Don’t cry.
“Aw, you assholes are sentimental,” I tried to joke, but my cracked voice gave away my emotions.
Beck placed a full plate in front of me, and then leaned over the bench, resting on his forearms so our eyeline was level.
“We have everything in the world that money can buy,” he said softly. “But this…” He gestured to the four of us. “This is what money can’t touch. This is the only important thing we have.”
And I was crying.
Only a few tears escaped, sliding down my cheeks, and I didn’t bother to brush them away. Beck returned to his seat at my side, Dylan on my other side, and then all of us ate our food and there was no tension between us.
When we were done, the five of us cleaned up.
“I gotta get back home and rest,” Jasper said. “Fucking doctor’s orders.”
I hugged him. “Give Eddy my love,” I said as I pulled back. “Tell her I’ll text her whenever I get my phone back.”
Jasper had filled me in over breakfast, and I was glad that Eddy was all but recovered from her ordeal. Except she now had a full time bodyguard, which I knew would piss her right off.
He nodded. “You got it, baby girl.”
I wrinkled my nose at him. “You need to work on your nickname game.”
He shrugged. “What? All the girls love my names for them.”
“And I’ll bet it helps that you don’t have to remember their actual names while making them think they’re special.”
He dramatically grabbed his chest. “You wound me, Riley Jameson.”
I laughed loudly. “There you go.”
He left with Evan, who was driving him home. Dylan lingered in the doorway. “You should get some more rest too,” he told me.
I was feeling somewhat fatigued again, and it frustrated me how weak I was. “Yeah, probably a good idea.”
He brushed my hair back, and I wondered about the serious expression he now wore. “No matter what happens, you need to remember this day,” he said to me, his voice low. “Our world … it’s filled with secrets.”
“And we all have to play the game,” Beck finished his best friend’s sentence.
It had been such a fun, lighthearted morning, but now they were back to secrets and bullshit.
“What does that mean? Is something happening that I should know about?”
Don’t fucking lie to me, was how I wanted to finish that sentence.
The pair exchanged a look. It was such a fast glance that I barely even caught it, but I was immediately uneasy.
“Nothing you need to worry about, Butterfly,” Beck said. “We’ll keep you safe.”
I snorted. “If I wasn’t so out of my league in this world, I’d kick your ass for saying that. I’m not a damsel in distress, this is not the Wild, Wild West. I don’t need you all to come to my rescue.”
Some of the tension lifted. “Better hide her gun,” Dylan joked. “She’s dangerous when pissed off.” He winked, and then with a salute to us both, left the house.
Beck wasted no time after that ushering me back to his room and stripping me of my clothes. Any questions I’d wanted to ask were lost in his hands and tongue and body on mine, and I figured that the next time we weren’t naked, I would not let him get away with any more evasiveness. Because something was up, and I was determined to find out what it was.
* * *
I woke slowly squintingan eye open to look across the bed, surprised by the expanse of emptiness. Where was Beck now? As I lifted myself to look over his bedroom, a scream ripped from me. Two men, dressed in black, stood at the end of the bed. Yanking the sheet up to cover my nudity, I scrambled back to put some distance between them and me. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out how Huntley got into Beck’s house, but I had absolutely no doubt this was who faced me.
