Page 64 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 11

Friday

“We better get going,” Sophie said as she adjusted her ushanka. “We want to be fashionably late for the party, not so late that it’s over.”

I just stared at her. Was she joking right now? “Soph.”

“What?” she asked.

RJ moved the ladder out of the way and kicked the bean bag chair back in place under the hole. I guess to make sure if someone fell through they wouldn’t freaking die?

And Liam was just leaning against the doorframe staring at the space. He looked so comfortable and I didn’t understand how that could be possible when I was freaking out.

“Ready,” RJ said as he looked at the hole covered by the carpet one more time.

Did none of them understand that there was no party tonight? We had to fix this! If anyone found out about this, we’d be so freaking screwed. “You guys, we need to repair the ceiling. Now .”

“It’s nothing that can’t wait until later,” RJ said.

I shook my head. “No. Now .”

“Later.”

“RJ!”

“Scar.”

A moaning sound stopped my train of thought. “What is that?” I whispered. “Is the person who lives here banging someone right now?” Now we were breaking and entering and being voyeurs. Could it get any worse?

RJ laughed. “No.” He grabbed his phone. “I’m still logged in to your security cameras.” He tapped the screen a few times. “Looks like your parents are banging.” He held up his phone like I’d want to see that.

Good God no! I’d just had to ask if it could get any worse. I hit the phone out of his hand and it landed on the bean bag chair.

“Remember when Sophie wanted to tap that?” RJ asked with a laugh as he picked his phone back up. The moaning noises continued.

Sophie gagged in her borrowed fur coat.

“No,” I said firmly. “All of you stop it! Sophie take that jacket off before you hurl. RJ turn the volume on your phone off and fix the hole. And you,” I pointed to my brother.

“Did you steal a key to this woman’s apartment?

What were you thinking? Breaking and entering is a crime even if you don’t have to break anything.

” I knew as soon as I heard Hunter Hunter mess around that I was going to wind up in jail.

“What? No. I met her on the elevator like a year ago. She asked me to house sit. And she’s never been back.”

“She’s been out of town for a year?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged.

That didn’t make any sense. “And you just come in here and…what?”

He smiled. “I do things.”

“Probably like what Uncle James is doing to Aunt Penny right now,” RJ said as he turned the volume on his phone off.

Sophie dry heaved.

“Okay, enough!” I yelled. “What are we going to do?!”

Sophie took off the ushanka and shrugged out of the fur coat. “We’re going to the party.”

“Did you not hear anything I just said?”

“Scar, I took off the jacket.”

“But the hole!” I pointed to the ceiling.

“No one can see it,” Sophie said.

“Are you kidding me right now?” I pointed to it to emphasize the fact that you could in fact see the hole.

“I mean, yeah, we can see it. But no one can see it from upstairs. The carpet is back in place. And even if someone does stumble upon that room, which they won’t, they’ll land gently on the bean bag chair.”

“I did not land gently.” My butt still hurt.

“Wait, did RJ not warn you about the hole?”

RJ laughed.

“I’m going to kill you,” I said.

“You would never.” He laughed again. “You’d miss me too much. Now come on, let’s get going, baby doll.”

I glared at him.

“Really, Scar, it’s fine,” Liam said. “I was talking to Briggs and Porter while you were escaping. They didn’t see a thing. And no one except the four of us knows about the hole.”

“And it looks like you’re sleeping peacefully in your bed.” RJ showed me his phone where there was a live feed to my room instead of my parents’ now.

It did look like I was there sleeping. “Wait, how long have you been hacked into the cameras?”

“A while.”

“Did you watch me change, you little pervert?”

RJ laughed. “No, because I’m not a pervert.”

“Yes you are.” I tried to grab his phone but he held it out of my reach.

Seriously, when did Liam and RJ get so tall?

“I’ll ex out of it,” RJ said. “Look.” He did something with his hands in the air and then showed me the blank screen. “See. Done.”

“Pervert.”

He laughed. “You know you love me. Now shall we?” He gestured to the door.

Above the door in a bright pink scrawl were the words: Single Girl Rule #1: Boys are replaceable. Friends are forever.

I had never heard of Single Girl Rules before. Only girl code. But I assumed it was something like that based on the rule. And even though Liam and RJ were boys and everyone in this room was related to me, they were my closest friends. And maybe just maybe I’d been a little harsh with them.

“I’m sorry I was freaking out, guys,” I said. “I just didn’t expect to fall through the ceiling tonight. But thank you. For helping me break out.” I couldn’t have done it without them.

“No problem,” Sophie said and handed me the pair of black heels she’d promised to bring me. I just hoped they were hers and didn’t belong to the woman who lived here. I kicked off my sneakers and slipped on the heels. “Seriously, I appreciate it.”

RJ saluted me and Liam just shrugged.

“But we will fix that, right?” I said and pointed to the ceiling.

“Yup,” RJ said. “You have my word.”

As annoying as he sometimes was, he never broke his word. “Okay, then I guess we have a party to go to.”

Sophie smiled. “Axel is going to lose his mind when he sees you.”

I looked down at my heels. They looked much better with my dress than the sneakers had. “We better make this a night to remember, because if my dad sees that hole I’ll never be allowed out of my room again.”

“This is already the best night ever,” RJ said.

“Which part?” The making a hole in the ceiling? Seeing my parents banging? Watching me almost break my neck?

“All of it.”

I glared at him. He liked power tools too much for his own good.

“Are you sure you don’t want to wear the fur coat?” Sophie asked. “You’d look like such a boss strolling in...”

“Absolutely not,” I said.

She shrugged. “You’re right. You don’t need it. Isn’t Axel going to drool when he sees her, guys?”

“Can we not?” Liam said.

“Yeah,” RJ said.

I ignored both of them and stood up a little straighter. We had a party to get to.