Page 51 of Never Dance with the Devils (Never Say Never #6)

RIGGS

“ G ood morning, Sleeping Ugly.”

The unwelcome voice breaks into my unconsciousness, dragging me from delicious dreams. I crack open one eye, unfortunately not seeing Kayla beside me, but Maddox a solid two feet away on the other side of the bed.

It’s still too close, especially since my dream has me at full mast. “I really hate waking up alone in bed with you.”

“Same. But we have a problem.”

I’m instantly awake, lifting my head to search the room for Kayla. “Where is she?”

“Work… apparently.”

I let my head fall back to the fluffy soft pillow, unbothered. “She said she’d have shit to do after last night’s meeting imploded.”

Maddox hums thoughtfully. “Maybe, but look.”

He holds a piece of paper in front of my face, nearly touching my nose with it. Irritated, I snatch it out of his hand so I can hold it at a more reasonable distance for reading .

Went to the office. Call me as soon as you wake up.—K

It’s scribbled, obviously written in a hurry, and doesn’t have Kayla’s lipstick kiss print on the bottom like that first note she left. That disappointments me more than it probably should.

“You getting a sense of déjà vu? Because I am.” Maddox’s declaration comes as he steals the note back, reading it for himself again.

He’s leaned back against the headboard with the sheet puddled in his lap, and I stare at him, noting every micro-expression that crosses his face as he scans the piece of paper.

He’s worried, and he’s not a person who worries…

about anything. I clamber out of the bed, pulling my underwear on like the world’s most useless armor and glad that stress has got me down to barely chubbed.

“You think she’s panicking? Because of the asshole at the restaurant or… what we did?”

Last night was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

Literally. I never once considered taking a woman with Maddox like that, but as soon as Kayla said she wanted it, I did too.

And, to me at least, it’d felt like a final puzzle piece clicking into place.

It felt… right. Not that it needs to be like that every time, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s on my mental list of awesome shit to do again.

“All of the above, yes.”

“Fuck.” Just like that, cold dread builds in my gut, spreading through my arms and legs to the point of numbness but sending my heart rate through the roof.

Kayla gave us a bit more information about her work deal last night, mostly saying that she’d have to go in early today to handle it.

But she’d seemed confident it was manageable, so there’s no professional reason for her to panic, which leaves the video of Maddox punching the guy as a possible freak-out point of origin.

But the scarier possibility is that she’s running because of us.

Out of fear that what we did last night—not the double penetration, but the gritted words with even deeper meaning laced through them—came too soon, too fast, too strong for her.

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” I admit, not regretting the feelings, but the honesty.

“You weren’t exactly quoting Shakespeare, but it was pretty damn obvious what you were saying,” he says. He arches one brow. “You mean it? You love her?”

“Don’t you?” I’m deflecting and we both know it, but I also want to know where Maddox’s head is at. I have no doubt about mine, but I want to see his cards before showing my hand.

He’s quiet for a long moment before he carefully says, “Kayla isn’t the type to jump in the deep end with both feet and her eyes closed, but in a lot of ways, she’s done just that with us. I think she’s going to backslide before she commits.”

His non-answer pisses me off, despite having done the same thing myself for a relatively similar reason—fear.

“Sounds a lot like someone else I know. Someone who is perfectly content to let things stay surface-level, or even shallower, but as soon as things get the slightest bit deep, or real, he laughs it off like a joke,” I growl.

“It’s a valid defense mechanism, but at some point, you’re going to have to risk it for the biscuit. ”

It's the most I’ve ever called him on his bullshit because I’m not sure Kayla is the one panicking.

I think The Panicker is still in the room with me, fighting to uphold his image as a carefree, easy-going guy who can bounce back from anything in record time.

But underneath that image, there’s a man with a good heart, one he hides from almost everyone.

That he’s shown it to Kayla demonstrates that she is as different for him as she is for me.

She'd better fucking be , I think, glaring at Maddox and suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to punch him.

He clenches his jaw, grinding his teeth together. “Yeah, I’m going to have to go a little deeper, but you’re gonna have to trust her enough to let her into that fortress you call a heart.”

I snort out a humorless laugh. “Man, she’s there. Terrifyingly so. Like I might legit have a breakdown about it if you fuck this up for me. So of the two of us, I’m not the holdout.”

He stares at me silently for a moment before thumping his head back against the headboard, looking up at the ceiling. “Fuck.”

His echo of my earlier sentiments says he’s finally catching on to how deep we’re in this thing. With a grin, I say, “Welcome to the club.”

He flips me off with an annoyed huff, still looking upward.

Okay, so we’re on the same page. Basically, without the words, we’re both admitting that we’re in love with Kayla. This is major for both of us. But on to the other issue at hand. “Do you really think she’s panicking? Or is that some misplaced psychobabble shit from our own insecurities?”

