Page 25 of The Fractured

Someone had propped the front door open with a rock. I kicked it out from beside the door once I was inside and then headed upstairs via the elevator.

Getting a key hadn’t been something we discussed. Not that we were avoiding it. The conversation just hadn’t happened yet.

It was Kira who answered the door when I arrived at it on the third floor.

“Hi, roomie— Should I call you roomie?” She stepped aside to let me in, speaking quietly. “You’ve practically moved in anyway.”

I half smiled as we walked down the short hallway into the living room. “Why are you up so late?”

“Binge-watching trashy TV.” She headed to the couch, where she picked up an empty mug, stained with remnants of hot chocolate, and switched off the TV. “Why are youbackso late?”

“Meetin’ with the boss.”

“Right. Yes. Seb mentioned you had one…”

We were now standing at opposite ends of the living room — me slowly drifting toward Lily’s bedroom door and Kira at hers, hesitating as if she had something to ask.

“Seb is fine,” I said.

“Oh, really? Good. That’s good… Well. Goodnight.” She smiled quickly and then stepped into her bedroom.

Just friends, Seb had told me when I asked him about what was going on between him and Kira.

I half smiled and entered Lily’s room.

The lamp was on, and the bed was made, and Lily was fast asleep on the covers with a book closed over her thumb. As she said on the phone earlier tonight, she was in sweats, along with one of my hoodies.

I moved quietly to the left side of the bed, unbuttoning and removing my shirt. Once it was tossed into the wash basket in the corner of the room, I began removing my jeans. They got halfway down my thighs before I remembered what was in them.

“Shit,” I hissed, pulling out the thin wire and mic I had haphazardly tucked into my pants at the club. I was meant to return the wire before I got home.

“Why do you have a wire in your pants?” Lily’s sleepy voice pulled my attention to her as she propped herself up on her elbow. She yawned and rubbed her eye with the heel of her palm, smiling despite sleep threatening to pull her back under.

“I—Uh…” I glanced down again.

I knew I wanted to tell her, but not likethis.

In nothing but my briefs and socks. Pants around my ankles.

My hesitation prompted Lily to sit up, her smile quickly fading into a frown.

She asked again, but slower, “Why are you wearing a wire?”

I stepped out of my pants, tossed the device on the bed, and placed my hands on my hips. “You’re gonna hate what I say, but fuck it.”

Lily simply listened as I went over everything, starting with the day her dad picked me up from work and brought me in for questioning.

The mention of her father deepened her frown.

I was working undercover for her dad, fighting for Antonio again just so Roxy could play boss and get close to Gabriele to figure out what the triplets' plans were, and I was facing prison time. That’s if I wasn’t caught by the triplets or Antonio before then.

“Everything has gone to shit,” I said, trying for sarcasm as I pulled on a pair of gray sweatpants.

Lily was quiet for a moment, processing it all before she spoke again. “But, either way, you’ll be going to prison after all of it…”

Suddenly, she looked too lonely on that bed. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth and shook her head in disbelief.

Her voice was quiet. Soft. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”