by Tate James
In his room, I helped myself to one of his old T-shirts that’d been stuffed into the back of his closet behind a million and one designer button-down shirts and suits. I changed and left my dirty clothes in a crumpled pile that I knew would annoy the shit out of him and climbed into his bed.
Before letting myself crash, I set my alarm for the morning... then groaned when I saw it would only allow me three hours sleep. Still, it was better than nothing, so I tossed my phone onto the other side of the bed and closed my eyes.
I could have sworn that barely a minute passed before Zed shook me awake, and I snarled insults at him before my eyes adjusted to the daylight and my brain processed the fact that I had, in fact, slept.
"Whoa, Dare," Zed interrupted my mumbled abuse with a smirk. "That was all a little harsh after I let you hog my bed all freaking morning."
Huh? I blinked about a thousand times to try and find my bearings and slowly remembered I was at Zed's house. In Zed's bed. With him... shirtless... and...
Fuck's sake. This was far from the right time to start developing feelings for him. Far fucking from it. I needed a slap. Or a cold shower.
"What time is it?" I asked in a sleep-thick voice as I sat up.
Zed was already propped up on one arm, his bicep curled under him like—
"Shit, you asshole," I snapped, noticing the sheepish look on his face. "You turned my alarm off, didn't you?"
He just gave a shrug like he didn't feel all that bad about it. "You needed the rest and Alexi could fucking wait."
Fair point. "So why the fuck am I awake now?" I muttered, climbing out of the bed and groaning at how stiff and sore my whole body was. In fairness, it hadn't been that long since I was thrown across the 7th Circle parking lot by a gas explosion.
"Because Seph is blowing up my phone trying to get ahold of you," he replied with a cringe. "And she sounds pissed. I figured you might want to call her back before she shows up here and sets fire to my house."
Crap’s sake. I exhaled heavily and raked my fingers through my hair. Where did I leave my clothes? I was only wearing underwear under one of Zed's shirts...
A moment later, I spotted my clothes from the night before neatly folded on the chair in the corner and smirked.
"Yeah, alright," I said as I tugged my ripped, black skinny jeans on. "I'll call her back."
Zed wrinkled his nose at me in disgust, still propped up on his elbows in bed. "She can wait five minutes while you shower. I'll reply and let her know you're here."
I glared back at him, not missing the implication that I was dirty. But he was probably right, given how our night had ended up going after we’d worked out where Lucas was being held. There was every chance I had blood crusted in my hair somewhere.
So I just flipped him off, grabbed the rest of my clothes, and headed into his bathroom to shower. Seph could definitely wait. So could that explanation about why Lucas was in the hospital right now.
I kept my shower quick, then roughly towel dried my hair when I was done. With clean skin, I was less than excited about putting dirty clothes on. But I had shit that needed to be done today, and it wasn't going to wait. Nor was it going to get done while wearing borrowed clothes from Zed.
My phone was sitting on the bedside table when I emerged, so I grabbed it and scrolled for Seph's number while I made my way downstairs. It only rang twice before she picked up, and I steeled myself against whatever she wanted to say.
"Seph, what's going on?" I asked her, slightly annoyed at her persistence in getting ahold of me. For all she knew, we'd had a break-in at the apartment and she was staying at Archer's house until the security could be reset. That was the best story I'd come up with in the heat of the moment on Friday night.
"I'm five minutes away," she snapped down the phone at me. "Tell Zed to make me breakfast."
I coughed a laugh. "Tell him yourself, your highness. Jesus, Seph, what's with the attitude?"
There was a pause, then I heard her sigh. "Please? He'll tell me to make it myself, but he won't say no to you."
A grin tugged my lips as I walked into the kitchen and found Zed—as Seph correctly guessed—standing at the counter and mixing up his family waffle recipe. "I'll think about it," I replied to my sister, teasing. "Looks like he's only making enough for me right now."
