My private elevator chimes.
Like meerkats, our heads snap up in unison. Only a handful of people have access to it, and even less have access without pre-approval.
‘Tay? You here?’
Fuck, Sadie.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
We spin apart, scrambling behind the island.
Open-plan living is such a great idea… until it’s not.
I’m shoving myself back together as he zips himself away. There’s oil, there’s mess, there’s his T-shirt across the way?—
I dive for it, snatching it back before her footsteps change tone and I know she’s in the living room behind us.
I press the shirt to his chest, allowing a nanosecond of appreciation for the inked muscle beneath my palm, before meeting his gaze. I point to myself before throwing a thumb over my shoulder, then gesture to him and the door, hopinghe’ll get the message:my turn to run distraction, your turn to get out.
He nods and I let go of him. Smooth down my hair. My clothing. Slam a cupboard and pop up.
‘Sadie!’
My sister freezes halfway into the room, her eyes as wild as her hair. She’s soaked through, shivering like crazy.
‘Jesus, what happened to you?’ I rush forwards, fear replacing everything else. ‘Are you okay? Is Theo okay? Lottie?’
She’s nodding as I grab a hold of her arms, concerned gaze raking all over her.
‘Sorry to j-just show up like this, s-sis.’
‘What’s happened? What’s the matter?’
‘It’s— it’s Danny…’
‘Danny?’ My voice thins. Her ex? ‘But he’s in prison.’
Surely he can’t have been released. Not without us knowing. Not without?—
‘He’s d-dead, Tay.’
‘Dead?’ I choke out, my ears tuning into some noise behind me but I’m too stunned, too focused on Sadie and what she’s saying to think about Ax in this second.
Unless… No. Axel wouldn’t have done something to Danny. Not in prison.
‘There was a fight, an accident, and?—’
She breaks off, head shaking, and I pull her into my arms.
‘Wait,’ she presses away, ‘your clothes!’
‘Like I care about them right now.’
I hush her and wrap her in close, my head spinning out with a thousand scenarios and they all involve the man trying to escape behind me.
Axel
And I thought Theo staging an intervention was bad.
