emily’s house. Although that’s more my fault than hers. I also haven’t been home much because we’re trying to stay out of Damon’s way while he gets used to the idea of us being together.
I was looking forward to getting a few hours of solid sleep in while Emily was out with her friends, but then Tanner called and told me to swing by.
The only reason I came to his place before heading home was because Tanner said we needed to figure out where to go with everything. But if it’s going to turn into a shitshow where everybody is griping at everybody else, I’m not interested.
“Jase, answer me.”
Judging by Tanner’s expression, Jase is about two seconds away from an ass beating.
Maybe I will stay.
This could be interesting after all.
Stealing a few of Sawyer’s chips, I dance my eyes between Tanner and Jase, wondering which one of them is going to step up first.
Jase drops his phone and eyes Tanner. Lips a thin line, he rolls his head over his shoulders.
“You just told me to shut up.”
&nb
sp; Tanner starts to push up from his seat, but Gabe steps up behind him to slam a hand on his shoulder and shove him back down.
Asshole.
Gabe just ruined all my fun.
“Jase,” Gabe admonishes, “stop pressing Tanner’s buttons and tell us what’s going on. We’d hate for you to end up looking like Ezra. You have such a pretty face, it would be a shame to ruin it.”
“Actually, my money’s on Jase in this fight,” I comment.
Sawyer bumps elbows with me. “I’ve got a hundred on Tanner.”
“Deal.”
“Children,” Gabe says, shutting us up. “It’s Jase’s turn for show and tell. When you have the speaking stick, then you can talk.” He turns to Jase. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m just pissed we haven’t found shit on Everly yet.”
“I knew this was about Everly,” Sawyer murmurs.
Gabe and Tanner both shoot him a look before returning their attention to Jase.
“We’re working on it,” Tanner tells him.
“You’re working on the damn servers. Or getting your dicks wet with all your damn girl problems, but this shit is getting old. She needs to be found.”
“Would you like to tell us why?” Tanner asks, his dark gaze hard on Jase.
Regardless of the years that have passed and our constant questions, Jase still hasn’t breathed the first word about what Everly did, or has of his, that is so important.
Some of the guys think it’s simply that he’s got a hard-on for her that won’t quit. But I think it’s something else.
Jase is furious about something, and that girl better keep running if she knows what’s good for her.
“No.” Picking his phone back up, Jase ends the conversation with that simple answer.
Tanner’s last nerve must be fried. A muscle jumps in his jaw as turns to stare down Taylor.
“Any luck on the encryption?”
“Not yet, but I’m getting there.”
I laugh at the way Taylor answers that question. You can tell his last nerve is fried, too.
Luca’s dad must have been one hell of a genius to develop a code even Taylor can’t figure out.
Standing up to leave before I end up as anxious as the rest of them, I head toward the door.
“I’m leaving to get some sleep. If I’m needed for something, call me.”
Mason and Taylor both glance at me with an odd look, but eventually they nudge their chins and wave. It isn’t until I’m stepping out onto the front porch that I hear Tanner call my name.
Turning, I sigh to see both him and Gabe following behind me. My mood instantly sours because if both of them are in pursuit, they’re planning on having a heart to heart about something I prefer not to talk about at the moment.
“Does this really require both of you?”
Gabe cocks a brow, but it’s Tanner who pins me with a suspicious stare. They both step up to me, their heights almost equal to mine, but their bodies leaner with muscle.
Then again, while these two spent their teenage and college years battling their fathers in mind games alone, Damon and I had been forced to fight through more physical means.
That doesn’t mean Tanner and Gabe are weak, it just means they are more dangerous in games that require strategy and cunning.
“We haven’t had a lot of time to talk to you lately,” Tanner says, straight and to the point. “Between the fight that happened here over a week ago and the bruises on your face now, we’re a little worried you don’t have things handled with Damon as well as you claim.”
“By little, he means we think you’re full of shit,” Gabriel adds, that smile in place that only an idiot would trust. “Tanner knows what happened at the cabin.”
Of course he does. I’d forgotten about the damn newsletter they’ve started passing around.
“You’re with Emily now.”
It’s a statement more than a question, but still I nod my head at what Tanner said.
“Then how is Damon taking it? Obviously, you two fought for her, and if he’s the one walking away without her, then it’s him we need to worry about.”
I can’t argue with Tanner on this. Damon and I have never been what most people define as stable, but that doesn’t mean we’re not capable of looking after ourselves either.
“He’ll need to get past it on his own. He told both Emily and me that he’ll deal with it, so he will. If anything, we’re past the point of fighting now, so you don’t need to worry.”
From their expressions, I can tell they’re not convinced.
