“Hey, have you got a second?” His voice is whisper quiet, but I know it’s him without doubt.
“Yeah, hang on, give me a couple of minutes and I’ll call you back,” I say quickly before cutting the call. “Sorry, girls… answers await.”
“Kairo?” Simona purrs.
“Yeah.”
“Bonus fucking points for the new dude, checking in with our girls before she’s home an hour.” Tristan snort yells.
I laugh because I was pretty thrilled too. “I’m going to have a shower and crash after I talk to him.” I lean over to give Tris a kiss on the cheek before giving Raney one too.
“I’ll clean up,” Sim offers as I go to give her a kiss.
“See that’s why you’re my favourite.”
My other two besties hiss conspiratorially at me but without saying it everyone knows I’m only messing around. We have the strangest relationship between the four of us—there is no jealousy or petty niggling, and we love each other equally. I think that’s super weird. Most friendships I’ve seen start out strong but eventually this or that person splinters away, but I’ve also given up trying to figure out why our friendship keeps getting stronger and stronger. Since the day we met and shared our tragic past, we really have been like chosen family.
“Ho,” Raney stops me before I open my door. “What time is the meeting tomorrow?”
I take a slow breath in and blow it out before I answer. “Seven am.”
“Assholes.” Raney growls under her breath. And she’s not wrong, they are assholes. The Board likes to call meetings that start at normal times in their time zone, but I’m ahead of them by a few hours. The girls and I have talked about how we think it’s a ploy to keep me on the back foot, making me heel to their demands.
And then Tris looks at Raney, then Sim, and before I can stop her saying a thing, she opens her big old mouth and nearly makes me cry. “We’re coming with you to the meeting, tell Bradley to bring the limo…”
“You don’t have to, I’ll be fine,” I insist. And I will be. Tonight threw me, not because of the games at play but because I’m tired of them. I’ve survived a lot worse than a crap end to a date.
“Nothing about this is fine, Ho. Go get some rest and we’ll be ready to leave at just after six. But you’re buying breakfast after and you know we might make Ayden sit with us. That fuck-nut needs a solid reminder of his role in your life, and we’re the ones to give it to him,” Simona says as she takes my seat and pours out the last of the vodka.
“Mimosas and grilled cheese sandwiches, I can do. But let’s not waste a chance to hang out by asking the hired help along,” I say, being purposely nasty as I open my bedroom door. “Love you girls, see you tomorrow.”
A chorus of ‘goodnights’ follow me inside my dark room. I flick the lock behind me and am shooting off a quick text to Bradley to let him know I will need the limo, not watching where I’m going and I drop my phone and nearly wet myself with fright when I lift my eyes. And see the outline of a man standing in my bedroom.
ChapterFifteen
HEIDI
He doesn’t need to speak; his scent is more telling than Kairo breaking the silence. My bedroom is so full of his unique perfume, it’s like I’m bathing in a pool of his sweet maple syrup but he eventually breaks the silence. “Hey, rohi…”
I spin around to check I locked the door, before facing him again. I stand there sorting through the wave of happiness of seeing him and the fright of knowing someone was in my room.
He takes a slow tentative step closer, chewing on his lip like he’s a little unsure about what to say.
“How did you?” I shake my head.
He grimaces before giving a soft laugh under his breath and he shrugs. “Truth?”
“I only want the truth, Kairo,” I answer back in a heartbeat. I want to go and tell him to never lie to me, but he ruins those thoughts with a dazzling smile that promises the world.
“A few walls, a dozen guards, and an alarm or two are not going to stop me being here. You need a better lock by the way.”
“Kairo! I’m five stories up!”
He pulls another grimace before it grows into a wicked, heated smile making his teeth flash in the dark room. “I’ll do whatever it takes to see you, Heidi. I had to see for myself that you were okay.”
“I’m okay,” I offer.
“I’m not. Is that better?”
