Page 47 of The Betrayal You Serve

"On the field, you fucking asshole."

I throw my head back and laugh as he slams his hand down on the roof and swings the door closed. And hell if it doesn't feel fucking good to do it.

"Wait," I call after dropping the window as he starts walking toward his own car. "You're going to see her, aren't you?"

"Yeah. But I'm not putting a good word in for you. You want her, you've got to do all the work."

"Thanks," I mutter, not expecting anything different.

Luca emerges from the building while we're still obviously having a conversation and he looks between the two of us with a hard expression on his face.

"We can take it all the way again this year and you know it," I say to him.

"We'll see," he grumbles before stalking toward his car and not paying his brother an ounce of attention.

Leon doesn't seem fazed as he drops into his own car and starts the engine.

I wait for them both to disappear before I throw mine in drive and set off to do what Leon suggested. Start getting my fucking life together.

* * *

"Evenin'," Reid says when I walk into his kitchen to find him at the counter cooking something.

It's a bizarre sight but then that's Reid Harris all over. Totally fucking bizarre.

"Hey. You got any answers for me yet?"

"Funny you should ask that," he says, washing his hands and turning to me. "I was going to call you this evening."

I stare at him, waiting for him to come out and say whatever it is he's got to tell me.

"Come on, she can tell you herself."

"She's still alive?"

"Of course. What fun is she to me dead?"

"Psycho," I mutter as I follow him toward the basement door making him laugh.

The warmth of the house diminishes as we descend the stairs and the scent changes to one much less pleasant than whatever he was cooking up there.

We pass all the doors once more, making me question again if there's anyone inside them.

"How many guests do you currently have?" I ask, unable to keep the question in.

"A couple. This one is certainly my favorite."

"That means all the others are men then," I deadpan as he pulls the same door open that he'd thrown Alana behind on Saturday night when I had the pleasure of coming down here.

"Yeah, boring motherfuckers too. They scream like little bitches. Ain't that right?" he bellows, startling me as he slams his fist down repeatedly on the door next to Alana's.

No sound comes from it, I assume because they're soundproof, so I can only imagine the reaction of whoever might be inside.

"I gave my new pet a makeover. What do you think?"

With his hand on her lower back, he leads her from the small space.

My breath catches in my throat when I take in her short blonde hair. But even more shocking than the loss of her long locks is just how good it looks.