Chapter 51 Rude Awakening
FIFTY-ONE
Rude awakening
LILA
Several Minutes Earlier
Instead of being gently nudged back into consciousness, I’m startled awake by raucous pounding on a hard surface. Hopefully, that surface isn’t my head.
Rubbing my eyes, I sit up and attempt to figure out what time it is. Or what day it is.
For that matter, where am I?
Rather than refreshing me, that brief nap hit me like a truck.
As my vision comes into focus, I see I’m in Reed’s bedroom.
A female voice greets my ears. “Lila, sorry to wake you. Can I come in?”
Through the muddled fog of exhaustion, I recognize the voice.
I toss the covers off and thrust my feet to the floor. “Yep. Come in, Kri.”
She peeks through the crack in the door before easing in. “I wanted to let you sleep, but your phone is blowing up. Unfortunately, you need to deal with this.”
It took me a solid hour to fall asleep because Kenzie was relentlessly texting and calling. I eventually gave my phone to Kri and asked her to watch it in case Reed tried to contact me.
A quick glance at the clock on the nightstand reveals I managed to grab about two hours of sleep.
Judging by the apologetic look on my bodyguard’s face, that’ll have to do.
I stand, stretching both arms over my head. Through a yawn, I ask, “Kenzie again?”
Kri’s expression holds hints of sympathy. “Yes, but it’s getting worse.” She briefly nibbles her lip, then reluctantly adds, “She’s here.”
That little fun fact awakens me better than a triple espresso. “She’s here? Inside the condo?” I peek around Kri toward the hallway as if I’m waiting for my friend to give me a jump scare.
“No. Down in the lobby,” she clarifies, closing the distance between us, returning my phone to me. “At least, that’s what I’m assuming.”
Before I take it, I put my hand on my chest, exhaling a tinge of relief.
My silence has driven Kenzie to do the unthinkable—show up on her brother’s doorstep. Given how rocky their relationship has been these last few years, I’m a tad surprised she knows where he lives.
I skim the multitude of texts from Kenzie. “Her messages don’t mention anything about her coming over. How do you know she’s here?”
“My partner Aaron is patrolling the building for us, remember?” She retrieves her phone from her back pocket, quickly swiping to reveal an image. “He texted this picture to me. It’s a woman attempting to access this floor. The security guard in the lobby tipped him off.”
I tentatively glance at the photo. And my heart sinks.
Although this picture of Kenzie isn’t as horrifying as the one Silas showed me, it still stings to see it.
This is the first time I’ve seen my best friend since I realized she’d masterminded the end of my relationship with Reed.
I wonder if she’s come to try to do it again.
With a haggard sigh, I nod at Kri in confirmation. “Yep. That’s her.”
“Aaron hasn’t made contact with her yet, but he’s keeping an eye on her for us. Neither he nor the lobby guard confirmed whether you’re here yet.”
“She’s just hanging out in the lobby?” I scratch my head. Literally and figuratively. “I’m confused. Why didn’t she just come up in the elevator?”
Reed and I bypassed the lobby each time, going straight to the resident-only door that empties into the parking garage. Apparently, the building is more secure than I realized. Or maybe Kenzie doesn’t know which floor Reed’s unit is on.
“Visitors must show ID,” Kri states as if that should explain everything.
I tip my head, intensifying my gaze to prod her to continue.
“Not only did Kenzie refuse to fork over her ID, but she won’t tell the guard her name. Now they’re having a standoff.”
“Why am I not surprised? That’s classic Kenzie.”
I massage my temples to keep the burgeoning headache at bay.
But the headache is downstairs, ardently trying to force her way into a somewhat secure building by sheer intimidation and persistence.
“Listen, Lila. It isn’t my place to say this, but I get the feeling she isn’t gonna stop until she sees you.
Whatever beef you two have, she seems genuinely worried.
Her texts are a smattering of apologies and concern about your safety.
Maybe it’ll be easier to bite the bullet, give her proof of life, then send her away. ”
Level ten thousand nonsense sputters out of me. “Sure. But first, can you get my ding-dong popsicles out of the dishwasher? I need to floss before we have cake.”