Seph gave a whine of protest. "Don't be mean! Oh, also, I've got Kody with me because apparently I need a twenty-four-seven bodyguard right now?" She phrased it like a question, and I grimaced. No wonder she was blowing up our phones to talk. I was usually a little more subtle with her protection detail, but I should have known Archer had told MK and in turn... Yeah, not surprising she was worried. Or suspicious.
"See you soon, brat," I chuckled, then hung up on her and gave Zed a raised brow. "You’d better double that batch. Seph's on her way with Kody."
Zed didn't complain, just jerked a nod and set about mixing up a second batch of waffle batter.
"You wanna tell me what's going on before she gets here?" he asked quietly as he poured the first batch into his waffle iron.
I wrinkled my nose and slid onto a stool at his kitchen island. "Not really," I muttered. He'd already poured me a huge mug of coffee and added a heavy splash of real cream.
He just gave a slow nod, his eyes on the cooking waffle. "Fair enough," he replied after a moment. "So you don't want to tell me about how Lucas is actually an eighteen-year-old high school senior at Shadow Prep?"
I'd been taking a sip of my coffee when he said that and promptly choked on it. Zed barely reacted to my coughing fit, just cocked a brow at me while I spluttered and turned red in my attempt to expel the fluid from my windpipe.
"What?" I squeaked when I could draw enough air into my lungs.
"What?" he replied, blinking at me innocently. "You think I don't run my own background checks on our new employees?"
"Since fucking when?" I exclaimed, slamming my mug down on the stone countertop. "Did Demi give you that information? I'll fucking kill her!" And for once, I only meant that as a figure of speech. I loved my aunt like a second mother.
Zed just shot me a glare. "No, I had someone else run a check on my little brother, and I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I found out the truth."
My cheeks were flaming and nothing I could do would make them cool. Fucking hell. I really badly had not thought things through before becoming involved with Lucas.
"Since when?" I demanded again. He'd never run a double background check on our dancers before, at least not to my knowledge. Hell, we hardly ever ran background checks at all if they were only being employed by Copper Wolf as a legal worker. It was none of our business if Aphrodite the exotic dancer was actually Diane Green, a bored housewife from the Rainybanks suburbs.
Zed's cool snapped, and he smacked his hand down on the counter with a flare of anger in his stare. "Since you decided to give him additional job perks, boss. That's when. When did you plan on telling Seph that you're fucking her classmate?"
Uh... never. Probably. If I could get away with it...
"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" I asked in a cool voice, deciding that I wasn't gaining any ground by letting him drive the conversation.
He just glared at me for a long, tense moment, his gaze full of judgment and accusation. Frustration. "I only got the report while you were in the shower," he admitted after a heavy pause. "I requested the search last night to check for his health records."
Well shit, now I felt like an asshole. He hadn't been prying into my love life; he'd been taking care of business. Just like he always did.
I swallowed my pride and ducked my gaze back to my coffee. "Well... trust me, it's worse than you think."
He gave a grunt of disbelief, flipping the first cooked waffle out of the iron and pouring in fresh batter. "It can get worse?"
As if the universe was laughing at me, his gate buzzer sounded right then, announcing that my little sister had arrived. Was it too early to start drinking? I def
initely needed something stronger than straight coffee.
6
Zed buzzed Seph and Kody in, and a minute later my far too energetic sister burst into the kitchen where I was gulping coffee and quietly thinking about the easiest escape routes out of Zed's fortress.
"Wow, you look like total crap," she announced when she laid eyes on me, wrinkling her nose in disgust. Then she shifted her gaze to the cooking waffles. "Oh, Zed... you're making breakfast? I had no idea."
My second just snorted a laugh and shook his head. "Sure. Sit down, Seph. Where's Kody?"
Seph slid into the seat beside me and waved her hand in the direction of the front door. "He's waiting in the car. Apparently, you guys are that unpleasant in the morning, and he didn't want to risk getting shot."
Zed and I both glared death at my little sister, and she snorted a laugh.
"Kidding. He had some work calls to make for KJ-Fit so he said he'd wait outside, then drive me back to their place later. Unless you want me to come stay here? The security doors won't take that long to fix at home, right?"
