She mumbled into the phone, then hung up. Her cheeks and nose were red from the mix of cold and alcohol, and her eyes were blazing. “He has a tracker on my phone, bracelet, all my handbags, and my shoes.”
“Who does?” My brain was foggy, and I couldn’t follow her.
“Gunner, of course.”
She walked to the closest wall and leaned her back against it. “I already found the tracker my brothers put on my car and removed it.”
I joined her, seeing the value in having something to hold us up. “They want to make sure you’re safe. Especially with what’s going on at the moment.”
Why am I defending her brothers?
A car door shut, and then Gunner was in front of us, pulling Freya in for a hug. “Never, ever do something so foolish again. You know you can’t leave the house by yourself. Someone out there is trying to erase your family. And that includes you, in case you’ve forgotten.” He buried his face in her hair. “I couldn’t bear to lose you.”
“But I wasn’t by myself. Quinn’s right here.” Her face was hidden in his chest, her words muffled, one of her arms pointing in my general direction.
Devon, one of Gunner’s men, came up to us, catching me when I stumbled into him. “Let’s get you home.”
He carefully led me back to their car, his touch gentle, his voice holding a tinge of amusement. “Looks like you guys had a good night.”
“The best,” I said, the defeated tone in my voice betraying my statement.
We slid into the car, Freya and Gunner in the back, me in the passenger seat, and Devon driving. He had to help me with my seat belt, because the buckle seemed to move every time I tried to click it in.
Once we were back at Gunner’s apartment building and in the elevator, I turned to Freya and hugged her. “I love you, Freya.”
Unable to take my sudden assault, she stumbled back into Gunner, and we ended up in a group hug, strong arms holding us up. “I love you, too, Quinny.”
“Nope. Don’t ever call me that again.”
Her small body moved with a chuckle. “That’s why it’s so much fun using it.”
We stumbled out of the elevator, leaning against the wall next to the apartment door while Gunner unlocked it. “You guys are going to have a hangover from hell tomorrow.” He chuckled.
Freya stuck her tongue out at him, and his eyes heated up. “I can think of better things you could do with that tongue.”
“Ewww, stop it.” Holding my hands up, I stumbled into the apartment, desperate to get away from them.
Making my way to the guest bedroom, I fell down on the bed, only to right myself again. If I didn’t get out of the dress andshoes, I’d be unable to sleep properly. I might pass out for a few hours, but then I’d wake up again.
The buckles seemed to have some locking mechanism on them, as they wouldn’t open.Shoes might have to stay on.
I stood up, then crashed against the nightstand, sending the lamp flying. It landed on the plush carpet with a soft thud but didn’t break.
Contorting myself to undo the zipper on the side, my fingers finally grabbed it. “Aha, take that, you sucker.”
“Who are you talking to?”
Startled at Freya’s reappearance, I dropped my hold on the zipper. “My damn zipper. It needs encouragement to open.”
“Here, let me help.”
She was already in her pajamas, face makeup free.
Blinking at her, I wondered how long I’d been trying to undress myself. “How are you already in your pj’s?”
Unzipping me and helping me pull the dress over my head, she kneeled to get my shoes off next. “You’ve been in here for twenty minutes.”
Huh.
