Everyone from Southwind had turned out to be some version of successful. It didn't matter if that was finding a quiet happiness like Indigo or becoming a high-dollar attorney like Chartreuse. We had all figured out how to make our lives work for us. And then there was Billy. He had figured out how to make everyone else's life work for him, and he wasn't above destroying people in order to get a few more luxuries.
Inside, the house was starting to wake up. Ash was in the kitchen, brewing coffee. I didn't see Violet initially; it seemed she hadn't heard the door. But I had barely put Lucy down on the ground when Violet stepped out of her office, peering around the corner into the living room. Her eyes landed on Blaze and a smile immediately took over her face.
"Billy!" she squealed, hurrying over to wrap her arms around his neck and hug the guy.
Billy grabbed her around the waist and lifted, showing more emotion than I'd ever seen this guy have in his entire life. "Wow," he breathed into her hair, "you look absolutely amazing."
Violet giggled as he set her down, and stepped back and gestured to her body. "I have put on 6 pounds, I would like you to know."
"It's working for you," Billy agreed. "How'd you manage to do that, though?"
She gestured to Luke. "I found myself a boyfriend who can cook - and he has a daughter who I don't want to teach the wrong things to."
"Ah…" Billy murmured. "The benefits of acting like an example." He nodded as if that made perfect sense to him.
But Ash had also noticed our visitor, so he pushed in to offer his hand. "Welcome home, Blaze."
"Magenta," Billy greeted him, using Ash's hand to pull the guy in for a hug. "Read about your supposed affair with the nineteen-year-old. Checked into it and found that the girl already has a boyfriend. One of my sources said that she's making you a lot of money and thinks of you as a mentor."
Ash laughed once. "Were you hoping I'd need a little PR help or something?"
Billy just smiled, but the look was a little cold. "Everybody needs a hobby. The rainbow just happens to be mine."
Then he turned and walked the rest of the way through the house, expecting us to follow. I didn't. Violet led him into the living room, making it clear that he should find a spot to get comfortable. Ash went back to the kitchen to finish making his coffee. Luke was now hovering at Violet's side, but I was watching my old "friend."
In all honesty, Billy made me a little nervous. What did he mean that the rainbow was his hobby? I knew exactly how far this man would go for what he cared about, and he'd just admitted that he cared about us? Granted, maybe he meant the rainbow in a general sense not as individual people, but with him, it didn't really matter.
And now he was here. Violet had called in the entire rainbow, and the first one to make it home was the most dangerous of the lot. More than anything else, that was a reminder that we weren't really living happily ever after. Someone had left a death threat on her door, and I knew it wasn't an empty one. I just hoped our solution wasn't going to be worse.
Chapter Fourteen
Ibarely got Blaze sitting down in the living room before the thunder of feet sounded on the stairs. We all turned in time to see Faith hurrying down with her puppy following on her heels. I swore the little dog had actually grown overnight. It could have been simply that the dog was a little more comfortable in the house now. Regardless, when the pair hit the ground floor, they turned for the back door without slowing.
"She says it's an emergency," Faith explained as she hurried to get the dog out.
"Take Lucy with her," Luke said. "They can spend some time playing outside while it's still nice out."
"Okay." Faith opened the door for her puppy, then came back to scoop up Cy's dog.
The whole time, Billy was watching the girl with unveiled interest. When Faith had both dogs outside, she turned back around and finally realized that we had company. Sucking in a little breath, she looked first at her dad, and then to me.
"Uh, hi?" she mumbled, making her way over to the living room.
Billy pushed himself back to his feet, and offered Faith his hand. "Lilac?" He asked. "I'm Blaze. I've heard a lot about you, so it's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Faith took his hand awkwardly. "You went to Southwind with Ash and Cy, right?"
"I did," he admitted. "I was a few years older than them, though. Closer to Chartreuse's age."
I gestured for Faith to have a seat and get comfortable. "Billy's here to help us keep the guys safe," I explained. "I don't want to take the risk that whoever broke down the gate and left a death threat on the door wasn't just joking around."
Faith nodded, showing that she understood. "And because they showed Dad kissing Cy, everyone knows. That means they want to beat him up the same way they did Ash, right?"
I just nodded, hating that she understood this so well. "Exactly."
But Billy leaned over his knees and looked at her. "I heard that your best friend is gay. You think he might get hurt too?"
Faith shrugged. "I don't know. Not a lot of people know about him. I've kinda been telling people at school that he's my boyfriend."
