Page 31

Cutting right to the chase, I blurt, “I have something to show you.” They both stop their tasks, dropping their tools.

“It’s not a dead body, is it?” Asher laughs.

Leading them out, Jordie is still pounding. She would’ve created dents in the body by now if she had enough space to move. But definitely not with those ridiculous fluffy socks on.

“What the fuck? Did you kidnap someone?” Asher laughs uncomfortably. My best friends are down for anything, but had I actually kidnapped someone…

“You could say that,” I mumble.

Opening the boot, Jordie’s fluffy covered foot shoots up where she was about to kick again. Her hair is dishevelled and a furious look dances on her face, but the second her eyes land on Asher, her face softens.

“Ash!” She scrambles up, throws herself into his arms and wraps her legs around his waist, putting him temporarily off-balance.

“Little Jordie! What the fuck!” Asher laughs again, embracing her. He glances at me in disbelief, jaw halfway to the floor.

The scene kills me, growing my chest tight, and I can’t watch. I force my attention elsewhere while my teeth grind painfully against each other.

This. This reaction is all I wished for.

Blake glances at me briefly before joining them. “Where the fuck have you been?”

“How have you been?” She quickly diverts the conversation.

“It’s not been the same without you. Where are your clothes?” Asher asks, joy prominent in his voice. “We, genuinely, thought you died.”

She did.

I can feel three pairs of eyes burning into the back of my head and I turn, meeting Jordie’s cold gaze. I lift my shoulders and drop them again, rolling the joint in my pocket between my fingers.

“He decided to kidnap me in the middle of the fucking night like a psycho.” There’s no hiding the anger in her voice, though it’s much softer than when we’re alone.

Brushing past them, I head back inside the warehouse. I know they follow me because I can hear the gasp Jordie makes when she takes in all the fairy lights draped around on the ceilings, the big wooden balcony that overlooks the entire space, and the frames for the different rooms we’re planning on building for accommodation.

“Wow,” she marvels.

“Looks different to when you last saw it, huh?” Asher muses.

“You guys did all this?”

“Yep. Been working hard on it.”

I grab a stray chair, and slump into it backwards, resting my chin on the backrest, suddenly finding the half-built bar interesting. Blake, funnily enough, has a knack for DIY.

“You’re looking at the new Blackcastle Sinners headquarters,” Asher continues.

Jordie giggles in response. “Sinners?”

“Aren’t we?” There’s a hint of amusement in his voice And, as usual, Asher doesn’t know when to put a filter on.

Blake clears his throat, my fists clench, and the air between us all grows silent with only the music playing softly in the background.

Jordan’s voice cracks through the air like a whip, breaking the tightly drawn silence. “You really followed through with this.”

Debris crunches beside me as Blake’s boots come into line with my vision and stop in front of the chair.

“What?” I grumble, not taking my attention off the floor.

“What happened?” he asks quietly while Asher and Jordan continue their conversation in the distance. “Where was she, K?”