And then a bedroom light flickers on. Oh shit. I walk hurriedly to Daisy who scatters toilet paper on the grass. “Daisy,” I whisper-hiss.
She must hear the panic in my voice because she looks straight up at the house instead of at me. “Uh-oh,” she says, dropping her roll immediately. She runs to my side and a second hall light flicks on. Shit. Shit. Shit. “To the bush, to the bush.” In another life, my little sister would make a great criminal.
I point at our lingering, oblivious sister, who is in a pissed-off rant, taking her anger out on the front porch steps. “Rose—”
“I’ll get her,” Daisy whispers. “Go, go, go.”
With this encouragement, I power-walk to the prickly bush near the magnolia tree. Rose is still blinded by fury, not even noticing the lights.
Daisy clasps Rose’s arm. “Let’s go.”
“One more,” Rose insists. “I need this.”
Daisy turns to me and mouths, Go!
I realize I’ve frozen in the middle of the lawn. I defrost at the same time the floodlights illuminate the front yard. Oh shit.
This shakes Rose out of her trance and she finally unglues from the porch, skipping steps to head down to the grass. I walk faster to the bush, adrenaline keeping all the aches and pains to a dull roar.
By the time I crouch and hide, Rose and Daisy are squished beside me. We all go completely silent, the only noise comes from my heavy breathing. Rose shoots me a look to shut up. I can’t stop breathing! What does she want from me? I’m already in an uncomfortable position, unwilling to shift and lessen the strain on my quads.
The front door swings open. “I know you’re out there!” a woman yells. “If you don’t show yourselves, I’m going to call the cops to come chase you.” That doesn’t sound fun.
Daisy is trying hard not to laugh. Of course she’d like the idea of that scenario. She can sprint and flee and climb trees.
I can waddle. I’m as fast as a penguin. It’s the sad, sad truth.
“Where are you hiding?! Behind the bush? Come out right now!”
No. She has to be bluffing. Right?
The three of us share a look, undecided on our next route of action. If we reveal ourselves, she could call the cops anyway. Once she learns the famous heiresses from that trashy reality show toilet-papered her yard, she’ll take revenge. They all do.
There’s only one solution.
I pull out my cell.
{ 38 }
LOREN HALE
In the basement gym, I sit on the edge of the weight bench, not even going for another rep. I steal a glance at the baby monitor, paranoid that my son needs me and I’m two floors below.
“He’s fine,” Connor says, taking off his gloves.
“Did you develop magical powers in the last five minutes, love?” I ask, knowing it will irritate him.
He doesn’t even blink. “Process of deduction,” he tells me. “If you can’t hear him crying, it means he’s still sleeping. There’s no magic involved in that.”
Ryke drops down from the pull-up bar and picks up his water bottle. “Move,” he tells me. “I need the bench.”
I check my watch. “Aren’t you going a little hard there, bro? It’s past midnight.” He’s already lifted thirty minutes ago, and he usually prefers a core workout in the gym since his arms are pushed to the max when climbing.
“Just move.” His jaw muscles tic.
And then it clicks, and I break out into a grin. “Is this you working off your sexual frustration?”
He runs a hand through his damp hair. “I don’t know why you’re fucking smiling at me. You aren’t getting laid for four more weeks either.”
“What can I say, I like when people share in my misery.”
He throws his dirty towel at my face. I catch it in the air just as Connor switches the television channel.
“What about you?” I ask Connor. “You angry Rose is doing this pact?”
“Angry, no,” Connor tells me. “She says it’s her way of being supportive of Lily, but she’s doing it to one-up me.” He combs his fingers through his hair, fixing the wavy strands. “She forgets that I can wait without a problem, even if I don’t enjoy it. If this win makes her feel better, then I’ll give it to her.”
He’s lucky Rose isn’t here. She’d kill him for that last line. I don’t think she likes being handed a “win.” I shake my head at him as I switch the weight bench with Ryke. “Rose would gouge out your eyeballs for that.”