Lainey laughs softly, then leans forward slightly. Her gaze searches mine, and I can tell that she’s going to be serious. She’s got something to say, and I don’t know if I’m going to like it, but I decide that whatever it is, I know it’s going to come from a place of love, of care, and I’m going to take it as that and nothing negative.
“You’re not taking advantage, Cidney. You can stay here forever if you want, or just a night. It doesn’t matter. I just want you to heal, inside and out. And if you need to have someone with you, if you want to stay here and do that, I’m good with it.”
I almost ask her why she’s being so nice to me, but then I don’t because I realize that I would do the exact same thing if the tables were reversed. I would let Lainey stay with me for as long as she needed. She’s being the friend I know and love. The friend I need.
“I appreciate that so much,” I whisper. “More than you could ever know.”
“And when you want to talk, when you’re ready, I’m here for that, too.”
Reaching out, I hold my hand out, palm facing up. She places her hand in mine, and together, we squeeze. We stay that way for a moment, then my hand falls away as she stands to her feet.
“That’s it,” Lainey calls out. “We’re ordering delivery and watching girlie movies. What do you want to eat?”
I grin because that sounds amazing, but also, it’s not like many places deliver, mainly because there aren’t many places to even eat here. So, the only one I know of is pizza. And that sounds amazing.
“Pizza?” I ask.
Lainey returns my grin. “Pizza, garlic cheesy bread, salad, and I have some brownies I made for us.”
Yes.
“I really should be offering you soup or something more comforting, and maybe we can do that tomorrow, but today, we’ll have pizza.”
I snort. “Pizza is just as comforting as soup, maybe more so. Pizza and movies. I think I just fell in love with you, Lainey Rose.”
She laughs as she pulls her phone out to place the order. A few moments later, we’ve ordered enough food to feed a whole family. But there’s something comforting in that, too, having the scents of delicious food, and having plenty of it, too. I know it shouldn’t matter, but there were many times when I was sick or just feeling down as a kid, and nothing was comforting, not even a hot meal.
It doesn’t take us long to find a good show. Instead of something we’ve both seen, we decide to start a show that neither of us has ever watched before. It’s a period drama, and I remember everyone going crazy for it, but I didn’t watch it when it came out.
I’m not even sure why.
Now there are three seasons to get lost in, and so we start watching a show about Queen Charlotte and King George, which has some amazing freaking music.
CHAPTER THIRTY
GOOSE
The manwho is sitting across from me, I could choke easily and not feel an ounce of remorse. He’s got a family, and he’s supposed to be considered my brother, but if he dropped dead at this table, I would smile.
Bullet walks into the room and stands at the head of the table. I slide my gaze from Ivy over to him. Sitting back in my chair, I lace my fingers together and place my hands on the table, waiting for whatever the fuck is about to happen.
Sucking in a breath, I hold it for a moment as Bullet calls church to order. The room quiets down, and I stay where I am, unmoving as I anticipate what the fuck is about to go down, because an emergency meeting was called even earlier than the original emergency meeting.
Which means something is going down fast.
“Goose is back for now, hopefully for good, but that’s not what I called you all here for.”
Ivy grunts at the mention of my name, and it takes every fiber of my being not to tell him to fuck right off. If it weren’tfor him, Cidney wouldn’t have been violated. She wouldn’t have been hurt. I would have protected her.
“As we know, Cidney was hurt. We know who did it, and we’ve been in contact with them.”
“Who the fuck was it?” Lightning demands. “That little weaselly fuck?”
He’s talking about Goffredo and Lorenzo. Something that hasn’t been fully dealt with yet. I’m waiting for him to make his move, and I am ready. Maybe that’s what this is about. Maybe the move has been made. He didn’t need to hold church for that shit. He could have told me where he was, so I could get to work torturing him.
I have big, big plans for him.
I’ve been dreaming of these plans.