“Both?” he answers uncertainly. “It doesn’t feel right. My Spidey senses are going off.” He waves the piece of paper around.

“Have you called her yet?” It’s a completely reasonable question considering Kayla even mentions it in the note, but Maddox shakes his head.

“Wanted to see what you thought first.”

“Fucking call her,” I order, “and put it on speakerphone.”

The line rings three times before Kayla answers, sounding breathless. “Hey. You’re up early.”

“Yeah, saw your note.” Maddox is tip-toeing around what he really wants to say, which is ‘are you running out on us again?’. It’s a good move so that we don’t look like the desperate scaredy-cats we actually are.

“Have you been online yet?” she asks, surprising me a bit. That’s not what I expected at all.

To Maddox too, given his brows slam together. “Not since last night. Is Brent doing damage control?”

“I wish. No, I’m the one going up in flames currently. There’s video of us outside the restaurant. I’m no longer Kayla Harrington, heir apparent to Blue Lake Assets and Vice President of Acquisitions. Nope, I’m just the latest and greatest in a line of Mad-Tricks.”

“Son of a bitch,” I hiss out. I’ve got my phone out, my search starting as soon as she said ‘online’, and I’m seeing exactly what she’s talking about. “There are headlines on sports pages, still images from the video, and… fuck, the Reddit boards are lit up.”

I lean over the bed, holding my phone closer to Maddox so he can see the absolute shitstorm brewing, and ask, “What can we do?”

“Nothing. Just lay low,” she says, sounding all business. “It won’t help matters if you’re seen leaving my condo, doing the walk of shame in last night’s clothes.”

I’m not ashamed. I’m damn proud to love this woman .

“Kayla,” I say warningly.

“Look,” she starts, “this is probably no big deal to you. It won’t hurt your career or cause anything worse than a few side-eyes.

But for me, this is big. Professionally, personally, with my family.

” She’s quiet for a second, like she’s considering all the ways this could fuck her over, then she bites out, “Fuck, I’ve got to talk to Mom and Dad before they find out.

Some garden club bitch would be all too happy to drop this bomb on my unsuspecting mother. That’s how they work.”

I have no concept of how garden clubs work, but I understand bitchy women who take perverse delight in others’ discomfort.

Which means I need to call my parents too.

If this is as big as Kayla says, it will reach people back home, and I want Mom and Dad to hear my version—the truth, not some overly sensationalized bullshit gossip.

“Let us help,” Maddox says. “We’re in this together. We’re in this with you.”

Even though she can’t see me, I nod along, agreeing whole-heartedly.

“I know,” she says, a little more warmly, sounding like the Kayla we’re both in love with. “And I appreciate it. But I need to do this myself. It’s my reputation. Just… give me the day, okay? Can you do that?”

I meet Maddox’s eyes, both of us silently screaming that no, we cannot do that. But what he says is, “Yeah, we can do that. As long as you promise to let us know if there’s anything we can do. You’re not alone, Kayla.”

She lets out a shaky breath, and I can hear the smile on her face when she says, “I think I needed to hear that. ”

“You’re not alone,” I echo. “You’re never gonna be alone again.”

“Yeah, you’re gonna wish for a moment of solitude, but nope, here we are,” Maddox jokes, but his voice is tight. He’s forcing the levity out of habit. He’s scared she’s gonna decide this isn’t worth the drama. I’m scared she’s going to decide I’m not worth it.

We say our goodbyes, with us promising to stay put until she calls and her promising to call if she needs us, and when Maddox hangs up the phone, we lock eyes.

“I don’t like it,” I declare.

“Me neither.”

“Every fiber of my being wants to charge into her office and have her back against anyone who dares to say a single sideways word to her.” Tension is coiling through my muscles at the idea of people at her office daring to give her looks, call her names, or doubt her place in the company. I want to destroy them all.

“I want to hunt Brent down and punch him again, and then find whoever posted that other video and kill them,” Maddox agrees.

We stare at each other for a long time, both weighing the pros and cons of those actions. He sighs first, surrendering. “I’m ordering breakfast. I need a hockey puck of a steak to gnaw on to get some of this anger out. Steak and eggs?”

I shake my head. Maddox orders a food delivery, and the same thing will happen. Someone will notice his name on an order to her address. Instead, I’ve got another idea. I dial the number in my phone and when the line picks up, I’m not surprised by the answer.

“You really know how to fuck things up, don’t you? Normally, I’d approve of any tomfuckery. But since it’s my sister you’re fucking over, you should know, we’re mortal enemies again.”

“Kyle, shut up for a second and listen. We need your help.”

There’s silence on the other end of the line for only two seconds before Kyle says, “I’m listening.”