“How do you know that?”
“Because I know Xane, and he’s a tight-lipped bugger, especially when it comes to Spook. Even if he was here, he wouldn’t tell you anything he didn’t want to share. He’ll be in touch when he’s good and ready, Alle, and not before. There’s no point in dwelling on it. Concentrate on the good of it. He’s out there looking for Spook, which means he’s probably got a pretty good idea where the daft bugger is. That’s progress.”
“Hm.” She wasn’t sure.
“It’s an improvement on where we were earlier, when everything we had was speculation and prayer. You know he’s alive, Alle. Focus on that.”
“Alive, sure.” There was no denying that was a relief. “But what if he never wants to see me again?”
Rock Giant looked her right in the eyes. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure he’s been trying to put you off since the moment you met. You’re just letting the worry get to you. Let’s do things one step at a time, eh? Xane’s off finding Spook. Eventually, the bugger might tell us all what the situation is. Then you can make reinsertion plans.”
-13-
Allegra
Alle woke facing Ronnie, his dark spiky hair flattened by the pillow, and a crease imprinted into his cheek. She didn’t recall going to bed. Certainly didn’t recall stripping down to her undies to do so. She vaguely recalled Rock Giant offering to score her some weed to get her to chill the fuck out due to her raging. Instead, between the three of them, they’d cleaned out the mini-bar. Rock Giant was currently on the other side of her, judging by the hot granite block pressing against her back.
Her head throbbed in response to the light. Shit! She was sleeping between two guys, and sure that didn’t mean anything, they hadn’t done anything, but it still left her with an uneasy sensation in her gullet. Though even if she had, Spook would hardly be justified in complaining about it. He’d fucked off without a word nearly six months ago. That, and if he could shag Xane, then… then what? It was pointless pursuing that train of thought. All it did was make her feel like shit. She couldn’t pretend she didn’t understand why he’d done that.
The truth, as many had tried to point out to her over the months of his disappearance, was that she was a fool to consider that they were even a thing anymore. Hell, they’d barely been a thing to begin with. Spook was slippery as a shadow, and rather loath to give her what she actually wanted.
She doubted the veracity of their relationship as much as everybody else.
She just wasn’t going to let them see that. Her heart would have crumbled to dust months back if she’d not kept faith that he’d be back with her eventually.
He’d be back soon. Xane would find him and bring him home.
If you believed in things hard enough, they came true eventually, right?
The thump in her temples doubled in intensity. While she might not have snogged anyone last night, she had eaten one too many vodka-infused gold bears. Whoever was responsible for teaching Ronnie that trick was currently top of her shit list right after Flynn and Marshall.
Gingerly, she lifted her head off the pillow, and winced as her skull threatened to split asunder.
Oh, Jesus! That was not good.
Maybe staying put a moment or two longer might be a plan.
She was busy ruminating all the ways in which she could disembowel her brothers, when Ronnie blinked awake.
“Which of you undressed me?” she asked him. “And why?”
Ronnie’s hand strayed towards her cheek and brushed a curl of hair from it. “It was sort of a joint effort.” He shrugged. “Would you have preferred to have woken all crumpled?”
“Not sure… Guess not. Just feels weird. This is all wrong. No offence, but you’re not the man I want to wake up looking at.”
“None taken. It’ll work out, Alle. It will. Xane could be with him by now. You could be reunited by the end of the day.”
And folks accusedherof being full of blind optimism.
“Ronnie, you’re a ray of light, but I don’t think he’s going to want to see me. I think my brothers have made sure of that.”
Ronnie snagged a lock of her hair and curled it around his fingertip. “What are you going to do?”
She sighed and put her hand to her brow. “Find some fucking painkillers before my head explodes. Never, ever give me vodka bears again.”
His nose wrinkled. “You did eat a lot of them.”
“I know, and now my head is full of technicoloured woo woo, and that is not a good thing. Should have taken Paul up on his offer to score. Shift over and let me out of the bed. I don’t want to have to climb over you, and I really need those painkillers. Where’s my bag?”
