Page 47 of Sugar (Gilded #1)

A Fucking Mess

MADDIE

“ Y ou okay?” I asked Tripp as I took the stool next to him at his breakfast bar.

It was as lovely yet uncomfortable as everything else in his house seemed to be.

He answered my question with one of his own. “Can I tell you something?”

“Sure.”

“You are sweet, funny, and have impeccable taste in movies.” He lifted his mug. “But you make a shit cup of coffee.”

“We all have our flaws.” I shrugged. “And I never make my own coffee. I buy it. Or rather, Easton sends it to me.”

“Oh yeah, he mentioned that. You love the roasted marshmallow one from Velvet Roast.”

Finally .

I lowered my voice. “I don’t think I’m supposed to know where he gets it from.”

“Oh shit. Forget I said anything.”

“Done.”

Unless it’s a caffeine emergency.

I scanned the mostly empty kitchen. “Did you just move in?”

“Six months ago.”

That was surprising. With as barren as it was, I assumed it was recent, and the party was a housewarming one to celebrate.

“I’ve been busy with Old Flame ,” he explained.

“I’m sure it’ll be amazing once you have time to decorate. It’s already beautiful,” I lied because I didn’t want to insult his home.

That was reserved for Easton and his white and beige mausoleum.

Though, with all the off-white stone and tile, Tripp’s house might’ve stolen the mausoleum title.

Tripp took another gulp of coffee before grimacing. “Thanks. It has a meticulously curated wine cellar.”

“Oh. Do you drink wine?”

“I do not. Which is fine because it didn’t include any.”

My brows lowered. “Then I don’t know what that means.”

“Neither do I, but my real estate agent said it so many times, it’s seared into my brain. That, and the sparkling pool backyard oasis. I don’t know what makes it a sparkling pool but?—”

His words were cut off when something heavy dropped upstairs.

“Any chance you have company stashed up there for later?” I asked with an eyebrow waggle.

“Nope,” he said as he hopped up. He took a detour into the other room to grab a stick from near the pool and foosball tables before heading up the stairs.

Uh oh.

It wasn’t a knife where he would stumble and stab himself, but it was still a weapon. I scanned around for Easton, but I was pretty sure he was still out back, clearing out the rest of the stragglers.

I gripped my phone and took off after Tripp to make sure he didn’t do anything dangerous.

Or headline-worthy.

Noise spilled out into the hallway as he threw open a door. “Party’s over.”

“Not up here, it isn’t. Hit?”

“Are you seriously doing lines off my dead mother’s coffee table right now?” Tripp yelled, his voice shaking with fury.

“Oh, bro. My bad.”

“What are you doing in here? I said no one upstairs.”

“I figured that applied to everyone else. You know I can’t party downstairs with people streaming every breath they take.”

The smell of skunky weed wafted out of what was clearly an at home theater—and the only cool room I’d seen.

Four guys sat in the first row of leather recliners.

One had a woman on him, and I was fairly certain they were having sex with no thought to their audience.

Two were passing an impressively large bong back and forth.

And one was bent to snort white powder that was lined up near a pill bottle.

I didn’t have the same authoritative voice as Easton, but I was willing to be the bad guy in his place. “He said party’s?—”

My words didn’t trail off. They cut off abruptly when Tripp moved, and I saw who was sitting on the floor in front of the low table.

Not just sitting there.

Sitting there with an expansive selection of pharmaceuticals spread in front of him.

“Maddie?” Josh scrambled to sweep the bottles, baggies, and cash into his tattered backpack.

“Eh, eh, watch it,” Chase fucking Majors said when the white powder strayed from the tidy line. He ducked down to snort it up before any more was lost. He came up, squeezing and wiggling his nose as he went, and his glazed eyes landed on me. “Hey, I know you. Still with the old dude?”

“Get out,” I ordered.

Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t intimidated by me as he gave an annoying laugh. “I’m a guest here. You’re the help. No, you’re not even that. You’re fucking the help.”

“Fuck you,” Tripp shot back. It wasn’t the cleverest response, but it was more than I would be capable of right then. He looked at the other people in the room. “Fuck all of you. Now get the hell out of my house before I make sure none of you work on a movie with me again.”

“Who fucking cares?” Chase asked.

But apparently, they did because everyone except for Chase and Josh hauled ass from the room with mumbled apologies.

“Whatever.” Chase stood and staggered. “This party sucked anyway.”

And now he’s taking his ball and going home like a spoiled jerk.

“Let’s go, Josh.”

Worse than his ball.

“Gimme a minute,” Josh said as he rushed toward me. Gripping my arm, he backed us a few steps from the two bickering actors.

