I shake my head. “I won’t tell him anything at all.”
“That’s what I always think. But he always finds out everything in the end. A lot of times, he finds out things from Trick actually. Don’t ever expect to keep secrets from Trick. It’ll never work.” She licks her lips. “Now about last night, yes, C told me. He said it was pretty shocking for you. Are you okay?”
“I wasn’t the one who was naked and in ropes. Areyouokay?”
“Depends. How did I look?”
My brows rise.
She smirks and winks. “Honestly, I am okay about that. I’m over Trick seeing me like that.”
“And how did you get over it?” I try to keep my tone neutral, but it’s not, of course.
Zoe rolls her full lips inward, pursing them between her teeth so they’re momentarily missing. “C made a couple of sex tapes of us, and Trick found them on the computer thing. The server?”
“Is that it? Trick saw some footage of you guys?”
Zoe swallows and then licks her lips. “I don’t think they meant for me to talk about anything else.”
“Did you have sex with them both?”
“Kind of. It was a long time ago, and it wasn’t like a regular ménage or anything. I did something that Trick and Anvil punished me for.” As she continues her voice fades to nearly nothing. “The aftercare was orgasms and a hot bath. Trick washed my hair. It was the one time.” She exhales and grimaces, watching my face the entire time. “I’m so sorry.”
“Connor knows all this?”
“Yes.”
“How about Rachel?”
“Yes. But you have to understand, Anvil sees me as a piece of furniture. It’s how he sees every woman who’s not Rachel. He was not in the tub. He wasn’t really involved with the sex part.”
I close my eyes and shake my head, the blood draining to my feet as it’s been prone to do since I’ve been pregnant. I move to the wall to brace myself. “I just can’t believe how he lives. It’s like some perpetual frat party gone wrong.” Exhaling, my dizziness intensifies, and I sink slowly to the floor.
“Oh, my God.” A second later Zoe’s kneeling next to me. “Please, please, please don’t get sick… or anything like that. How about a sip of tea?”
“I’m okay. I just need a minute.”
“Here. Here’s a pillow. Lie on your side on the floor.”
I’m dizzy enough that I don’t argue. The room gets dark and far away until I can’t see or hear.
Zoe strokes my hair, but her voice is just mumbling.
She moves away, but I don’t open my eyes or tell her I don’t want tea. I just lie on the floor, feeling like things are slipping away.
* * *
Trick
My eyes go to the yoga pants over and over, but there’s no sign she’s bleeding. The fear in Zoe’s voice when she came to get me made my blood run cold. It was as bad as when I thought Kathleen might kill herself. And Laurel does look pale and sick as she lies on the floor of C’s bedroom.
“Laurelyn?”
She opens her eyes, and the look she gives me rips my heart out.
“What’s going on?” C says from behind me.
I look over my shoulder. C’s flushed and covered in sweat. Obviously he was mid-workout when Zoe went and got him, too.
