This is a weird fucking day.
The elevator spits out Cash and Maddox, who swagger toward me with their customary flair, so I beam, gathering every ounce of poise I can muster.
“Fancy running into you two here.”
Cash laughs, hoisting me up and swinging me in a circle, the few fries I ingested earlier making a valiant effort to reemerge. “Hey, shortcake. Where ya headed?”
Cash and Maddox aren’t nearly as overprotective of me as Ryker and Axel. As the two middle Noire siblings, they’re mischievous, fun, and always up for anything.
“To see Tessa,” I say, prepared for the juvenile response that will follow.
“Tessa,” Maddox purrs while Cash sets me on my feet. “Want me to tag along—or better yet, go for you?”
“No.” I roll my eyes in feigned annoyance. “And neither does she.”
It’s actually kind of cute. Girls would eagerly slice each other to get to my brothers. But Tessa won’t give these two the time of day. That seems to be their kryptonite. Especially Maddox’s.
He swipes his onyx-black hair off his forehead and wields his best puppy-dog eyes. “You’ll put in a good word for me then. Won’t you, little sis?”
To anyone else, that pathetic, pleading look would be a tough sell since nearly every inch of him from the neck down is tatted. With me, it’s simply because I know he’s full of shit.
“Definitely not.” I arch my brows and press the button to call the elevator. “Tessa is my friend. She’s smart and not into fuckboys. You gotta step up your game. I’d never lead her astray.”
Cash snickers as I inch backward through the open doors. “Gonna be long?”
“Nope. Hopefully, I can handle what I need to quickly.” The words fly out of my mouth, but the elevator is moving before I even register that they both murmured some response.
I’m losing my freaking mind. I have no idea how I managed any semblance of normalcy with them. My vision is blitzed with dizzying black spots and stars, even as I suck in centering breaths.
As though I teleported myself here, in a blink, I’m tromping through the piercing boutique when I catch a glimpse of Jax’s blue hair in one of the rooms and dash to his side.
He appears to have dozed off, so I close the door and kick the base of the piercing bed to awaken him. His bloodshot eyes widen in alarm. Still stoned.
Great.
“Jax, I need you to listen. I told Axel I was coming down here to see Tessa because I had overheard a huge secret. You won’t believe what I found out and what Axel did.”
“Fuck,” Jax hisses, slinking into an upright but slouched position. “Don’t be mad at Tessa. She’s been fretting about this forever.”
Tessa has been fretting about it?
I get the feeling we’re talking about two different secrets. At this point, I really am at a not-a-thing-left-to-lose crossroads. But, fuck, it doesn’t taste like freedom.
“Well, she should be,” I snap, having no idea if that even makes sense.
“Nah.” He rakes his fingers through his hair. His complexion is pallid and pasty. He’s really stressed. “Don’t be like that. She works for us, Rena. Me. Axel. Ryker. And you know how they get about your safety. She didn’t have a choice.”
What in the ever-loving hell is he talking about?
I am absolutely lost and raging mad. “But she did it anyway, and you knew about it. When?”
He hums while dragging a hand down his face and barely making eye contact with me. “They made me swear I’d keep it quiet. And I see the benefit of knowing where you are. You have to see the intention more than the violation, sis. We worry.”
The benefit of knowing where I am. Axel and Ryker worry about my safety. Tessa did it.
My piercings.
“Which one is it?” I ask, still tiptoeing around clear-cut inquiries in case I’m misreading this.
