I’ll deal with this later.
Without speaking to her, I already knew what her advice would be: shut up and fall for the rich man. Take his money and deal with the assholery of it all. At least you’ll be taken care of.
Not much good it did for her.
But she wasn’t here, and I didn’t have to hear that shit. Not now at least.
So instead, I strode across the gorgeous bedroom I’d occupied for the night and opened the towering mahogany door. It was heavier than I remembered, but alcohol always made me feel a bit stronger than I really was.
Plus my bones were aching from the exhausting night I’d had before. I could only imagine how much worse it would have been on a shittier mattress.
As soon as I was in the hallway, I doubted my ability to find my way out of this labyrinthian house.
I went by memory for the first few hallways, the hardwood floors creaking beneath the carpet under my feet. Maybe my steps would help my two saviors echolocate me. I’d fallen asleep thinking about them, the way they came to my rescue. The way Spencer had watched me from across the bar.
The way they threw Gabe to the ground and gave him what he’d been asking for.
My chest tightened.
Stop thinking about him.
But as I walked through the house, getting more and more lost with each turn I took, reality set in. I’d run away from him. All of my stuff was in his apartment. And after what happened, there was no way to get that shit back without begging for forgiveness.
And I wasn’t one to beg. Not to him.
I turned a sharp corner, following the wainscoting on the walls around it. Running my finger along the ridges of the wood, I felt my mind flash back to being a kid. To letting my fingers explore every space, guiding me down dozens of hallways just like this.
Shaking my head, my fugue state was interrupted by a rustling plastic tarp hanging over the threshold to a new hallway.
I stopped moving and stared at it. A wave of dread washed over me, the smell of fresh spackle filling my nose as I glared through the translucent sheet.
Though the details were blurred through the plastic, it seemed like the whole hallway was closed off. I guessed every wing needed to be renovated one at a time.
I hadn’t crossed through this area last night though. I’d definitely have remembered the distinct “do not enter” vibes emanating from the doorway.
I couldn’t stop the curiosity from growing in my body. I had every intention of leaving the mansion and facing down the terrors that waited in the wake of the bar fight. But with every second I spent here, I felt myself drawn further in. I wanted — no, needed — to know more about these strange bikers.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d stood there staring at the plastic sheet before I reached out my hand to feel the waxy panel.
My fingers were centimeters from ripping it down and peeking down the hallway when a firm hand clamped my shoulder and ripped me away from the sheeting.
From the grip alone, I knew it wasn’t one of the sweethearts who’d come to my aid last night.
She snarled down at me — the cruel one who’d wanted me out on the street. Last night, she wouldn’t spare me a glance, but now, she towered inches from my face, her fingertips burning my skin where she’d pinned me against the wall.
I squirmed to get away, but her grip was iron, her breath hot as it washed over my face and invaded my lungs. “Where do you think you’re going?”
9
LEO
A beadof sweat ran down my back as I swung the door of the fridge open, grabbing a protein shake from inside.
Standing in front of it, a rush of cold air washed over my skin — a welcome chill after dripping in the gym all morning. Spencer and I liked to keep the place pretty warm — the heat kept our heart rates going.
But now, as Spencer dunked another piece of challah bread into the whisked egg mixture, I was regretting just how much of a sweat I’d worked up. If our new house guest smelled me, she’d probably run for the hills.
Bet I could catch her before she got that far.
