Page 18

CHAPTER 18

KEVIN

“ Shit, I’ve been here so long. I’m gonna make safety my first priority. I can fix him later if it comes to that. ”

“What? Fix who?” I ask, confused as fuck by Ezra’s ramblings. Instead of answering, all I hear is my music begin to play since he simply hung up on me. “Fuck,” I groan, then quickly dial Tatum’s number.

I’m careful to keep my eye on the road as I head over to Richard’s place. We’re supposed to wait on Veronica to arrive, then I’ll follow the two of them up to the cabin. I was already on my way when he called to let me know her flight was delayed by about an hour, but I’m not going to turn around just wait fifteen minutes at my place.

The phone rings a few times before going to Tatum’s voicemail. “Hey, Tate. Listen, Ezra just called me and I think he’s spiraling right now. I’ve no idea what he’s up to, but he said he tried to call you before he got a hold of me. Give him a call, would you? Then let me know what’s going on. Thanks.”

I try to call Ezra back, but his phone goes immediately to voicemail. I’m annoyed for the remainder of my drive, but let it go as soon as I pull up to Richard’s building. Heading inside, I wait until security lets me through and I take the elevator to the top floor where his apartment is.

The door is cracked already, so I enter, announcing myself as I shut the door.

“In the kitchen,” he calls out, and I find him reheating dinner. “You eat already? There’s enough here if you want some.”

“I’m good. I ate before I got on the road. When’s Veronica supposed to get here?”

He eyes me for a second. “It’s Victoria. I’m not sure she’ll appreciate you screwing her name up to her face.”

Closing my eyes, I nod once, pushing away the slight sick feeling surrounding her name and knowing I’m going to fuck another woman after Miriam. It just doesn’t feel right and I’m having second thoughts.

“Right, yeah, I won’t fuck that up. Listen, I’ll still go up with you two, but I’ll be honest. I’m not sure I’m in the mood for another long weekend of this. I might just use the time to relax.”

Richard is listening to me, but takes a few more bites before choosing his words. I’m actually quite surprised by his response.

“I won’t deny that I’m wavering as well. Unfortunately, she’s already traveled and the least we can do is go up. I’ll talk with her on the drive and let her know there aren’t any expectations of her, and if anything, it’ll just be some time away from everything. If things change, we can address it at that time.”

It’s as if a huge weight lifts from my shoulders. Obviously, I refuse to do something I’m not happy about, but not having to worry about my friend’s reaction to it makes it less stressful.

“Perfect. We can still compensate her for her time, but we’ll just tell her she can have use of the cabin and hot tub, or whatever she’d like to do.”

“I was planning to bring some work along anyway. If she fusses, I’ll just use the excuse that something came up.” Taking a larger bite, he hums to himself, clearly more relaxed about this trip now as well. Squinting, he then asks, “You sure you’re okay without some cuddle time this weekend?”

My laughter bursts out, freed from the unnecessary guilt of moving on, and I revel in it. “Yeah, I’m certain I’ll be okay. You’ll survive without pretending you’re knocking someone up?” I tease back.

Laughing harder when his grin changes to a scowl, he ignores my question. Instead, he asks, “Anything big going on at the station?”

“Not really. Either on hold, waiting for court dates, or typical day-to-day calls. Anything big going on in the office?”

He snorts and shakes his head, then takes his plate to the sink to rinse. “Not really. Typical day-to-day calls.” Checking his phone, he adds, “She said she’ll grab a cab over here. Her plane landed. We’ve got about another hour or so to kill.”

We chat about nothing important for a while. Time moves slowly as we wait for this woman’s arrival before I finally move toward a heavier topic.

“Hey, I meant to ask, did Ezra call you today?” I debate how much to tell him. He doesn’t dislike Ezra, but I know Richard can get uncomfortable around the wildness of him.

Heading toward his bedroom, he nonchalantly responds. “No. Should he have?”

I wait until he returns with his bag for the weekend before filling him in.

“Possibly. He called me on my way here and was a bit of a mess.” I note Richard’s snort from my “mess” label, and keep explaining. “Yes, yes. I know he’s always a bit of a mess, but this was different. Nonsensical, panicked, but lucid. Does that make sense?”

“Huh.” He sticks his hands in his pockets and rocks back, thinking it over. “What’d he say? Normally when he gets in that kind of state of mind, he’s, well… gone. Up there.” When he taps his head to stress the point, I agree.

“That’s why I thought maybe he’d have called. He was talking about his dad, protection, and upset about someone being messed up like him. That, and…” I trail off, scratching the back of my head, curious if I should add the last part. Deciding to go for it, I just say the words. “And tampons.”

Richard jerks his head in surprise and raises a brow. “Tampons?”

“Yes.”

“And he was lucid? You sure?”

“Very.” I stress the truth with my word, and I know he understands. It’s obvious he’s also a bit concerned, but has no ideas.

He just shrugs. “I’m unsure what any of that means. I know he’s got a rough past with his dad, but the rest is a mystery. You call Tate?”

I nod. “No answer, but I left a message.”

The intercom buzzes and Richard strolls over to answer, then tells security we’ll be down in a few minutes. Turning, he locks eyes and blows out a breath. “I’m not certain what we can even do. We can try calling him again?—”

“His phone is off now.”

“Then I’m not sure what there’s to do. Victoria is here. We’ll figure it out this weekend. I’m sure it’ll be nothing once he’s calmed down. Ready to go?”

I still don’t feel right just leaving, or comfortable with the whole weekend, but I remind myself that I’m not going to participate with Ver— Victoria . Following Richard down to the main floor, before we exit the elevator, I tell him where I’m parked and that I’ll follow.

