Page 93 of The Temptation of Truth

“If you lose an arm, I’m not going to feel sorry for you, Boss!” He shakes his head with a sigh. “No one ever listens to me.”

“Last time I listened to you, I singed off my eyebrows and eyelashes,” Crue deadpans.

“You prove my point, wanker. If you’dlistenedto me, that wouldn’t have happened.” Ezra waves him off, then takes off at a jog toward the house. “I call dibs on the primary!”

I look between Crue and Beckett. “Is it always chaotic like this?”

“Yes.”

“Nah.”

They speak at the same time, and I smile. “Perfect answer.”

We head into the house, and everyone disperses down hallways and up staircases. I stop in the foyer and stare awkwardly. We were given no direction like at the lodge. No room assignments. Am I supposed to justcall dibs? The thought makes me nervous. That might work for Ezra, but there’s no way I could do that. I’d just as soon sleep outside and take my chances with a kangaroo.

“Hey. You good?”

I turn around and find Mabel standing in the doorway. I shrug.

“What exactly am I supposed to do?”

“Well, it’s a bit of a free for all at the moment, but everyone is claiming rooms.”

My shoulders slump, and she smiles before stepping beside me and jutting her chin toward the staircase.

“C’mon. We can do it together. The house is huge, and there’s a pool house, too. That’s where the Caveat boys will stay.”

“But Ezra called dibs on the primary bedroom.”

Mabel laughs. “He’ll be corralled.”

On the upper level, I find Claire, Jonah, and their daughter already in one room, then another room occupied by Brynnlee. Mabel leans closer and lowers her voice.

“The trick is knowing who is safe to room beside.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if you’re next to Claire and Jo, you risk hearing Teddy in the middle of the night. She’s usually a pretty good sleeper, but it’s always a gamble.”

I nod. “Okay.”

“Brynn is always safe, and so are Sav and Levi. Ziggy will bark sometimes in the morning when she needs to pee, but not often. You want to avoid Callie and Torren at all costs, though. Hopefully there’s a lower-level room they can stay in.”

“What? Why?”

“That way they can fuck without us having to hear it.”

I snort an awkward laugh and try to act cool despite the heat rushing to my cheeks. “So? I can wear my headphones for fifteen minutes.”

Mabel smirks. “Tryall night.”

I’m nearly bowled over with shock, and my next sentence escapes in a squeaky, whispered rush.

“They have sex all night?”

I can feel my eyebrows practically in my hairline, and Mabel glances at me curiously.

“Yeah. Headboard banging and moaning you can hear through a cinderblock wall.”