Page 5 of Devoted (Love and Burlesque #2)
CHAPTER FIVE
VIVIAN
The answer is always bacon.
“ T hat sounded too loud to be Nosferatu.” Setting down the pizza rolls, I rush over to the front door. The huge thud and the very human male groan couldn’t have come from my new furry little buddy.
“Wait—Em, bring me a knife!” I shout, bending down to get my slippers off the hall tree.
“What in the hell are you gonna do with a knife and house slippers, Vivian?” Emma asks as I hear her open and slam the kitchen drawer.
“I’m going to chop up some food for the raccoon.” I turn around and roll my eyes at my roommate as she approaches. “I’m going to stab somebody if I have to, and I’m going to be comfortable while I do it. There’s probably a creep peeping into apartment windows, Em.”
“Oh, fuck no. They came to the wrong house.” Emma grips the knob and swings open the door. Damn , she’s amazing when she’s angry. All of her six-foot frame is filled with fury as she descends the steps in front of our townhouse.
Before I exit, I notice my lack of weapon since Emma kept the knife for herself. Instead, I end up grabbing a bat that one of my brothers must have left here during their last visit. After shutting the door, I make my way off the porch and down the steps.
It’s dark and late. Anyone who’s out making all that noise probably isn’t doing it for good reasons. I take out my phone from my pocket and turn the flashlight on to the brightest setting. And just in case, I have 9-1-1 ready to call if this escalates.
Finally catching up to Em, we round the corner together to find a muddy mess by my bedroom window. It looks like two pigs were wrestling and splashing mud all over the place. There are even dragged fingerprints on my window frame. We each look around to see what—or who—could have caused it.
Hearing scattering above us, we both whip our heads toward the tree, only to find Nosferatu staring at us with his illuminated eyes.
Could it really have been that little guy making all this noise and mess?
No , I think. Taking a more careful look, I can see there is absolutely no mud on him.
Maybe it was Nosferatu that scared off our would-be intruder.
“Should we be thanking your raccoon?” Emma asks, coming to the same conclusion as I did.
“Maybe. But whoever must have run into him probably isn’t feeling the same way.
” I laugh before blowing a kiss to our furry savior.
“Let’s get back inside, and we’ll keep an eye out tonight.
I might ask one of the guys to sleep over, if you’re cool with it?
” I ask, still feeling unsettled. Even if we didn’t find anyone, we did find evidence that someone was here at one point.
“Sure, I’ll start getting the couch bed ready for them,” Emma comments as she steps through the side yard, careful of the mud.
The huge suit jacket engulfing my body brings me comfort from this creepy situation as I wrap it tightly around myself. Knight’s scent invades my nostrils, and I internally curse him for smelling so damn good. My eyes scan the ground one more time, just in case we missed anything.
Not finding any more clues, I’m about to follow Emma when I notice something poking out by the tree.
It looks like a ripped piece of clothing.
Picking it up with a stick, I see it must have been a bluish color at one point.
Maybe it’s just a scrap that’s been thrown out and moved around the apartment complex, but it wouldn’t make sense for it to be tossed around in the mud like this.
It could belong to whoever was out here tonight. There’s a chance I’ll be able to clean it up enough to see a label, brand, or something that might help us figure out what the hell was going on here.
Fisting the fabric in my hand, I take it back inside with me. Emma is busy getting linens and extra pillows out of the hall closet, so I take the scrap into my bathroom to look over later. First, I need to see which of the guys might want to keep us company tonight.
DELGADO GROUP TEXT
Viv
Hey guys, we think some weirdo was outside our house tonight. Any of you free for a sleepover?
We got pizza rolls.
Thomas
Shit, I’m at the hospital tonight. Did you call the cops? Alek is out with Ezekiel, but Rhett might be available to go over.
Rhett
Got off from the Shop 10 min. ago, I’ll head your way!
Viv
Thanks Rhett. We’re okay, I promise guys. Didn’t mean to freak you out, Em and I thought it would be nice to have someone around.
No cops. There wasn’t anyone around when we went out and it looks like the guy ran away injured.
Rhett
Y’all fuck him up?
Viv
No, but Nosferatu might have.
Thomas
Never thought I’d be thankful for a raccoon. Keep me updated, please. I’m up all night over here.
“Mornin’, lovebug! We got coffee and muffins ready!” Rhett’s booming voice is right outside my door.
Groaning, I roll over in bed and search for my phone.
Fuck me. It’s only 7 a.m., and this dude is yelling like he’s already on his fifth cup of coffee. Honestly, he might be. Rhett’s always been an early riser, which he attributes to his farm days.
I can’t complain when it was also his farm days that gave him the skills to bake those mouthwatering muffins of his.
With the smell being reward enough for an early morning, I roll out of bed and slip on a pair of black sweats and a Joy Division crop top.
As close as I am to these people, I don’t think Em or Rhett would appreciate seeing me naked, and I’m not giving the goods away unless someone’s going to enjoy them.
Not that anyone has been enjoying them lately, but that’s beside the point. I’d like to at least be nose-deep in a cup of coffee before I start reflecting on my love life. My train of thought always ends up back on my asshole boss who, unfortunately, is as handsome as he is irritating.
Shaking my head, I attempt to brush off any thoughts of Knight. And I refuse to admit he’s been the only thing on my mind since the argument we had last night.
“How long have you two been up?” I ask, my voice still heavy with sleep as I make my way through the apartment.
Rhett and Em stand together in our small kitchen, working in sync to finish making breakfast.
“I think I woke up Em with the ruckus in the kitchen. Sorry about that, girl,” Rhett apologizes, shooting his puppy eyes over at Emma.
“Don’t you give me that look.” Emma bats at him playfully before she turns her attention back to me. “I was having some trouble sleeping last night, so I decided to get up early and get the day started,” she explains. “Figured a little bacon after a bad night is a cure-all.”
“Amen to that,” Rhett chimes.
Agreeing, I nod as I take a seat at the counter, and within a second, there’s a steaming mug of coffee with oat milk and dulce de leche syrup in front of me.
“I know how you get without your coffee.” Rhett winks as he teases me.
I’m tempted to roll my eyes at him, but the coffee he made me is delicious, so I dial back the morning grumpiness instead.
“Either of you hear anything last night?”
“Nope,” they respond in unison.
“Yeah, me neither.”
“Maybe the creep got hurt. Serves him right for being outside your window like that,” Emma huffs as she and Rhett carry over the food, and I take charge of bringing over our coffee mugs.
Family-style dining is a given with all of us. The three of us sit down and stack up our plates with bacon, muffins, and some huevos rancheros . The food is amazing, as always. I’m not much of a cook, but with Alek, Rhett, and Em in the family? It’s tasty food for life with those three.
“Y’all need me to stay again tonight?” Rhett asks. He’s washing the pans and dishes after shooing Emma and me away when we offered to help, saying it was only right since he was a guest in our home.
“No, I’m gonna surprise Caleb with a date night, so I won’t be here,” Emma comments, and I note how she doesn’t sound excited for what should be a fun date. I’ll have to ask her about it later. I know she might not be comfortable talking about her relationship in front of Rhett.
“And I’m going to Alek’s tonight after work, so we’ll be okay. Honestly, it probably was just some kid playing a prank.”