Victoria is standing in the lobby with three large pieces of designer luggage piled around her, and she’s clutching an oversized handbag.

She is a lovely woman. Tall, close to five-foot-ten, lithe like a dancer, blonde hair that doesn’t look bleached. Her make-up is flawless and she’s technically perfection. But there’s nothing that inspires desire as I brush my eyes over her. Lifting my chin, I silently greet her, then carry on outside, leaving Richard to greet her.

I hear the beginnings of an explanation of my departure, but don’t catch it all as soon as the chilled air hits my face. I didn’t realize how warm it was inside, so I tug at my shirt to cool my body off.

It’s not long before Richard has Victoria loaded into his car and we’re on our way to the cabin. It’s a bit of a drive, so we’ll get in late, but that’ll be another good reason for all of us to find our separate bedrooms and distance ourselves from each other. I’m an early riser, so I plan to keep myself occupied.

Without knowing Victoria’s personality, I’m hopeful she’ll be quiet and maintain her distance. I don’t have plans to be rude, but I’ll establish my boundaries early if need be.

Throughout the drive, I call both Tatum and Ezra a few more times, the former ringing before going unanswered and the latter directly to voicemail.

What I’m not expecting is to see the cabin lit up like a fucking Christmas tree and Ezra’s vehicle parked out front. Both Richard and I sit in our vehicles, staring at the house in confusion, then we glance at each other, together understanding that this is not good.

Both of us hurriedly get out of our cars, leaving a chatting Victoria to follow. She’s annoyed and complains. “Hey! What about my things? I’ve got products in there and they can’t stay in the cold for too?—”

“I’ll grab them in a minute. We need to figure out what’s going on first,” Richard snaps over his shoulder. Then to me, he asks in a lowered voice as we climb the porch steps, “The hell is Ezra doing here? When he was lucid , did he mention he was coming here?”

“No,” I bite out. “I told you everything I remember him saying. I wouldn’t have missed this piece of information.”

“Fuck,” he groans, then tries to open the door, finding it locked. “Why the hell is he locked in there? How the hell did he get in?” he asks, fumbling with his keys to get the door opened.

Victoria is panting behind us, blowing into her hands. “It’s freezing up here. I didn’t realize it was so remote. You sure you’ve got sufficient electricity for hot water?”

I glance back at her, speaking to her for the first time. “Obviously. All the lights are on.” Turning away from her after she parts her mouth in an oh , I wave her forward to follow Richard inside, then halt.

Ezra should have been the one we’re facing. Instead it’s a very wild and furious Miriam.

“What the fuck are you doing here? Are you following us?” Richard is already stomping toward her, just as irate, but all I can do is stare in shock.

She’s standing there in a gorgeous fury, arms flying up to stop him from coming closer. “Don’t get in my face, pendejo . And don’t be a fucking idiot. How the hell would I be following you when I’ve been here for over an hour against my will? ”

Ignoring Richard’s incredulous snort, I find myself stuck on the “against her will” comment. Glancing around the room, my eyes fall to an elated Ezra, stretched across the couch and grinning from ear to ear.

“Who the hell is this?” Victoria asks the room, which has Miriam snapping her head toward the unknown voice.

“Who the fuck are you?” she bites back, eyeing her over, then darts her eyes to me for a brief moment. I don’t miss the flash of understanding and hint of hurt as she realizes what this is. “Nevermind,” she grumbles, then faces off with Richard once more. “You all can enjoy your fuckfest, I just need someone to get my bag from that asshole so I can leave.”

She stresses asshole with a thumb over her shoulder toward Ezra. He still hasn’t said a word, just solely focused on Miriam as she plants her hands on her hips and waits for someone to do as she asks.

“Where’s her bag, Ez?” Richard’s question comes out sharp and it’s obvious he’s impatient. Without giving him a chance to answer, to Miriam, he adds, “We very specifically discussed the no contact portion of your NDA. I could take you to court for violating it.”

Standing up straighter, she pushes her hair off her shoulders and takes a step toward him. “I could argue that it’s null and void since you didn’t hold up your end of the contract. Seems I never did get paid for being your whore. Isn’t that right, Mr. Leigh? Better make sure you pay this one. You don’t seem like someone who normally makes mistakes.”

Richard bares his teeth, but it’s Victoria who shoves her way forward and puts her nose in the middle of this mess. “Excuse me, you bitch?” Her insult has Ezra’s smile falling away, and he immediately sits up, his attention now focused on the woman he sees as a threat. “I don’t know what you’re implying, but I’m not a fucking whore.” She looks Miriam up and down, the sneers. “But if I were, I’m sure I’d fetch a much better price than the fifty bucks they would toss your way.”

Instead of reacting, Miriam simply stares her down, then to Richard, says, “Wow. I have to say, I’m disappointed in your taste.” Then to all of us, she demands, “I’d like to go now.”

As she marches toward the door, a flurry of things happen all at once. Victoria screeches and lunges for Miriam, grabs a fistful of her thick hair and yanks back hard. I rush to catch Miriam before she hits the ground, clearly not expecting the attack from behind.

Wrapping my arms around her, I only have the briefest of seconds to recognize how good she feels in my hands before Tatum’s voice shouts from the door, “What the fuck is going on in here?!”

When the hell did he show up?

Then Ezra rocks us all to the core, rendering all of us speechless.

“Get your fucking bitch off our girl, Dick. She’s fucking pregnant, and she’s not stepping one foot out of my sight.”

My eyes fall to Miriam’s, and I see the truth behind the blaze of rage and promised retribution on all of us.