The hopeful look she gave me was actually gut-wrenching. I couldn't lie to her forever... It was only going to get worse the longer I kept my mouth shut.
Zed came to my rescue, though, breaking the silence when no words left my frozen lips.
"Actually, it's a bit more complicated," he said as he plated up a waffle for each of us. With deft movements, he chopped a banana and several strawberries to scatter over the hot waffles, then drizzled them in maple syrup. To top it all off, he added a scoop of ice cream, and Seph bounced in her seat like an excited three-year-old.
"Complicated how?" she asked as she took a big forkful of food.
Zed shot me a look like he wanted me to take the opportunity and explain... but I really preferred to eat my breakfast before Seph tried to claw my eyes out. So I just filled my mouth with food like a big old coward.
He glowered at me, then shifted his attention back to Seph. "The security breach is likely part of a bigger situation we're currently dealing with. Until it's contained, it's not safe for you to go home. For either of you." This was added with a sharp look directly at me, and I narrowed my eyes in response. I'd agreed to stay one night because I was exhausted and hurting. I sure as fuck hadn't agreed to move in with him indefinitely.
"Wait, what?" Seph squeaked. "How long are we talking? I can't stay with MK forever, you know."
"Yes, you can," I mumbled around my food. "Already cleared it with D'Ath."
She scowled. "No, I mean, I really can't. I love MK, don't get me wrong, but holy shit she's loud in bed. I actually got Kody to buy me earplugs this morning on our way over. If I have to hear my friend begging for one of the guys to fuck her ass one more time, I'm gonna puke."
Zed gave an exaggerated cough as he turned his back on us, and I suspected he was trying to hide a laugh. I didn't blame him, either, and only Seph's outraged stare kept me from snickering myself.
"Well... too bad." I shrugged. "It's not safe to be at the apartment."
Seph pouted. "What aren't you telling me?"
"Lots of things," I replied with a grimace. "But all you need to know is that Archer and the boys will keep you safe while we deal with this... threat."
She huffed but ate her breakfast in silence for a short while. When she finished, she slid off her stool and took our dirty dishes to the sink to rinse. Then she turned back to face me with a troubled frown creasing her brow and something quite clearly on her mind.
"I'm... going to go shower," Zed announced after an extended pause. When neither my sister nor I responded, he gave a nod and made a speedy exit from the kitchen.
"What's up, brat?" I asked Seph when we were alone. "You're not seriously that grossed out by MK's sex life, are you?"
Seph shook her head, giving a dismissive wave of her hand. "No, that's... whatever. Good for her, right? Hashtag girl power and shit." She folded her arms tightly, like she was comforting herself, and her gaze skittered all around the kitchen but never met mine.
"Okay..." I drew a breath. "So what's going on?" She couldn't know about Lucas already. She was too... calm.
She drew a deep breath, then let it out in a heavy sigh as she returned to her seat beside me at the counter. "It's Lucas."
Oh shit.
"Uh..." I had nothing constructive to say here.
"It's not what you think," she rushed to say, and I mentally replied, Fuck, I hope not.
"Okay... why don't you explain?" I suggested, licking my lips when my whole damn mouth went dry.
She gave another dramatic sigh. "I know he has a girlfriend and stuff; I totally get it. And I know I was being super inappropriate pushy, too, which was totally not cool of me because, like, what if that was me and some girl was constantly hitting on my boyfriend, right? So, so not cool." She was talking at a million miles an hour, but I was happy to let her word vomit and save me the need to respond.
"Mm-hmm," I offered by way of agreement. She was right too. Even without my involvement, it’d been a dick move on her part when he'd already told her he wasn't interested.
"Right. So that's half the reason I asked him over to study on Friday night. I wanted to apologize and, like... be friends. You know? Because he's a really cool guy and we could totally just be platonic friends. Couldn't we?" She gave me a pointed look, and I gave a slight shrug.
"I suppose..." Where the fuck is she going with this?
She gave me a pained frown. "Did he say anything when you dropped him home the other night?"
