“I’ll give it to you straight.” I turn to Laken. “There’s a girl running around out there with yourface.”
Laken and Coop both take an audible breath while Ezrina and Nev rise from theirseats.
Skyla takes up Laken’s hand. “She was in Ezrina’s lab, and now she’s”—her eyes flit to mine a moment—“Chloe showed us some pictures last night. She’s withWes.”
“Shit.” Coop pinches his eyes shut a moment before pinning his anger on Ezrina. “I thought we werefriends.”
“Are.” Ezrina comes as close to showing remorse as I’ve ever seen her. “Sorry. Hands were tied. Wanted to tell you.” Her voice growssmall.
“Then tell us now.” Laken isn’t invoking any friendly tone with Ezrina, or most likely anyone else at the table once she finds out we’ve known for months. “Who is she, and why is she in theTransfer?”
“She’s sleeping with him.” Skyla cringes as she waits for theblowout.
Coop slaps his hand over the table so hard the entire establishment turns in ourdirection.
“No, it’s fine.” Laken shudders, and the entire lot of us shift our attention herway.
Skyla chokes on her words. “How is it possiblyfine?”
Laken closes her eyes, and her fingers reach blindly across the table until her husband takes them up again. “It’s not fine in any respect, but there is a problem I’ve encountered. It has something to do with my virginity.” She glances around the table sheepishly. “It turns out Coop says I was with him first—and well, both my memory and my diary sayotherwise.”
“I hate him.” Skyla groans as if she’s going to be sick, but the lack of surprise in her face lets me know she alreadyknew.
Gage shakes his head over at me. “He’s going back intime.”
“Is this true?” I look to Coop. As hard as it might be for him to relay, I think we need a few more details. This is big. This might be what we need to get Wesley’s wings clipped. There’s no way the Justice Alliance will put up withthis.
“It’s true. When Laken mentioned it in passing, I knew something was up. Lucky for us Laken kept a diary in high school.” He glances to her. “Each fucking night that book told a different story. I started taking pictures of it to prove it toher.”
“And that’s when I knew Coop was right.” Laken touches her hand to her neck as if trying to loosen an invisible noose. “A part of me can’t believe he’s done this. And sadly, a part of me can. My memory of what happened is clear.” She grimaces. “But only as far as his latest visit. Apparently, I’ve lost my virginity to Wes close to one hundred times, and that’s just since we’ve beencounting.”
“Oh my shit.” Skyla drops her head in her arms a moment. “Wait a minute.” She surfaces with her hair wild as a tumbleweed. “If you’ve known about Wesley’s vagina dialogues, why the hell haven’t you torn off his wanker?”Sorry, she mouths to Laken for the colorful euphemisms I’massuming.
Laken and Coop lose sight of the rest of us as they look to one another, a trace of a smile skirting on theirlips.
“Have you confronted him?” Gage asks it forus.
“Not yet.” Coop doesn’t take his eyes off Laken. “But we will.Soon.”
“Very well.” Nev wraps an arm around Ezrina’s waist. “We should get back to tending to thecustomers.”
Coop’s cheek twitches, his eyes still locked on Laken’s. “You’re not going anywhere.” He drags his gaze to Ezrina’s. “Who isshe?”
“Can’t.” Ezrina’s eyes fill with tears as she draws in a quick breath. “So very sorry.” She scuttles off toward the kitchen, and Nev scoots right along withher.
Gage groans as we watch them disappear. “Sounds like Wes has got her by the balls. I’ll talk tohim.”
“No.” Laken cuts a somber look to each of us. “This is my business. My body he’s defiling. This is personal. I’m going to take care of thismyself.”
Coop’s cheek twitches as he offers a crooked smile. I recognize that crooked grin, that magnetic look of shared hatred, of revenge in their eyes. It’s the exact look I gave Skyla before we ventured off to take care of the Counts and inadvertently turned our lives upsidedown.
My stomach clenches at the thought of Laken and Coop doing exactly that. I can’t let them. Nope. The last thing I want to see is Laken and Coop imploding the way Skyla and I did. I wouldn’t wish that onanyone.
Gage takes up Skyla’s hand, gives it a kiss, and Skyla leans into him, her lips meeting with his a moment. And Gage was there to pick up the pieces. A part of me wonders if Wesley is hoping for the very same outcome. It’s laughable, ofcourse.
But stranger things havehappened.
* * *
