61. Cairo
SIXTY-ONE
cairo
“Motherfucker, call me.” I hang up for the hundredth time and stare back down at Reeve’s name on my phone.
It keeps going to voicemail. Hinting to the fact he’s not going to be found tonight, and he’s possibly not coming home.
Yet, he needs to.
Like seriously right the fuck now.
Because behind the bookcase that Bay heard something banging behind was Luther Stanton—Reeve’s deteriorating dad.
A man who has been missing for eight years.
Behind the secret space was a set of steep stairs that led into a stone and concrete prison that smelled like piss, death, and mold. All three combinations made my stomach tightly coil, prompting my nausea and immediate retreat up the stairs because it told me everything I needed to know.
Elaine did this.
And when Reeve finds out his long-lost missing father was kept captive in his own home, he’s going to kill her.
Just like Luther almost did when he gripped Torin’s shirt and almost sent him tumbling down the stone steps in a frantic move to flee. He screamed fury like we put him there, and I barely recognized him with all the grime and dirt covering his whole body.
We’re all grown as fuck now; he only remembers us as teenage kids.
And it doesn’t take a fucking psychiatrist to see he’s not right in the head. Repeating over and over that Penn is going to be looking for him if he doesn’t show up to a meeting.
But Luther was around when Penn was picked up by the Feds. Except his captivity may have made him only remember shit that was right instead of everything that went wrong.
Torin called one of our doctors because the last thing we need is to answer to nurses, doctors, and cops when they see the kind of shape he’s in. We also didn’t want to give away that we took him before we figured out what the hell is going on and what we may have to do to Reeve’s mom.
It’s been a long night.
And while Luther is sedated because he wouldn’t stop thrashing around, I leave the doctors to do a full examination and give me their feedback on how bad it is and what needs to be done.
“Sinatra.” Bay’s voice slithers through my room and to my balcony outside, only causing my body to tighten because, with or without her, it’s going to be a shitshow.
Too bad she can’t call Reeve back to reality and get his crap together because she’s the cause. I could literally strangle her sometimes and then fuck her the next with how I understand both sides of the equation of their lovers’ quarrel.
I wave her in with two fingers, still giving her my back as I take a sip of my amaretto. A small breeze sweeps across my body as she comes to my side. It doesn’t take away the heat of my rage nor the burning fire that is still fuming in our lives.
“Are you okay?”
“Depends on your definition of okay,” I deadpan, before taking another generous swig of my liquor and finishing it off.
The only thing I’m hoping for is for Torin to step up and help me through this, because I’m really going to need him. Especially when I have two of my brothers getting rocked tonight.
I steal a glimpse at her, dark hair gently blowing in the wind as she looks at me for instructions on what to do. I was hard on her the other night at Emilio’s stupid-ass dinner party, but for good reason.
It’s been over a week since that night, and we still haven’t talked about it.
About how my brother, a dude I’d risk my life for, almost had her disappear off the face of the Earth.
“What is it about you that makes you tick the way you do?” I ask, thumbing the side of my glass and looking out into the darkness that’s my backyard. I brought her here tonight because I didn’t want her at Elaine’s, and I wasn’t going to send her home. She stayed with Ozzy and watched a movie while I tried to get a hold of Reeve.
Also, I thought I might be able to use her for such a feat.
“You want to get to know the real me?” she retorts gently. “You already do.”
“Then, I’m going to bet that you don’t trust me.”
She lifts her shoulders dismissively. “Not entirely.”
“Don’t make Christmases awkward, Little Terror. I actually like that holiday.”
“I don’t plan on spending it with any of you.”
She’s such a shit.
Though, it doesn’t stop that I want her to. It doesn’t stop the weird and tangible awkwardness that would stifle the air when Bay and Torin are in the same room.
Especially now that I know why.
“How’s Reeve’s dad?”
“Fucked-up. He’s being examined now.”
“If there’s something?—”
“Go home, Bay,” I order gruffly because her being here doesn’t do shit. It only makes things more complicated. Especially since she has Torin and Ozzy on a leash, and neither one of them knows what to do with themself. I shouldn’t have brought her here.
Without a retort, she begins to turn back around for the door, but my stupid hand reaches out and grips her bicep, tugging her to me so our chests press up against each other.
“The next few days are going to be rough. If you hear or see Reeve, call me.” She bows her head in acknowledgment. “I’m not the best company right now.”
“I get it,” she mutters, tucking her chin into her chest.
My index finger hooks under her chin, and I get those beautiful blue eyes directed at me. “I wish you would’ve told me.”
Bay’s blue eyes immediately avert from mine. “And what was that going to do but cause more problems?”
“It would’ve come out eventually. I could have protected you, drew a line, put a stop?—”
“You can’t stop Torin,” she cuts in, slicing her focus back to me. “He’s devastated. He lost his brother?—”
“And you lost your dad. But you seem to be functioning just fine.”
A small scoff leaves her lips. “Yeah, well, natural causes or complications or whatever you want to call it. Unless Torin murdered my father, I have nothing against him.”
“He dropped you…in the middle of the ocean. You can’t swim.” Bay inhales and slowly releases the air from her lungs. “Will you do something for me?”
“Sure.”
I like that the answer came fluently to her lips. However, my so-called favor is going to piss her right the fuck off. “You’re not taking care of yourself. You’re not eating, and you look like shit.” A now murderous glower is directed at me, but I need this girl sane and fed. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but that’s facts.”
