Page 14

Chapter Eleven

T he kitchen smells like stale beer, burnt pizza, and muscle salve. Aidric’s parked on the counter, nursing a protein shake like it's whiskey while I slap turkey and cheese between two slices of bread, trying to pretend I'm not thinking about her.

Spoiler alert: I’m always thinking about her.

"You ever wonder how we haven’t all died of food poisoning living here?" I mutter, holding up a heel of bread dotted in green mold.

"Nope," Aidric deadpans, grabbing it from my hand. "We’re tough as hell. Tainted food can’t touch us."

He balls the slice into a dense lump and shoves it into his mouth with a grin.

I recoil. "You’re fucking disgusting."

He chews exaggeratedly. "Little penicillin never hurt anybody."

"Maybe it’ll kill whatever STDs you picked up from that skank you raw-dogged two nights ago."

"In that case," he says, digging through the bag for another moldy piece, "maybe you should have some, too. Never know what you or Callan might’ve caught from our little whore, Avery."

My grip tightens around the countertop. "I didn’t fuck her," I bite out. "And for the record…"

I stop talking. The words are in the back of my throat, but I force them down. If I say anything more, he’ll clock it for what it is. Not just defense, but possession and interest. She’s Callan’s girl. Maybe not officially—maybe not even now. But she was.

"Whatever you say." Aidric smirks, tossing the bread bag on the counter. "But I know that look. You’re already in deeper than you should be."

I toss the bag of old bread into the trash with more force than necessary. "Drop it."

His grin widens, but for once, he lets it go.

I exhale sharply, grab a knife, and start cutting the sandwich. My appetite’s shot, but I need something to do with my hands before I punch a hole in the wall just thinking about her.

"She’s unraveling," I say quietly. Aidric doesn’t answer right away. He just watches me, waiting for me to elaborate. "I think she should stay here."

He barks a low laugh. "You want Avery Castle living under our roof?"

"She’s not safe," I tell him. "Someone’s fucking with her—with all of us—and she’s one bad night away from shattering."

Aidric’s brow lifts, skeptical. "And you think bunking her here’s gonna fix that?"

"She offered to help with the masked event," I say, leveling him with a look. "This gives her a reason to be here and it gives us a way to keep eyes on her without her feeling like a prisoner."

"So let me get this straight," he says slowly. "Your plan is to bring the most unpredictable girl in the county into our house of secrets, hand her a job tied directly to Callan, and pretend like she’s not a fuse standing right next to a match that’s already lit."

I glare at him. "It’s not about pretending, it’s about surviving. She’s involved whether we like it or not. At least this way, we can monitor her."

Aidric’s jaw ticks, but eventually he nods. "Fine. Just don’t come crying to me when your little lamb bites the hand that feeds her."

"She’s not biting anyone," I mutter under my breath.

Aidric hops off the counter and tosses the other slice of moldy bread in the trash. "You're sure this has nothing to do with the fact that you’ve got a raging hard-on for the girl you were supposed to break?"

I glare at him. "This has everything to do with the fact that someone is two steps ahead of us. Someone who isn't just watching her, but getting in her head. That video, the texts, her music box, the photo of her and me in the woods. How the fuck does someone even get their hands on that shit?"

"Photo of you two?" Aidric cuts in, brow arching. "What photo?"

Fuck. I said too much. Got carried away and let it slip. I scrub a hand over the back of my neck. "It was nothing. Just a shot of us in the woods."

His eyes narrow. "You sure about that?"

"Goddamn it." I blow out a breath. "Fine. We kissed in the woods. Someone was watching and sent proof."

Aidric whistles low. "Since when do you just kiss girls?"

I scowl. "It was just a kiss."

He claps a hand to my shoulder. "Uh huh. Just a kiss with the girl Callan was falling for. Sounds real simple."

"I didn’t plan it," I grit out. "It happened but it was just a fucking kiss that meant nothing."

I almost tell him the rest, but I won't go there. He's already having a fucking field day.

"Meant nothing to who? You? Or her?"

"Both of us," I snap. "Now fucking drop it. It’s no big deal."

Aidric lifts a brow, unimpressed. "Crossing that line is bad enough, but crossing it with feelings? That’s a fucking landmine, man."

"There are no feelings," I shoot back defensively.

"If you say so." He leans against the fridge, arms folded. "You sure she didn’t kiss you with an agenda? You ever stop to think she might be playing you and Callan?"

"She’s not." I hesitate. "She called me today while she was at archery practice. She thought she was losing her mind. When I got there, she was curled up on the damn ground, Aidric. Shaking and crying. You know Avery, she doesn’t cry unless she's angry."

His expression shifts slightly, still skeptical, but not dismissive.

"She’s spiraling," I continue. "And yeah, maybe she pisses me off from time to time, but if she goes down, we go down with her. She knows too much, and she…she matters."

"Matters," Aidric repeats, voice flat.

I glance away, guilt chewing a hole through my ribs. "Callan would’ve protected her."

He walks to the sink and stares out the window. "If she stays here, she follows the rules. She doesn’t go snooping through our private shit, doesn’t start shit with the guys, and she sure as fuck doesn’t get a key."

"She won’t need one," I say. "She won’t be here long enough to need it."

Aidric sighs. "Jesus Christ. The next time we bring a girl into this house, can we make sure it’s one who doesn’t want to burn it down?"

"No promises."

He shakes his head but nods once. "Whatever. But if she steps out of line again I'm not pulling any punches, Seb."

I smirk. "When have you ever?"

He laughs, tossing a casual wave over his shoulder before disappearing out of the kitchen, leaving the mess he made for the housekeeper to deal with tomorrow.

I stand at the counter in silence, eating the rest of my sandwich wondering how the hell I’m going to convince Avery to stay with us until this shitstorm blows over. There's no way she'll agree. But if worse comes to worst, I won't give her a choice.

My little lamb is going to come play in the wolves den whether she wants to or not.