I'd told her it was a minor break-in attempt on our apartment, someone trying to pick the lock while Lucas was still there, and that I had dropped him home so I could deal with it. Yep. Big old liar.
"Like what?" Fuck it, I was playing dumb. It seemed like the easiest course of action.
Seph shrugged, oblivious to my anxiousness. "I dunno. But he hasn't replied to any of my messages, and I'm sort of worried he finally got scared off. Did you say something?"
Oh geez. Of course he hadn't, his phone was still in our apartment amidst the destruction caused by his fight with my double-crossing Timberwolf. Also, he was in the hospital recovering from a full twenty-four hours of beatings, a brand, and a stab wound.
Blowing out a long breath, I peered down at my empty coffee cup. I needed to rip the Band-Aid off before Seph did something dumb out of ignorance and got herself in danger.
"Seph, there's something I've been meaning to tell you about Lucas," I reluctantly gritted out. "I probably should have told you when I first realized he went to school with you."
Probably? Definitely.
"I already know," she said quickly, cutting me off before I could speak again. I jerked my gaze up from my coffee mug to look at her in alarm, and she gave me a sheepish smile. "Cass told me."
My brain short-circuited. "Cass did what?"
Seph wrinkled her nose. "Don't be mad; he didn't know it was a secret. He assumed I already knew that Lucas was a stripper, and I mean, it totally explains his body, right? And I know Zed does all the hiring and shit, so you probably didn't even have anything to do with hiring him, but anyway, I totally would never judge him for stripping. It's just a job, right? And he needs the money for his mom, so it's kinda admirable."
"Right." I blinked at her slowly. "Cass told you..."
She gave a small frown of confusion. "That Lucas was a stripper at 7th Circle. Why? Was there something else?"
Crap.
That was my opening. I really, really wouldn't have any excuses left if I didn't tell her now. She was going to completely blow her lid, I already knew it. But the nice thing about Seph was that her temper worked like magnesium. It burned white hot in a flash, but quickly extinguished. Once she'd screamed and thrown shit, she'd get over it.
I hoped.
"Yeah," I finally forced myself to say, "so... okay, I'm going to preface this by saying he gave a fake ID to get the job at 7th." Seph's eyes narrowed, and I looked away. I could s
tand up to the biggest bad guys around and not even bat a lash, but my little sister? Nope. "So, in saying that..." I drew a deep breath, then ripped the Band-Aid off. "I've been sleeping with Lucas."
For a second, I thought she hadn't heard me. Then she blinked, frowned, and shook her head. "What? No, you haven't. He has a girlfriend."
I winced. "Uh, yeah. Me."
She shook her head again, a confused smile on her lips like she thought I was messing with her. "No, because..." She trailed off when I just met her gaze and didn't laugh. Her expression slipped quickly, and her frown deepened. "You've... you're the girl on his phone. H. She was saved as H..." She blinked in disbelief, and I braced myself for the screaming.
But it didn't come.
Instead, she just pursed her lips and swallowed heavily.
"I didn't realize you were in the habit of fucking your dancers," she finally said with an edge of bitterness in her voice.
I groaned. "I'm not. It was a one-off thing that just... kept happening."
"And you never thought to tell me? After I poured my heart out to you about how much I liked him? You never thought, hey, maybe I should tell Seph that it's me who is screwing him?" Then her brows shot up, and she looked at me in horror. "Oh my god. That's why he kept coming over to study? Because he wanted to see you?" She let out a bitter laugh and slid off her stool. "I'm such an idiot," she muttered under her breath, starting toward the door.
"Seph, where are you going?" I asked, sliding off my own seat.
"Anywhere but here," she snapped back, but it wasn't the diva tantrum I'd been expecting. No, this was just cold fury. Fuck me, she was handling this completely unlike her. She was handling it like me... and that was way worse.
"Fuck’s sake," I growled, following after her. "Seph, that's not everything. You need to know—"
"Was there really a break-in?" she demanded, whirling around to face me with a stonelike expression hardening her features. "Or was that some bullshit excuse to get me out of the way so you could fuck Lucas all over the apartment?"
