Page 189 of Things We Hide from the Light

“Because of that.” He nodded over my shoulder at Nash, who was offering his brother a beer and smiling while doing it. “Don’t fuck it up.”

He crossed to his friends and I closed the door feeling guilty. “So, guys. Before we start, I should probably tell you all—”

I was interrupted by another knock.

Lucian stopped trying to coax Piper out from behind Nash’s legs and frowned. “Is that Graham?”

“We know you’re in there.” Sloane’s voice carried from the other side of the door.

Nash headed for me and the door.

“That’s what I wanted to tell you,” I said, grabbing his arm.

He looked through the peephole and then shot me a “you didn’t” look.

“I did,” I confessed.

“Did what?” Knox asked, crossing his arms.

“This,” Nash said, opening the door to Naomi, Sloane, and Mrs. Tweedy.

“Okay. To clarify, I didn’t text Mrs. Tweedy,” I said.

Knox looked concerned. Lucian looked ready to commit murder. And Nash, well, Nash looked at me and rolled his eyes.

“Daisy, baby, what the fuck are you doin’ here?” Knox demanded, closing the distance between them.

She crossed her arms over her pretty violet sweater. “Lina texted us.”

Sloane, dressed in plaid pajama joggers and a matching top, put her hands on her hips. “You penises aren’t shutting us out of whatever the hell this is.”

“I’m just here ’cause it looked like a party from my peephole. I brought booze,” Mrs. Tweedy announced, holding up a bottle of bourbon.

I winced as three grumpy, male gazes landed on me.

“Angelina,” Nash began.

I held up my hands. “Hear me out. This involves all of us in one way or another except for Mrs. Tweedy. And Naomi and Sloane deserve to know what’s going on. The more heads we can put together on this, the more eyes and ears we have around town, the better prepared we’ll be.”

The men continued to glare at me.

“No one knows this town and what goes on in it better than Sloane. And Naomi earned her way here by being a target. She shouldn’t be kept in the dark. The more she knows, the safer she can be and the better she can protect Waylay,” I insisted.

“You’re not leaving me out of whatever this is. If it has anything to do with my sister or her shitty ex, I deserve to know what’s going on,” Naomi insisted to Knox.

“You don’t need to worry about this, Daze,” he assured her, gripping her gently by the biceps. “I’ve got this. I’ve got you and Way. You need to trust me to take care of this.”

Naomi’s face softened momentarily before going grumpy again. “Andyouneed to trustme. I’m not a child. I deserve full disclosure and open lines of communication.”

Sloane hooked her thumb in Naomi’s direction. “Yeah. What she said.”

“This has nothing to do with you. When are you going to learn to mind your own business?” Lucian said, addressing Sloane in a tone so icy I almost shivered.

Well, at least the big guy was pissed at someone besides me for once.

Sloane, however, appeared to be immune to the Rollins freeze. “Shut it, Satan. If it involves my town and people I care about, it involves me. I wouldn’t expect you to understand that.”

The stare off began and I wondered whose neck would get tired first, given their height difference.