Leap of Faith (Iris Boys Book 3)

by Lucy Smoke

  Grayson looked up and met Marv's gaze. Despite the clear electricity and underlying tension that raced between them, Marv answered Grayson's unspoken prompting. He stepped forward, arms crossed over his chest. "We found one of the informants for the police department and he's in the area. We were hoping to catch him and ask him a couple of questions. Caruso was going to go over where he had found the informant and then we were going to come up with a plan before we got the call about your...fall." Marv's jaw clenched between the slight pause.

  "About the fall," Bellamy started, drawing the attention of the room. "The police think it was a hit and run. Someone obviously knocked you over, but whoever found you and called the ambulance didn't see anything."

  "It was probably just an accident," I said, though a niggling sensation in the back of my mind made me question it. What kind of person would knock someone down and not do anything when that person never got back up? Maybe the person who called the ambulance was the perpetrator and was just too embarrassed to speak up. I sighed. I supposed it didn't matter now. "What about the informant?" I asked. "Are we too late?"

  Knix shook his head. "No, Grayson pinpointed the informant's location and according to his social media accounts that Texas hacked—he'll be attending a party tonight."

  "Okay," I said, pulling my hands from both Texas’ and Grayson's grip. "What's the plan?"

  The guys exchanged glances before Knix met my gaze once more. "Little Bit," he started, "are you sure you're up for it? You did just—"

  I shook my head, holding up my hands to stop him. "We need to find Erika and make sure that she's okay, and then..." I looked up to Grayson before stealing a glance at Texas. Then I turned my face towards Marv, Bellamy, and Knix. "Then maybe we can talk about...um...us?" I lifted one shoulder and tilted my head down towards it awkwardly.

  Bellamy broke the silence that followed. "I think that's a good idea," he said, turning to Marv and Knix. "One thing at a time."

  Thankful, I nodded. One thing at a time, I could do.

  Chapter 15

  Once again, I was preparing for a party that I wasn't a hundred percent comfortable with. But after being with the guys—being with Iris—for this long, I knew that we often needed to do things that made us uncomfortable or else we'd never get anything done. I needed to overcome my insecurities. I needed to swallow down the knowledge that the guys knew what had happened between Grayson and me in that bathroom and focus on what was important—finding Erika.

  A knock on the bedroom door startled me and I nearly jumped away from my reflection in the cheap mirror hanging on the wall. "Almost done?" Bellamy called through the door.

  I turned. "Actually," I called back, "I could use some help."

  The door cracked, but he didn't fully enter the room. "What's wrong?"

  "I can't get the zipper up."

  "Are you um...covered? Or do you want me to just..." Bellamy trailed off, his hesitant tone clearly uncomfortable with seeing me undressed if he wasn't sure I wanted him to.

  A small smile stretched across my lips. Even after everything, they were still gentlemen. "I'm fine," I said. "You can come in. I just need a little help."

  The door widened, and Bellamy stood in the doorway wearing dark wash jeans with scuffs on the knees but no holes and a loose, light blue t-shirt that contrasted with his tan skin. He blinked. "Wow."

  I looked down at the dress I was wearing. It was tight around...well, it was tight pretty much everywhere except where the zipper gaped down to the small of my back. "Does it look okay?" I asked, reaching down and tugging the short hem of the dress down a bit. Not that it budged. At all. My smile disappeared into a thin line and I grimaced. "Marv said this is what the girls would probably be wearing," I said.

  "You look..." Bellamy stepped through the doorway, moving across the floor until he stood right in front of me. His dark chocolate eyes scanned down, over my slight curves. I had requested something simple and although Marv had kindly selected something that didn't have a plunging neckline—instead, choosing a dress that actually wrapped around my throat and covered my entire chest—the dress was so short that I didn't think it mattered that the design was just that, simple. Bellamy cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to his face once more. "You look amazing, Sweetheart."

