Page 182 of Carnal Games

I sigh, raising my head. “You both are married now, Ro and Bee. You have your family to worry about. I don’t need to be disturbing you in the middle of the night and have you leave your husbands.”

“You’ve been with Nathan all the years we’ve been best friends and you’ve always been there for us,” Bianca replies. “Why would we be any different?”

“Dash and Nova would never stop us,” assures Rosalie, the sheen in her eyes bringing a pang to my heart. “You’re our family, Iris. Don’t shut us out.”

“Ever since you took this assistant gig with Kian, we’ve hardly seen you,” Bianca utters. Then she softly asks, “Is there something you wanna tell us?”

“Work is hectic, that’s all.” I recycle the same lie. My brain is on autorepeat.

“You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not,” I reply to Rosalie. Neither she nor Bianca looks convinced. “Guys! Why would I hide anything from you?”

“Fine.” Rosalie scowls, picking up her aged pug, Maggie, who scratches at her ankle. “For the record, Nova and I think you should file an FIR against the stalker who’s after you. He’s a psycho if he knows where you work and live. He attacked you in broad daylight.”

I deadpan, my mouth going dry, “They can’t help, Ro. I know virtually nothing about the man. Besides, I’ll have to tell my parents and I’d rather not. Going to the police helps no one.”

Rosalie looks ready to argue, but heaves in resignation. “It’s a good thing Nathan’s back. He’ll guard you better than his stupid brother. Who, by the way, I still don’t trust.”

Tears well in my eyes and I sense a breakdown coming. Abruptly standing up, I place the puppy on the floor and mumble an excuse, “I have to go.”

“Iris,” calls out Bianca. “At least stay for dinner.”

“I’m sorry. I have a headache.”

“Iris!” Rosalie utters in panic.

“I’ll see you guys later.” I quickly walk back inside in search of Nathan. The men are still on the couch and look up upon hearing my footsteps.

Nathan takes one glance at me and rises to his feet. “Hey! You okay?”

“I’m not feeling well. Can we go home?”

“Yeah, come on.”

As he takes my hand, I wave at Dash and Nova. “Sorry I couldn’t stay for dinner.”

“Take care, Iris,” Nova murmurs, while I can’t decipher the expression on Dash’s face. But it’s scary enough, as though he can see beneath my layers.

After bringing the car around, Nathan buckles me into the passenger seat before rounding to the driver’s side. Shutting the door, he guns the engine and shifts the car into gear.

“Is it all right if I crash at the apartment tonight? I’ll take the guest room.”

“Yeah,” I reply. “I don’t mind.”

“Shall I stop at the medical store?”

“No, I just wanna sleep in my bed.”

We drive silently the rest of the way, and it continues as we take the elevator to my floor. As we pass Kian’s door, I almost stop and reach for the knob until I realize I’m no longer welcome there. I don’t even know if he’s home or at The Mirage.

Unlocking my apartment, I cross the threshold and excuse myself to my bedroom. Nathan doesn’t stop me. Once I’m inthere and the lock clicks behind me, I don’t even make it to the bed and crumble into pieces.

Picking myself up from the floor after my sobs subside, I pull up the messages on my phone and send Kian a text. Past the point of caring if I seem pathetic.

ME: Are you home?

No reply. I dial his number in a last-ditch attempt to get hold of him. It rings before going to voicemail. Devastated, I throw the phone across the room. Yanking off the engagement ring, I hurl it toward the bed.