For five seconds, Kri’s face freezes like she’s buffering. Then she arches one eyebrow and looks me up and down suspiciously, probably wondering if I’m a threat to national security.
Oh boy. Even those familiar with my chaos would stumble to handle that whopper. I probably should’ve given her a warning about this side of me. Either that or warmed her up first. Perhaps a mention of ninja fairies in the garden before I leveled up to the popsicles.
Attempting to play it off, I casually toss, “Reed didn’t warn you about this, did he?”
“He did not.” Her shrewd eyes soften incrementally. “Should I be concerned?”
“Not at all. Assuming you also hear the voices, I’m totally fine.” I lean close, cup my mouth, and whisper, “You do hear them, right?”
“Do you need medical intervention?”
And here we have my whimsical distraction technique in all its glory. Do you see why I will never stop living the nonsense life?
Neither of us is worried about Kenzie right now. Mission accomplished!
While I could lean into the distraction, I should probably cut my bodyguard a break. This spitfire can probably wrestle me to the ground and hog tie me without breaking a nail. I’d already given up hope of making her my new bestie, but I’d rather not end up restrained.
Not by her, anyhow. Reed and I can discuss a different type of bondage later.
But I digress.
Kri’s probably right about Kenzie, anyhow. She’s relentless. It’s best to get this over with.
I wipe the lunacy out of my expression and smile warmly. “I’m only kidding, Kri. That’s just this silly thing I do when I want to distract someone.”
Her unfairly strong yet feminine shoulders sag with relief. “And I fell right into your trap.”
I pat her upper arm comfortingly, only partially distracted by her muscles. “Don’t feel bad. Most people do. And even those who don’t fall for it end up smiling. So that’s a win.” My phone chirps with another incoming message. “Good gravy. Here she is again. Kenzie, the persistent.”
Kri studies me silently as I read more from the string of messages I missed while in dreamland. Or unconscious. Sedated? Whatever you want to call that coma sleep I just had.
I close my eyes and squeeze my cell like it personally wronged me. “You’re right. She won’t stop until she gets her way.” I plop the phone on the bed and stride to the bathroom. “Let me freshen up, and we can go down to get her.”
To my retreating back, Kri says, “While you do that, I’ll contact Reed to ensure he’s good with her visiting you. If so, I’ll have Aaron frisk her and bring her up. You shouldn’t leave the condo. Not even to go to the lobby.”
Ugh.
My face squishes into a frown, and I put my hands on my hips.
I’m fine with staying here. But I don’t want her bothering Reed about this. He’ll only be upset he isn’t by my side when I confront his sister. He said as much each time we’ve talked about the Kenzie situation.
While I very much appreciate his loving support, I don’t need him to hold my hand. This is my battle to fight as much as it is his.
Ideally, we could be a united front when we speak to her. Yet this isn’t an ideal situation. He’s out there tracking down murderers and trying to save my life. Oh, and preserve my freedom. His hands are full. Dealing with Kenzie is the least I can do to ease the burden on us all.
He can face her on his own timeline.
I’m ready to face my problems now.
No silly distractions. No cowering. And no codependency.
Raising my chin, I roll my shoulders back and plead my case. “That isn’t necessary. Kenzie is his sister. You don’t need to bother him for this. He’s investigating a double murder. That should take priority now. I can talk to Kenzie without adding this to his plate.”
“Sorry, Lila. His instructions were crystal clear. Nobody comes or goes without talking to him first. And I learned the hard way about ignoring orders.”
I study her, noting the confidence exuding from her every pore. There’s no chance I’ll convince her to change her mind.
While I’m tempted to beg, I don’t.
Whatever she and Reed discussed in the hallway before he left must have made an impression on her. I can respect that. Besides, she’s only doing her job.
“Fine. If you think it’s warranted.” I nod at her, then slink into the restroom with my tail between my legs.
On the bright side, at least I’m complying based on common sense and compassion, rather than some innate people-pleasing mechanism.
That’s gotta count for something.