  I stared up at him in shock. But then I recalled—Knix had still used my nickname too. Despite my best efforts at forgetting all of the impending relationship stuff, I couldn't help but let it devour my mind every free second I had. Being this close to Bellamy with a lot of skin—legs, arms, shoulders, back—on display, it felt like I was tempting him on purpose. Though I knew he'd never take anything I hadn't offered, I wanted to offer. He had been the first to give me a taste and Grayson had only stoked the fires. I gulped.

  "Thanks," I said lamely. "Um..." I turned my back on him. "C-could you zip me up?"

  Bellamy’s fingers moved to my back. He gripped the end of the zipper where it was stuck down at the bottom just above my butt and tugged. When I had attempted sliding it up, it had snagged the zipper several times, but for him it glided up as smooth as butter until the dress was pulled taut around my form. I looked down at the dress and then turned and looked myself over in the mirror, hoping that I wouldn’t flash anyone tonight.

  “What color is that?” Bellamy asked.

  “I think Marv said it was champagne,” I replied. I smoothed my hands down over the sides. “Do you think it looks okay? I mean for the party? For the informant?”

  Bellamy’s eyes met mine in the mirror. “I think you’ll capture our informant’s attention no problem, Harlow.” I sighed in relief. At least one good thing would happen tonight. We’d be one step closer to finding Erika. Just as Bellamy turned to the door to leave, I could have sworn I heard him mutter something that made me flip my head around and gape after him as he disappeared into the hallway. I could have sworn I heard him say, “And I’ll want to pulverize him and anyone else who looks at you.”

  Knix was the one that caught me staring at the door, my hands crossed over my stomach as I hugged my arms close to my body. “Harlow?” He frowned, filling up the open doorway—dressed as casually as Bellamy had been. “Are you ready to go?”

  Shaking away my thoughts and nerves I nodded and then wrinkled my nose at his attire. Bellamy would be staying in a nearby van with Texas since someone from Iris had arrived while I was in the hospital to transport Josh back to Charleston. It made sense that Bellamy wouldn’t be dressed up. Knix, however, was going to be with Marv, Grayson, and me at the party. “What are you wearing?” I asked. “Aren’t you going to change?”

  He glanced down at his clothes, then back up at me. For the first time in what felt like forever, he quirked an amused grin. “You’ve never been to a party before, have you, Little Bit?”

  I shrugged. “Not really.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t worry, I’ll fit in.”

  “Then why do I have to wear this?” I gestured down to the skin-tight cocktail dress.

  His grin widened. “Because that’s what college girls go to parties in.”

  I squinted at him as he reached for my elbow and pulled me out into the hallway and then the living room where everyone else was waiting sans fancy clothing. Darkness had fallen outside and the clock on the wall ticked just past 10 pm. “I better not be making a fool of myself wearing this,” I threatened, turning my suspicious gaze to Marv.

  Marv, in turn, stared down at my legs. He opened his mouth, but it was Grayson who beat him to the punchline. “I can fucking promise you, Babydoll. The only fools tonight are going to be the assholes who try to hit on you.”

  I rolled my eyes. “No one would even try that,” I said. “I’ve only ever been hit on by the guys that used to come into the diner.” And certainly not by anyone relatively attractive or even close to my age. Despite that admission, though, Knix, Marv, Bellamy, Texas, and Grayson shook their heads.

  “Gonna be so many fucking fights tonight,” Grayso
n muttered. I didn’t know what he meant, but I only hoped he would be wrong. I just wanted to get in, find the informant, and charm as much information out of him as humanly possible before he got suspicious or we got a hint to Erika’s location. No fights.

  Yet, when we showed up to the party—held at a triple story fraternity house several blocks from campus—there was a fight happening on the front lawn. Two obviously intoxicated frat boys tussled across the grass as Marv pulled up and parked the plain sedan we had chosen for this mission. They hollered slurred curses as fists flew. Knix got out of the car and was at my door before anyone else. I took his hand and let him help me out of the car. He threw a disgusted look at the guys pummeling each other as well as at the groups of people drinking and laughing at their antics from the porch.