“I wouldn’t touch her if you want to keep that hand,” Tripp called.

Josh snatched it back, proving he wasn’t a complete dumbass.

Just ninety-nine percent dumbass.

“Chase Majors is the diva you work for?” I asked.

He didn’t bother to answer. His voice was a fervent plea. “You can’t tell Greer about this. I’m trying to get her back, and if she finds out?—”

It wasn’t the smart thing to do, but I couldn’t help it.

I started laughing.

“I’m serious, Maddie. Please .”

“You’re insane if you think I would keep this from her.”

“I get that she’s your girl, and you’re protective. But I’m good for her. You know that. Who else would put up with her neurotic bullshit?”

“Do you think this is helping?”

“Am I wrong?” he shot back. Not giving me the chance to list all the many ways he was ridiculously—and stupidly—incorrect, he kept spewing flimsy justifications. “I’m just looking out for my future with her. Pretty soon, I’ll be able to provide her with a good life. But not if you blow this up.”

“If you think that’s what Greer wants or needs, you don’t know her at all. She would tell you to shove your money up your ass if she were here, so I’m doing it in her place.”

He hesitated for a second, but when I turned to walk away, he rushed out, “It’s in your best interest to keep this between us, too.”

I wasn’t sure if he thought I was there as a rager attendee, Tripp’s companion, or for some other clandestine reason. None were true, so I didn’t care what leverage he thought he had. “I seriously doubt that.”

“So you’re cool with your parents losing everything?”

I did, however, care about that.

I whipped around. “What does that mean?”

Holding my gaze, he lifted his bag and gave it a meaningful shake.

Rattling the pills.

“Where do you think I get my supply?” he asked quietly.

I rolled my eyes. “My dad would never ?—”

“But for money and influence, Doug sure would. You know it. I know it. And my hidden away insurance policy knows it. So who is going to believe that your dad didn’t know what his close friend and partner was up to?”

I staggered back.

“Exactly. Unless you want your parents to go down with him, you’ll keep your mouth shut.” He raised a finger. “No, actually, you’ll do the opposite of that. You’ll help me get Greer back. She listens to you.”

“No.”

“No?”

“You can’t use this against my dad without implicating yourself.”

“Are you willing to take that risk?”

He might as well have declared checkmate because he knew he had me. The cocky swagger as he walked away said it, too.

I wanted to snatch the pool cue from Tripp and beat both Josh and Chase with it, but I couldn’t. I was rooted to the spot, my brain a jumble of thoughts as my stomach churned.

Everything my parents worked for.

What they’ve built.

And poor Greer.

What a fucking mess.

“What’re you doing awake, guppy?” Easton rumbled as he turned on the kitchen light.

I hadn’t even noticed it was still off.

“I couldn’t sleep and came down for some water.”

He scanned the empty island in front of me.

I also hadn’t even noticed I never got any.

I was preoccupied and devastated and conflicted and scared out of my mind, but I still noticed how good he looked in his basketball shorts, mussed hair, and nothing else.

Nothing could distract me from that.

He walked over and wrapped his arms around my waist before burying his face in my neck. His touch was soft, but his voice was firm. Unyielding. “Tell me what’s going on. You’ve barely said a word since Tripp’s.”

After my distressing conversation with Josh, I’d gone downstairs just as Easton came in from the backyard.

It was a good thing he’d been there since a run-in between him and Chase would’ve taken the night from horrific to complete hell.

I’d helped Tripp secure cardboard over the missing front door while Easton did a sweep to ensure everyone was actually gone.

I’d blame my silence on exhaustion but since I was awake before five and not in his bed where I belonged, I doubted he’d buy the excuse again.

“If I tell you something, are you bound by ethics or the law or whatever to report it?” I asked.

His body tightened, but his answer was automatic. “Depends on what, but it’s you, so no.”

“But—”

“You come first, Madeline.”

I took a shuddering breath before admitting, “I saw something at Tripp’s.”

“You’ve got to narrow it down a little. Knowing him, that could be a secret camera that I promise wouldn’t actually be a secret, a stash of Viagra-laced uppers, or a crystal dick.”

There was a lot I could’ve delved into there, but I wasn’t in the mood. “A group was snorting lines upstairs.”

“That happens.”

“The provider of said drugs was Greer’s ex.”

“Oh fuck, Maddie.” He spun me in his hold and cupped my cheeks. “I mean, he’s her ex for a reason. Does it even matter?”

“Yes, because according to him, her dad is supplying the drugs.”

I expected him to stagger back like I had. To be shocked. Stunned. Aghast.

But he didn’t look fazed.

Not in the slightest.