“Someone special.” I take a moment to text Madison back. I hadn’t realized how Damiano’s and my lack of texting messed with her confidence. It makes sense, though. We came on strong, and then we ignored her.
I send my text through. How’s your day, Miss M?
She texts back a photo of a plate of cookies. I’m enjoying the domestic life.
“Are you both seeing her?” Landon holds up his hands. “It’s not my fucking business, I know. It’s just, Cody and I are hoping to find a similar arrangement.”
“Must be something in the San Esteban water, huh?” I raise my eyebrows.
Landon shrugs and grins. “Or maybe more men are figuring out just how rewarding it is to pamper one woman together.”
“Fair enough. Yeah, we’re both seeing her.”
Madison sends another text, this one of her holding a cookie to her mouth. Don’t you wish you could take a bite?
Little tease. Very tempting, I type back.
“Fuck, you’re like a high schooler flirting with his homecoming date.” Landon laughs.
I flip him off and text Madison again. Show me more.
Her next text is a picture of the cookie sheet, with more cookies.
That’s not what I meant, I write, and you know it.
“I’m fucking jealous, man,” Landon says.
I nod. “You should be.”
We get back into our task, searching for Point Ops business assets and holdings. Point Ops won’t be Erich Pointer’s only company. Whatever business “owns” the building where my parents are kept, it’ll be hidden. There are loopholes and LLCs and registered agents. We pull out our laptops and work until our eyes are burning.
“I have to get back to the office,” Landon says. “I’ll come at this fresh tomorrow. Don’t worry, we’ll find them.”
I nod. I feel bad for my parents. In a logical, detached way, I’m worried about them. They must be terrified. But there’s a disconnect, as well. I have a responsibility for them, but no emotional resonance. Over the course of my childhood, they severed any chance of having an emotional connection with me.
After Landon leaves, I look at my phone again. Madison sent another text at some point—another photo.
Fuck. Me.
Most of her face is out of the frame, but I can see her pouty lips. It looks like she’s only wearing a bra, with her cleavage pushed up into the photo. Mouthwatering.
I send her a message. Baby girl. I’m going to fuck those tits first chance I get.
MADISON
Ever since last night, I keep looking at Seth’s messages. I can hear his voice, low and intense, behind every typed letter on the screen.
I set down my phone and fan my face. That was the first “sexy” text I’ve ever received. Kyle and I never really did this sort of thing—he used texting as a practical tool, not a seduction device.
As I finish drinking my morning smoothie, I look at Seth’s text again. Baby girl. I’m going to fuck those tits first chance I get. So crude and dirty…yet it makes me so freaking hot. Maybe I should get back in bed with my vibrator. I put the device to good use last night.
But should I use it again in broad daylight? Sure, why the hell not? It’s not like I have roommates to worry about. I’d want to close my curtains, though. I haven’t seen Ford in a while, but that doesn’t mean he won’t show up out of nowhere. Probably at the least convenient time.
That’s not fair of me. He just wants to take care of the yard. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so short with him.
I finally called a landscaping company, and they’re coming tomorrow morning. Should I tell him, so he doesn’t worry?
No, it’s none of his business. This is my house now. He got his own inheritance from our great-aunt.
