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We need to have a meeting. You busy tonight?

No. I’ll be there. Just let me know when and where.

Good. Sera has Lucien in a fucking uproar. I’m in over my head.

You’ve shortened her name already?

The bubbles pop up as he types a reply, but he says nothing else. He has to know I’m fucking with him, but he also knows that what he’s doing is a little fucked.

Lucien’s been through enough. He doesn’t need anyone twisting his insides up, only to leave the estate a bit more haunted when she flees.

Knowing he’s up, I plop down and tap Lucien’s contact on my phone.

It rings twice before he picks up.

“The fuck are you awake for? Or have you not gone to sleep yet?” he asks when the call goes live.

“Hello to you, too, asshole,” I reply, a smirk lifting my lips anyhow.

He chuckles, but says nothing.

“I know what Kyrin’s done. He brought her to lunch yesterday. I wanted to check on you,” I force out. I know he’s going to fly off the handle that I’m calling.

He’s been adamant all these years that he doesn’t need a babysitter.

“I’m…” he trails off.

Fuck, it’s worse than Kyrin let on.

“Lucien? Do you need me to get rid of her?”

I could call Carter…

“No. I’ll deal with Kyrin. No need to drag you into more of our bullshit.”

“Mighty considerate of you after all these years,” I joke.

He laughs, and his husky voice makes the tightness left behind by heavy memories dissipate.

He’s the oldest of the three of us, and he’s always been the one to soothe us when something’s wrong. Only in the last few years has he begun a downward spiral.

But who could blame him after what happened?

“Well, if you need me…”

“I can find you between some woman’s ass cheeks, licking her after you’ve spanked her. I know where to find you, Elias,” he growls, cutting me off.

“Okay.”

The phone call ends, my iPhone making a beeping noise as he cuts off my next words.

Motherfucker!

I think about starting a text war with him, as we do sometimes, but I see that the clock reads four-ten a.m. and decide to go back to bed. If I get Lucien going via text, I’ll be tired as fuck the rest of the day.

Cheryl had been in bed with me when I dozed off, but she’d made her way home at some point in the night. There’s a note on the island, thanking me for the night we shared.

I throw it in the drawer with all her other ones left behind.