Gabriel purses his lips before asking, “How has he been acting these past few days?”
Annoyance flickers through me.
“I don’t know. I haven’t been at the house. I’m sure if he’s out with Shane right now, he’s fine.”
They both look at me like I’m an idiot.
“I just mean he’s not sitting around sobbing into his pillow. What Shane convinces him to do is another story, but they’re both grown men. I’m not babysitting them.”
They stand shoulder to shoulder, a wall of concern facing me.
Rather than pressing the issue, Tanner nods his head and looks at Gabe, their thoughts still spinning wheels in their heads that they, fortunately, don’t dump on me.
Am I worried about Damon? Yes. He has issues. But do I think he’s going to detonate at any second and do something stupid? No.
Still, the concern is obvious in these two.
“Listen, he’s moved past Emily before. Damon isn’t going to lose his mind over a woman. And if he does, I’ll handle it. If anything else is going on that you two need to know about, I’ll tell you.”
I turn to leave, but Tanner’s voice stops me in place, aggravation rolling up my spine to settle in my shoulders.
“Why were you at William’s?”
Damn it...
“I just drove by.”
“So then how did you know his face was bruised?”
My head falls back at the reminder that I saw Emily at William’s house. That problem has been buried beneath everything else, the question as to what she was doing there.
Telling them the truth would be like throwing her to the lions, or placing a target on her back that Tanner and Gabe would focus their sights on with every intention of taking her down.
It’s possible she really was just trying to get information I wouldn’t give her, and if that’s the case, I don’t want Tanner and Gabe seeing her as a potential enemy.
“He was outside when I drove by,” I lie as I turn to face them. “I won’t go by there again.”
Tanner’s dark green eyes lock to mine.
“Why did you drive by in the first place?”
“Because he tried calling Damon. You already know about that.”
Tanner blinks, his posture shifting as he glances at Gabe again in one of those silent conversations they always have.
It’s annoying when they do it, but I guess the same can be said of Damon and me.
Sometimes you know a person so well that you can communicate without speaking the first word.
“William is a problem,” Tanner says, stating the obvious, “but he’s still part of our families and involved with all of our fathers. He’s part of what we’re working to destroy.”
“I know that. And I’m leaving him alone.”
Sympathy flickers behind his eyes, his expression softening.
“We’ll handle William with the rest of them, Ezra. But doing anything now might tip them off that we’re not their puppets anymore. We’re getting there. We just need to be patient.”
Right, because I’m known for my patience. On this, though, he has nothing to worry about, so I brush it off.
“I know. And it’s not a problem. May I leave now?”
Holding a hard stare on me for a few seconds longer, Tanner nods his head and steps back.
“Be sure to tell us immediately if anything happens or if William contacts Damon again.”
/>
“I’ll be sure to put it in the newsletter.”
“The what?”
Chuckling at the confusion written across his face, I shake my head.
“Nothing. I’ll see you both later.”
They say nothing as I stalk off and climb on my bike, a sigh pouring over my lips as I pull my helmet on and start the engine.
It’s a short ride from Tanner’s house to mine, the outside lights a bright glow over the driveway as I park next to Damon’s truck.
Guessing he isn’t out with Shane like Jase thought, I hope I’m wrong about Damon putzing around the house and sobbing into his pillow.
He was his usual self when he left Emily’s house a few days ago, but it could have been an act he put on to make her feel better. There’s no telling with him lately.
I’m exhausted as I walk up to the house, my thoughts scattered when I climb the few steps up to the front door, my body stilling in place when I notice the door is partially open, and the concrete in front of it is stained.
Pushing the door open with two fingers, I call out, “Damon?”
He doesn’t answer, the house quiet as a tomb and concern flooding me instantly when I step inside.
My foot slips on the ground, concern exploding into fear to see blood on the stone tiles.
“Damon!”
It’s not a lot of blood, but a path of it drips into the house. Wondering if the asshole got into another fight while out, I step deeper into the house.
“Damon, you better answer me right now!”
I hear noise in the kitchen and head that way, my stride quick and steps pounding the floor.
Turning a corner, I find Damon by the sink, the water stained pink as he washes his hands.
From a distance, I can clearly see blood splashed on his skin and clothes. His hair is a mess around his head, and he refuses to look in my direction.
I close the distance to notice that his knuckles are busted to hell, his jaw set and shoulders tense.
“What happened?”
He shakes his head, his face frantic.
“Grab some bleach and help me clean up the blood throughout the house.”
“What the hell happened?” I roar.
“Just grab the bleach-“
I grab his shoulder instead and turn him to face me.
“I’m not doing anything until you tell me what’s going on? Is all that blood yours?”