After putting the rest of the dishes away, I stacked the plates and cutlery we would need for supper on the kitchen table. Now that I’d decided how to get rid of Noah, I felt surprisingly calm.
“Well, if you would ever like to talk, I’m always here to listen. Sometimes it’s easier to bounce things off of someone outside the situation.” She offered me a friendly smile.
I got the feeling that she genuinely cared. She wasn’t merely digging for information for Stray. I appreciated that.
“How did you know that you loved Stray?” I asked, surprised as the words fell out of my mouth. “Where did the line between hate and love form? Was it obvious?”
Setting the sauce spoon on the counter, she turned around to face me. “Looking back it seems obvious. Even when I thought I hated him, I couldn’t get enough of him. At the time it was mostly confusing. I didn’t want to have warm, fuzzy feelings for him, but I still did. I had to get past my resistance to embrace it. Sometimes I think we get in our own way when it comes to these things. It’s easy to be our own worst enemy.”
I nodded, averting my gaze before she saw something in my eyes I didn’t want her to see. She crossed the kitchen to where I stood, placing a soft hand on my arm.
“Whatever you’re feeling, Dom, it’s okay. There’s a reason you feel that way. Maybe you should explore that in your owntime. You never know what you’re missing out on until you stop fighting it.” She gave my arm a pat before returning to the stove.
Stray and Auryn burst into the room then, effectively ending our conversation. While they went on about the amazing aromas, I mulled over what she’d said. There would be no time to explore anything after tonight. Was I making a mistake?
While the four of us ate supper together, I did my best to be present. Being part of the conversation while the guys joked around. I worked hard to keep my thoughts from straying.
Codie had outdone herself. The pasta was delicious along with the side salad she made. I was the first to start cleaning up after we finished. Knowing better than to sit on his ass and watch, Stray quickly joined me.
He and Codie retreated to their bedroom soon after. It felt late enough to head over to Noah’s and plant the device. I went downstairs and stuffed it into my backpack before leaving the house.
Like usual, Auryn was treating himself to an after dinner hit of blow in the living room. I had to pass by him on my way out the door. He glanced up from snorting a line, his gaze landing on my bag.
“What are you up to? Are you leaving?”
“I have something to do,” I said, my hand on the door knob.
“Where are you going?” He dropped the rolled up twenty he held onto the coffee table before standing up. “I’ll go with you.”
I shook my head, motioning for him to sit back down. “No, it’s cool. Stay here and finish your drugs.”
His eyes narrowed. “I think I’ll come with you. I could use the chance to get out of the house for a bit. Otherwise, I’ll have to listen to Stray and Codie fucking again.”
His face was set into a determined expression. He knew damn well that I was up to something, and he wasn’t going to let me leave without being part of it. Unless I wanted to knock him out in order to force him to stay, I would have to bring him along.
“Fine,” I relented. “Don’t get in my way.”
Auryn snatched up his jacket from the back of the couch, slinging it on while simultaneously stuffing his feet into his boots. Rushing as if he thought I would try to leave him behind if he wasn’t fast enough.
Since I’d used the remote start from inside the house, my car was already running, blowing warm air when we got inside. “I’m only going to tell you this once. If you come with me, you’re part of this now. You can’t say a word about it to anyone.”
Auryn rubbed his hands together in front of the heat vent. “Sounds juicy. Are we breaking into a bank or something? You have top secret vibes.”
“Of course not. We’re going to plant an explosive on Noah Cunningham’s car.” I shrugged like it was your typical everyday activity. No big deal.
Auryn did a double take. “Are you serious? I thought you were hot for that guy. Why would you want to blow him up?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. This was all becoming so tiresome. “It’s been coming to this for a while now. It’s either him or me. Don’t look so surprised.”
“But I am surprised,” Auryn continued, buckling his seatbelt into place as I pulled away from the house. “Are you sure you want to do this? I think you’re getting in over your head as far as Noah is concerned. I’m worried about you, dude. We all are.”
“Don’t be. I’ve got this under control.” Making sure to do the speed limit and follow all the traffic rules, I navigated my way to the house Noah shared with Damon. There wasn’t muchtraffic out tonight. Every light I passed remained green. Nothing slowed me down.
Auryn had never been one to keep his opinion to himself. Settling into his seat, he looked over at me. “No offence, man, but I don’t think you have anything under control. Look at what you’re doing. Wouldn’t it be so much easier to just fuck the guy already? You’re really taking this to the extreme.”
“Someone recruited me to kill him,” I fired back, my temper rising. “I’m just doing my job.”
“That’s part of the problem. You’re so worked up over him that you allowed someone to manipulate your feelings like this. You don’t really want to kill Noah.” Auryn fiddled with the heat vents on his side, making sure they were pointed perfectly at him.
