“Macallan?” Lyric asks the second Kai is out of earshot.
“It’s a long story. I’ll explain later. Right now, we need to help him get Joey out of here.”
“Okay.” She nods once before following me from the room.
Unlike Char, who would have demanded answers, Lyric is patient enough to wait for a more appropriate time, and thank goodness for that, because I am going to need to seriously digest tonight’s events before I even think about explaining it to another person.
Char and River opted to have a late dinner with his and Lyric’s parents, who are in town for family weekend, rather than come to the party with us, and while I was a little disappointed at the time, I’m suddenly grateful they aren’t here for the reason I mentioned above.
I’ve just reached the stairs when Kai rejoins us, Jackson in tow. My brother, who sways slightly on his own two feet, isn’t likely to be much help, but the more muscle we have the better. Joey isn’t exactly a small dude. Six-foot-five of pure muscle, more like it.
The three of them follow me back up the stairs and down the hall. When I reenter the bedroom, I find Mac trying to wake Joey, who now seems to be passed out cold.
“Is he okay?” I ask, quickly joining him at the side of the bed.
“Yeah, just sleeping.” He nods, looking over my head at the three people who followed me into the room.
“I brought help,” I tell him, turning to follow his line of sight. “I’m sure you know Kai,” I say, knowingeveryoneknows Kai. I guess that’s what happens when you earn the title of the campus’s biggest playboy. Of course, that was before Lyric, who changed all of that. “His fiancée, Lyric,” I continue. “And that one is—”
“Your brother.” He guesses. Not that I’m surprised. We do look a lot alike, especially the eyes.
“Jackson,” I confirm.
“What do you need us to do?” Kai approaches, assessing the situation much like Macallan did when he entered the room.
“If you could just hold him up on one side, I can get the other.”
Kai nods, bending down to pull Joey upright. Mac helps pull him to his feet as he slips in on his right side and Kai takes his left.
Joey’s head bobs to the side, his chin now resting on his chest.
“Jackson, can you get his feet? That way we don’t have to drag him the whole way.” It’s Kai who asks.
“Yep.” Jackson enters the fray, dipping down to grab Joey’s legs.
“You good to walk backward?” Macallan asks.
“I got it.” Jackson is quick to agree, though I almost interject my concern given that Jackson has been drinking all night. But as they begin to move, my brother is a lot steadier on his feet than I expect, so I keep my reservations to myself.
Together, they manage to get Joey down the stairs and outside, Lyric and I fast on their heels, doing our best to ignore all the gawking faces that turn their attention to us as we pass.
Macallan parked his car directly in front of the house, despite the fire lane sign. Though given that he was here to pick up a drunk friend, he probably figured he’d be in and out. I doubt the actual specifics of the evening ever crossed his mind, and why would they? I was privy to it as it was unfolding and even I haven’t fully digested what Lana did. What I now know she’s capable of.
I rush ahead to open the back door just as the guys reach the car. Getting Joey outside might not have been very difficult for three able-bodied men, but getting himintothe car proves more challenging than I think anyone expected.
Eventually, they get Joey fully into the back seat, Kai gripping him under the arms, pulling him in from the opposite side, while Macallan tucks his feet in.
“You good to get him wherever you’re going?” Jackson asks, taking a step back from the car as Macallan closes Joey inside.
“There’s no way you’re going to be able to get him up into the apartment by yourself,” I tell Mac directly.
“He could always sleep it off in the car,” Jackson suggests.
“Don’t be an ass.” I slap my brother across the chest, though not nearly hard enough to hurt him.
“We can follow you back to your place and help you get him inside,” Kai offers.
“I appreciate that.” Macallan nods in thanks, turning his attention back to me. “Would you mind riding with me? You know, just in case he gets sick on the ride over and I need assistance.”