  As a group, we walked up the front steps. A skinny, pale guy with flame red, slicked back hair, stopped us at the door. "Whoa, whoa!" he said, laughing and stumbling a bit. "Who the hell are y'all?" His eyes landed on me and widened. His grin widened too, and he put one hand high on the doorway leaning down despite the three pairs of obviously irritated eyes watching him. "Pardon the manners, darlin'," he said, eyeing me the rest of the way up and down. "What I meant to say was who are you and how can I possibly get on your good side?"

  A blush rose up my cheeks. Fuck insecurities, I reminded myself. I forced a smile. "Hey," I said, "we're just here for the party."

  The guy's eyes flicked up to the three men at my back. I knew without even looking that none of them had eased their expressions. I forced myself not to roll my eyes. The guy in front of me frowned at them and then shook his head. "Sorry, darlin', frat members only." He lowered his gaze once more to the impressive length of leg I had on display. "And pretty girls."

  He leaned harder into the doorframe. I couldn't tell if it was because he was too drunk to keep himself steady or if it was because he thought it looked cool. To be honest, I didn't care. The dress Marv had picked out made me feel hot, but there was cool air in places I was pretty sure there shouldn't be since those specific places needed to be covered. I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that those places were covered because if they weren't Knix, Marv, or Grayson would have said or done something. That still didn't alleviate the paranoia that I was about to flash or moon someone at any second with nothing more than an innocent misstep.

  “So…” I blinked up at him, “does that mean I can come in?” I asked.

  “Yeah, but your buddies have to stay,” he said.

  “What the fuck?” Grayson’s tone cut through the distant sounds of the outside fight behind us.

  “Sorry, bro,” the guy shrugged—not seeming sorry at all. “Those are the rules.”

  “No fucking way,” Grayson growled.

  “I’m in the fraternity,” Marv said. My head whipped around as the red-haired guy straightened and narrowed his eyes.

  “Nice try, but I don’t recognize you. And I should know,” he said leaning back down into my personal space, “I’m the treasurer.”

  Is that supposed to impress me? I wondered. Judging from his tone, it was. I batted my eyelashes and the giggle that escaped my mouth—though it thankfully sounded genuine—was nauseating. I could feel the guys’ stares on my back, but we needed an in to this party. I could feel the slender outline of my phone tucked into my bra cup. All I needed to do was get past this guy, get in, and then I could call Texas and have him talk me through who I was trying to find.

  “I’m a pledge,” Marv said, sounding far more confident. “Of course you haven’t seen me.”

  The guy had returned to eyeballing my legs, but at Marv’s words he sighed and dragged his gaze back up. “Pledges were supposed to be here for the setup hours ago. Where’ve you been then, pledge?”

  I twisted my head to see Marv’s reaction to the obvious mock. Marv didn’t even bat an eye as he dropped his shoulders and turned his eyes downward. “I left early because I had to go back for my inhaler, man. I was told to come back as soon as possible. I’m gonna get in trouble if I don’t meet up with the rest of the guys.”

  I stared at Marv in shock. Somehow, he had managed to go from incredibly sexy casual college boy, to demeaned, un-intimidating fraternity pledge underling in the span of ten minutes. The way he now held himself was discrete, but to someone like me—someone who knew why we were here and who he really was—I was impressed with his acting ability.

  “Jesus, fine,” the guy in front of me snapped. “Go, get back there with the rest of them and bring me another fucking beer.” Marv dashed off before he could protest, but as the redhead’s gaze came back to me, over his shoulder, I watched as Marv winked my way and then made a left, sprinting up a flight of stairs before anyone else noticed.

  “You two, though, are out.” He reached to the side and effectively snapped the screen door shut. Grayson and Knix had no other choice but to back up or be hit. And though, I didn’t think the flimsy screen door would hold up against one of them, much less two, we were already drawing too much attention from the inside crowd.

  Already I felt eyes on my face, as the redhead slung his arm over my shoulders and gestured towards the house. “Shall we, darlin’?”

