Raithe straightens like he’s being interrogated, but then grins wildly. His right dimple that matches my left one pops. It’s a trait handed down to us by our mother.
“Oh, come on, at least I’m having fun. What are you doing with all of your free time, Cal?” He turns toward Callum. “Too busy brooding and moping to get laid?” he jokes. Cal flexes his jaw and huffs out a sigh.
I can’t help but chuckle at how nothing ever changes between the four of us. It’s the one constant thing that I can always count on.
“I see everyone is doing well, then,” I say, smiling. “Kai, how’s therapy?” I ask, looking over to him. Raithe blows out an exasperated breath like I’m ruining all of the fun.
“Such a buzzkill, Riv,” he jokes. I glare at him and note that he seems fidgety. I find it odd, but I decide to brush it off. Cal laughs at both of us.
Kai stills the toothpick between his teeth and grins. His messy blonde hair falls over his forehead, and his bright blue eyes appear even brighter. It’s a look that I’ve missed. One of sobriety and hope, and … something else.
“Good, man. Like,reallygood,” Kai says, nodding.
“Don’t leave out the rest of the story, Kai. Tell Riv the best part. That you’rebangingyour therapist.” Raithe leans over to high-five Kai, to which he does not reciprocate.
“I’m notbanginganyone, Raithe.” Kai blushes. That’s something I most certainly have never seen him do. “I like her a lot.” He looks down at his hands, twirling the toothpick between his fingers like he’s a child who’s been scolded for touching the candy jar.
“What do you mean youlikeher?” I question. Kai looks up through loose strands of his hair.
“She’s amazing.” Kai smiles, staring off at absolutely nothing. I can see it in his eyes. He’s falling, if notalready fallen, for his fucking therapist.
“She’s the first person to make me feel like my life matters. She listens. She’s such agoodfucking listener, Riv.” Kai’s eyes find mine, and the hope that I see in them stops me from reprimanding him. I can hear his next words before he even speaks them.
“She doesn’t treat me like a child,” he says. There it is. Guilt hits me like a freight train straight to the gut. I look over at Raithe to see that he’s no longer grinning. I look the other way at Cal, who appears tense. Cal nods his head once like he’s urging me to say something to make this right.
“Kai, I’m so—”
“No. I don’t want your pity,” Kai says, looking around the room. He points to each of us with the toothpick in his hand like he might plunge one of us to death with it at any second. “I don’t want your sorry. I need you guys to be there for me asfriends, not as my father. I feel better now than I have in a long time. And I owe that all to Emery. That’s her name, by the way.” He pauses. “And no, we are not sleeping together. It’s not like that. I’m not acompleteidiot, you know. I understand professional boundaries and all that shit.” He relaxes back into the lounge chair, and I relax at his confession.Whew. We cannot have him lose this therapist if she’s already managed to work a miracle.
“I’m happy for you, Kai, really,” I say, clearing my throat. “So, your turn, Raithe. What’s been up? Other than your extracurriculars, of course,” I say, smirking.
He scoffs. “Well, I’ll have you know that one of myextracurricularsjust so happens to know someone on the inside at Sonus.” He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He’s grinning like he knows he delivered the news of the day.
“What?” Cal sits up, turning toward Raithe. “Why thefuckdidn’t you say that earlier?”
“Calm down, big guy,” Raithe says coolly. Cal and Raithe haven’t exactly seen eye to eye for most of the time they’ve known one another. They are usually at each other’s throats about some shit or another. They are opposites in every way. Cal isn’t a fan of Raithe’s spontaneous lifestyle, and Raithe thinks that Cal is too uptight.
Cal stands, his large frame looming over me as he fists his hands at his sides. Cal’s glare is fixed on Raithe, who’s grinning up at him like he’s enjoying this.
“Sit, Callum,” I order, and he does. “You were saying, Raithe?” I continue.
Raithe pins Cal with a victory glare, one that I’m sure will cause trouble later on.
“Like I was saying, one of the women I was with last night says she’s married to someone on the inside at Sonus. I think her name was Tanya or Tammy or something with a T.” He pauses, thinking. There are so many things wrong with what he just said, but I let them all slide to skip to the point.
“Okay, and what did T …shesay?” I press.
“She said that she overheard her husband on speakerphone the other day. He was talking to Sabel about the next frequency they are working on. It’s called the Eden Frequency, and from the sound of it, they are planning to use it to implant a permanent hypnotic state that can be activated by a singleword.” Elle’s information about the Eden Frequency was correct. It’s progressing faster than I anticipated. This must be phase two.
“What are they planning to do with it, though?” I ask aloud, but mostly to myself.
“Not sure. That’s all she heard. But I’m sure we can all use our imaginations for the possibilities surrounding it.” The things that come to mind aren’t pleasant, that’s for sure.
“How would they ‘implant’ something like that?” Cal questions.
“If I had to guess, probably using hypnosis. Think of it like an implanted thought that serves as the ‘lock box,’ and the word is the ‘key.’ If that makes sense,” I say, considering the possibility myself.
“The real question, though, is what are they going to letoutof the box?” Kai asks. I look over at him in astonishment, forgetting how fucking smart the guy is when he applies himself.
