Page 31

ELEVEN

He took me to the room right next door.

When the door swung open and I saw three men inside, I almost turned and ran. Court’s hand was on my lower back, and, as if he sensed the sudden tension in my body, he shifted closer to me. Positioned himself slightly in front of me.

Like he was protecting me or showing me that he would protect me.

I had no idea what to do with that. With him.

“Hey,” Court said to the men. “I just wanted her to meet you assholes and show her what’s going on before we leave.”

Wait, where were we going?

Two of the men were seated at the small table, and one was in a chair nearby. All eyes were on me, and they weren’t exactly the most welcoming.

One of the guys at the table wore square glasses with black frames and had a laptop open in front of him. He had chestnut hair, eyes the same color, and he wore a small smile as he regarded me. The guy sitting to his left was bigger than him, had dark brown hair and blue eyes that were light and icy.

My gaze slid back to the man in the chair, and then I choked on nothing.

“That’s my brother,” Court told me, his voice tinged with a mixture of pride and irritation. “Cade.”

He wasn’t just his brother, he was Court’s twin. He looked exactly like Court—except for the tattoos that crawled over every visible inch of his skin and the countless piercings in his ears and on his face. His eyes were cold and angry as he regarded me with very obvious disapproval, his mouth turned down in a frown. What the fuck did I do to him? I just fucking met him.

My gaze was drawn to the black ink that crept above his collar all the way to his jaw, intricate designs I couldn’t make out from here.

Cade glanced at his brother, his eyes glinting with something almost malicious. And then, like a switch had been flipped, he turned his attention back to me and smiled.

“There she is,” he said, a gorgeous smile crinkling his eyes at the corners. He stood up, just as tall and just as big as Court. Maybe slightly less muscle, but the resemblance was uncanny.

I looked up at Court, who was watching me with an amused expression. But there was something darker in his gaze, something I couldn’t really put my finger on.

Cade held his hand out when he reached me, and… did he want to shake my hand?

“It’s good to meet you, Margot,” Cade said, still holding his hand out between us.

Court brushed a wayward strand of hair off my face and said, “Her real name’s Whitney.”

I swatted his hand away and frowned at him. Why the hell was he always touching me?

I turned back to Cade and warily slipped my hand into his.

His fingers curled around mine in a strong but gentle grip. “Court’s told me you’ll be joining our little expedition.” Tightening his grip on my hand, he yanked me into him without warning. “But be careful where you step.”

I shoved at his chest just as an arm banded around me from behind, dragging me away from Cade. Startled at the sudden hostility in the room, I backed away from both of them as Court shoved Cade in the chest hard, making him stumble back a step. “Don’t fuck with me,” Court hissed, his usual calm completely gone.

“What? I can’t say hi?” Cade smiled at Court, goading him.

“Don’t fucking touch her and don’t ever threaten her,” Court growled, and the heat that was blooming in my stomach spread rapidly.

Holy shit.

Everybody here was as crazy as Court.

I glanced at the door, wondering if I’d even make it out of here if I tried to run. I looked back at the men at the table, and only one of them was watching me now. The other one had a laptop in front of him and was entirely engrossed in whatever he was doing.

Court and Cade were still arguing, shoving each other around.

“I told you. I fucking told you⁠—”