  I faked another giggle. “I’m Harley,” I said, sliding back into the alias I knew and used so well in the past.

  “Kevin,” the guy said with a leer. “It’s real nice to meet you, Harley.”

  I just bet it was.

  Thirty minutes—give or take. That’s how long it took for me to get away from Kevin the Creep. From the moment Knix and Grayson had been shoved outside—ungraciously refused entry—and Marv had disappeared somewhere in the Frat house, I had been fending off Kevin’s unwanted attention.

  Oh sure, for the first ten minutes, I had certainly acted interested in his position as the Fraternity Treasurer—a position given only to those who could be trusted—insert eye roll—and how he had single-handedly won the organization’s annual battle of the brains. Debate teams. These guys were on debate teams. Not that debate teams weren’t cool, but with the way this guy went on, one would think that he could turn out to be a professional debater and make millions. Then again, maybe he could, he would just have to wait a while since the government seemed to prefer their members middle aged or older.

  The moment he had let one of his hands wander down from my shoulders, to my waist, I had wanted out of the conversation. Unfortunately, Marv was nowhere nearby and everyone else in the party was too absorbed in whatever they were doing—like doing a handstand while chugging from a keg or making out against the wall of the hallway. When I tried to squirm out of Kevin’s grip while still maintaining a smile, I noticed Marv crossing through the room behind Kevin, heading towards the back of the house. My brow furrowed as I watched him slide through the sliding glass doors and into the backyard.

  Noticing my distraction, Kevin began to turn his head towards where I was looking. “No!” I gasped, grabbing his face in my hand. I stood there for a split second as he stared at me in shock.

  “No?” His eyes narrowed. “What—”

  And I got the best idea ever. The most brilliant plan known to woman. When you can’t get away, don’t even try.

  “You’re not looking at another girl, are you?” I asked sharply. “Because I’m here. I’m with you. You can’t look at someone else. That’s like cheating.”

  Kevin visibly paled and I did a mental fist pump. “Cheating?” he croaked, trying to take a step back. But I crowded closer, loving the feeling of my own new-found power.

  “Baby? What’s wrong? Don’t worry, I know you’d never cheat on me. I just…I don’t want you looking at other women, okay?”

  He put both hands up as if to ward me off. “Whoa, hold up there, dar—Harley. We’re not dating.”

  “What?” I blinked, pushing confusion into my tone. “What do you mean?”

  “Listen, you’re pretty and all, but I’m ahh…I’m not looking for—”

  “Oh, don’t worry, I know you we
ren’t looking.” I smiled at him and moved closer, wrapping my arms around him in a hug—using the opportunity to steal another glance over his shoulder. Marv slipped in through the sliding glass doors and darted somewhere else.

  Kevin pushed me back. “N-no,” he said shakily. “What I’m saying is that—”

  “You want to take things slower?” I asked, raising my hand and pushing a finger against my lower lip. “Do you want to like hold hands and stuff first? I can do that.”

  He shakes his head. “No. No way. I don’t—”

  His denial was cut off as someone from farther in the house called out his name. Kevin exhaled and started backing away. “Listen, why don’t you, uh, find a friend to hang with. I’ve got stuff to do and um…people to see—have fun with the party.” Kevin turned his back and began striding away, muttering under his breath. This time I knew what I was hearing. I distinctly heard him say, “Crazy bitch,” and honestly, that was one of the best compliments I had ever been given by a strange, horny frat boy even if it was the only one.

  As soon as Kevin was out of sight, I turned and found myself the subject of several interested parties. I felt eyes on me and it made my skin flush red hot. Ducking my head and feigning disappointment, I rushed from the room and found myself scrambling towards an open bathroom doorway. I closed the door behind me and flipped the lock before sliding my phone out of my bra.

  Immediately, I was thankful that I had put the ringer on silent because there were already several calls and text messages from the guys. I ignored the messages and redialed Knix before putting the phone to my ear and pressing towards the back wall, as far from the door as possible. Even sequestered away, the music was incredibly loud.