I shook my head and pulled out my phone to text Wolfe about the penthouse. He replied that it was already handled, so I slid my phone onto Navy's desk and watched her laugh with the girls. Navy carried so much that I wondered how she hadn't broken until now. From the moment she met Honor, every secret she kept and every choice she'd made was to protect him. Then she did the one thing I could never do: give up her son. All the emotions that came with that sat heavily on her shoulders and were invisible to the rest of us, and invisible to Honor.
I felt for Navy because she truly didn't have anyone to confide in until she met us, but that was how life worked. We were handed the toughest battles and expected to carry the weight alone until we found our tribe. The people who'd lessen the load without us having to ask. We were that for Navy. Even if the other girls didn't realize it, I did.
"You okay, Chosyn?" Navy whispered loud enough for only me to hear.
"Yeah, just thinking." I smiled.
Her gaze lingered for a moment before going back to the others, leaving me to wonder.How many pieces of her werestill hidden behind her nurturing and selfless demeanor?Then I thought about Choyce. I wondered what parts of her she's hiding behind that bitch persona. I grabbed my phone off the desk, unblocked Choyce, and sent her a text.
Me
I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I want to fix that. Let me know when you're free. Maybe we can do brunch.
Choyce Mancinelli
"Can you believe this shit?"I ranted, sliding my phone across the kitchen table for Emersyn to see.
Emersyn and I weren't friends. Calling us friendly was even a stretch. She was here because I needed her services, not because she actually gave a fuck about my family problems. Her time was money, and since I'd paid for it, I figured I might as well use some of it to vent, especially since my only real friend was Kage and he was barely speaking to me.
She frowned after reading the text. "What am I supposed to do with this information?"
She stared at me, waiting for an answer, until something clicked, and a crease formed between her perfectly arched brows.
"Is Chosyn the reason you called? You want me to?—"
"No," I cut in before she could finish the thought.
"Then why show me her text?"
"Because I have no one else to vent to." I shrugged like that should've been obvious. Emersyn was there when Chosyn reminded me that I was onhertime.
"Where's your best friend?"
"Dropping my daughter off at her grandmother's. This isn't something I can talk to him about anyway."
"Then what's the point of calling him your best friend? I thought best friends tell each other everything."
"Maybe that's what you do with your best friend, but?—"
"I don't have friends." She shrugged.
"Oh, well, Kage isn't the friend you vent to. He's all logic. If you go to him, you better want a solution because that's all he's gonna give."
"That makes sense." She nodded. "Logic moves the world forward. Emotions stall you, and when you're stalled in our world, death is usually the outcome."
I stared at her, recognizing too much of myself gazing back. The difference: her demeanor wasn't a façade. Emersyn didn't wear a mask. She was every bit thebitchI pretended to be.
"How did you say you got into your line of work again?"
"I didn't." She twisted the cap off her water bottle. "But if you need to vent about your sister finally making time for you, then vent away. I get paid whether you give me a target or not."
I laughed under my breath. It made sense why Emersyn didn't have friends.
"I'm happy shefinallywants to work on things between us?—"
"But?" Emersyn smirked.
"But I know she's only doing it out of pity."