“It’s amazing how Vivian still even chases you around. Or maybe you just like the attention.”
“Why would I want her when I have you chasing me around?”
Her eyes narrow into tiny slits. “I’m not chasing you around. In fact, I’m disappearing.”
She shoves my hand, urgent to get away from me, but I catch hers again just the same. “Don’t go stomping off. I didn’t hurt your feelings.”
“Who told you?” she leers, glowering up at me with blazing blue eyes that almost look unreal. “Is it that little spy of a husband you planted for me? Because it’d make sense now. I always wondered why he decided to show up, but then, it’d be because I didn’t know him. You needed to throw me off my game because?—”
“I didn’t need to plant anyone at your side,” I retort. “Ozzy would’ve gotten me what I needed like he did before without needing to be within your view.”
A tense silence falls between us, but she doesn’t move.
Bay just continues to stare at me like the answer to her question is going to leave my mouth soon enough.
It doesn’t, but it should.
It’d make sense I’d offer her this because I’ve only been trying to get her to trust me for weeks now. That, united, we could be a powerful front.
But Torin has severely fucked that up and now I know why it was so hard to get her to agree with me in the first place. Why her walls are always up with everyone besides Levi.
“So?” she finally presses impatiently. “Who?”
“It sucks to be left out, doesn’t it?”
Her closed fist pops below my ribs, but it doesn’t cause me to flinch, nor do I utter a single syllable in return. “You have more secrets, and I’m starting to not like you again.”
“That’s a load of bullshit, Little T, and you know it,” I say matter-of-factly, and I can’t help the damn smirk that forms along my lips. “But I know how you can get it.”
“How?”
My body tilts forward as my fingers splay possessively around her spine. “Bend over…and let me fuck you, Little Terror. Then I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”
She gapes at me like I’ve lost my shit—maybe I have—but I still want her, this, a relationship where we come together and find a happy medium.
“It was the blowjob, wasn’t it? You’ve had a taste and now you want more.”
“Actually, it was the time you set me up with Wallace, and I thought you were running through The Landings again. I’ve wanted to fuck you hard since then.”
Bay takes a small step back, but it’s written all over her face. It’s painted all over mine, too, that we can’t ignore this.
I crowd her space again because I’m not letting this go. Bay Astor will break down for me. I’ll be a sounding board for her, even though as much as I try, I’ll never be her Levi Wallace.
However, I don’t want to be.
That man lets her run him, and she’ll never be that for me. She can try her best to sway my decisions and fight me all day, but I like that shit.
I like it because it challenges her and me.
“Get up onto the desk behind you and get on your knees. Ass over the edge.”
“Fuck you.”
“I’m trying to.”
I can see her battling with herself. To let me in.
Her secret is out for everyone to know, but Wallace and she won’t tell. She’s still protecting Torin from the fate of a violent death.
Cupping her face, I close the distance between us and press my lips to hers. Bay doesn’t give, reluctantly holding back because she’s already done this.
She gave herself up, and now they’re both gone.
“We’re a team,” I mutter against her mouth. “And if someone on the team takes an L, we all do. You don’t die. Not when you’re with me. Not when I agreed to this alliance. Not when I finally decided to say fuck this shit and really look at the bigger picture. You’re in the picture, Bay, whether you want to be or not. And I’m another player who has lined myself up with you to protect and serve. The last thing on my mind…is you fucking me over.”
She peels away from my lips and looks up at me with confusion written across her face. “Why?”
“Because I’ve seen enough. You’ve already given me your loyalty. I don’t need you to say it or show me. You have nothing to prove to me.”
“I’m South Shore.”
“And that’s not the worst thing.”
“I’m your enemy.”
“Are you?” I cock my head to the side. “Because I don’t see it, Little T. But I do see you. And you’re cockblocking me right now.”
She rocks her head back and forth a bit, still denying my words. “You make no sense.”
“I make perfect sense,” I convey softly. “You’re just too much of a stubborn asshole to accept it.” I mindlessly lay my forehead against hers, breathing in the scent of strawberries and tequila. Being this close to this woman calms me. Which is insane because she drives me fucking crazy most of the time. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Another wave of silence comes afterward, but she finally gives way to what I wanted to confirm all along.
“Because I didn’t want to split you guys apart.”
For a woman who decidedly keeps shit to herself to protect her well-being, she sure does have an inkling to make sure we’re all kept safe as well.
Even from her best friend.
“I thought we were your enemy?” I press, brushing my lips against hers. “Sounds like a loaded excuse and you evading the truth again.”
“And what truth is that?” she questions ever-so-slightly, barely a whisper against the loud silence of the room.
But her admission is the loudest thing in the space. I’ve found another weakness of Bay Astor’s.
And I can’t use it.
“That it would kill you if something happened to one of us. All of us.”
“How could you be so sure?”
My lips tease hers with a simple kiss that sends my blood races in my veins. Only the briefest and softness of touches from her has my body reacting like a chemical reaction. “Tell Wallace then. Give him everything he’s ever wanted…us gone.”
Bay tucks her chin into her chest, breaking the intimate contact. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
I swear, I hear her groan a bit at being forced to give me her vulnerabilities, but the sooner we get this shit out in the open, the better.
“Because I’m part of them.”