The disrespect.
“Aura,” I said, turning my head slowly, “I have known you since we were born, and I need you to understand how close this friendship is to becoming a Netflix legal documentary.”
She looked up then, one brow arched. “Good. I’ll defend myself.”
Briggs whispered, “That was hot.”
Easton’s head turned.
Briggs immediately held both hands up. “Respectfully. Legally. From a distance.”
I ignored all of them and reached for the mug on the second shelf because I was twenty-one years old, almost twenty-two, and I refused to be defeated by ceramics. The second I stretched too far, pain snapped through my ribs so hard my breath caught.
Every single person moved.
Briggs half-stood. Rider pushed off the counter. Ryan stepped forward. Easton was suddenly in the kitchen doorway.Aura’s laptop hit the couch cushion. Charm gasped like I had been shot.
I slammed my hand down on the counter and turned on all of them. “Everybody stop fucking twitching.”
The room froze.
“I reached for a mug. I did not enter war.”
Briggs sat back down slowly. “The vibes were confusing.”
“The vibes are I want a latte and autonomy.”
Aura stood anyway.
“No.” I pointed at her. “Do not law-student talk me down.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You absolutely were.”
Charm pressed her lips together like she was trying not to laugh and cry at the same time. That was basically the house mood now. Everyone lived in a constant state of please don’t die and also please say something funny so we can breathe.
Before anyone could decide whether to keep hovering, the back door opened.
Cade walked in.
My entire body reacted like an idiot.
He looked wrecked in the hottest, most infuriating way possible. Black athletic pants. Fury training shirt clinging to his shoulders. Hair damp from a shower. A gym bag slung over one arm. Exhaustion sat beneath his eyes, but the second he saw me in the kitchen, that sharp, focused Cade awareness cut through all of it.
His gaze dropped.
My cheek.
My throat.
My ribs.
The scan.
Again.
Something inside me snapped tight.
