Chapter 16
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Ezra
“Everything ready?” Jude asks just as I close my laptop.
“We’re good to go,” I confirm, adjusting my glasses and slipping my laptop back into my bag. There were several things to compile and prepare for in order to have all of our bases covered.
West gives me an expectant look and I nod, confirming our suspicions. “The majority of the winners of this internship have all been women. The semesters it’s gone to a guy, there was a woman who dropped the class seemingly out of nowhere or had her grade tank.”
“Bastard,” Jude curses and I have to agree. He’s a bastard of the very worst kind.
“Not for long,” I promise. He chose very wrong on his victim this semester. Not only because Berlyn has us, but because her and her friend have already started compiling the same evidence I was able to put together.
I was impressed. By the two women and their resourcefulness and the progress they made so quickly without bending the laws. All their information was gathered through legal means. Mine? Less so. But it was faster.
“You ordered the pizza?” I ask Jude and he nods. “Car packed?” This time I direct the question to West who was in charge of making sure we had everything we need to pull off the job tonight. At his nod we head out of the house and I take a deep breath and keep a clear head.
The hardest part about the entire thing is going to be getting Berlyn and Summer to play their parts without bringing them into the plan.
We know them both well enough at this point to all the right strings.
I hope anyways. Summer is a bit more of a wild card, but I have a feeling she will encourage us being there in any way she can.
We stop to pick up the pizza on our way over to Berlyn’s.
West has been keeping an eye on the girls to make sure they don’t go anywhere.
They’ve gotten a little bit into the wine as they’ve been researching their professor, trying to come up with a game plan before their class tomorrow.
I took care of that for them too. Not that they know yet.
The whole scene is very reminiscent of them plotting their traps against us, but while that had them both still giggling and joking, there’s a heaviness that weighs on them.
It begs the question of how scared she really was even at the beginning of discovering our game.
She never had this weight on her shoulders when talking about her stalker.
Not her and not her best friend. They made plenty of jokes, but the vibe is very different as they search out pieces of the bastard’s past they can use against him.
We’ll fix that too. Pizza, chocolate, more alcohol. What else would we need to brighten their moods?
I park my car in front of her house, visible from where the camera is but Jude double checks and gives me a thumbs up.
I’ve always loved the park behind Berlyn’s house with its walking paths, lush greenery, and a parking lot in easy walking distance.
Yet it always outshines itself when it comes to usefulness. Forever coming in clutch for us.
Berlyn answers the door when we knock, a look of surprise as she greets us. “Hi,” she squeaks, her eyes landing on each one of us before swinging to the next.
“Who is it?” Summer calls from somewhere in the house.
I arch my brow in question when Berlyn doesn’t answer her right away. It’s almost like she’s in buffering mode as she stares at us in shock. It’s so hard not to grin, but I try my best to keep it mostly contained.
“Okay, it has to be the tattooed hotties,” Summer says, this time from somewhere closer. Her head pokes from behind Berlyn just as our girl turns red. “Called it,” she cheers when her eyes meet mine.
An amused snort escapes despite my best efforts. Jude full on laughs behind me and even West smiles a little more freely than he normally does in front of strangers.
“Summer!” Berlyn scolds, but Jude lifts the boxes of pizzas for her to see before she can start an apology tour that would no doubt lead to her feeling more embarrassed.
“We brought pizza,” he explains and West holds up the chocolate and wine while I gesture to the beer in my hand.
“Damn.” Summer nods her appreciation. “Hot, tattooed, and they come bearing gifts. Let them in already.”
Berlyn hangs her head in mortification. It all only makes her more endearing. Even her much more extroverted best friend. “Fucking Summer,” she curses under her breath. “Please come in,” she says, smiling at us.
“Sorry for crashing your girls’ day,” I apologize, allowing my brothers to walk in first.
She’s already shaking her head. “You didn’t. I’m always happy to see you guys,” she assures me instantly and I can hear the truth in those words. It’s also clear she’s confused about our sudden presence.
“We were jealous that West got to spend an entire day with you while we were out of town,” Jude offers, picking up on her confusion.
She blinks her surprise but the corners of her lips turn up. She likes that we’re thinking about her, getting jealous of who she spends her time with. “We had promised a raincheck on the pizza,” I add as she leads us into her kitchen to put all the stuff we brought down.
“I think I was supposed to be the one supplying the pizza as a thank you,” she comments, taking the beer from me and putting it in her fridge. She grabs three from the case and hands them back over her head.
“We figured it was the least we could since we were coming over uninvited,” I respond.
“Yeah, stop complaining, B,” Summer taunts, grinning wickedly as she meets my eyes. Oh, this girl is definitely trouble and knows exactly how to push Berlyn’s buttons the exact way she wants. An amazing wing woman in this case.
Berlyn shoots to her feet. “I wasn’t complaining!” she defends, almost losing her balance and I catch her around the waist before she falls forward. She lets out that small squeaking sound again. Maybe she is more of a mouse than a rabbit. “Shit, sorry, Ezra.”
“All good, Berlyn,” I say her name slowly, caressing each syllable before helping her regain her balance and let my hands fall from her body.
When she turns her back to me, I give her friend a subtle nod as she stands in the doorway grinning at us.
She’s one hundred percent about to help us exactly the way we need her to tonight.
Maybe even more than I thought she would.
We get settled back in the living room, putting the pizzas on the coffee table as Summer rushes to move the papers they had out of the way. It’s a tight squeeze to fit everything we brought with all of the Halloween decorations now on the table.
I look around the room and notice more decorations scattered throughout in places there were none before. Pumpkins, skulls, potion bottles, and all sorts of little trinkets decorate the room making it feel more festive.
“Were you guys doing homework?” Jude asks and I roll my eyes at his shit-stirring ways. We know exactly what those papers were and pretty damn sure Berlyn has no intention of us ever finding out about her professor.
“Something like that,” Summer mumbles, grabbing a slice of pizza as Berlyn glares at her.
“It’s a project,” she adds, sending her own look back.
I had never really paid attention to the other people in Berlyn’s life, maybe that was a mistake.
We’ll have to make sure no matter where our plans take us, we make sure Berlyn can keep her friend. She’s good for her.
“We have plenty of time for that, so don’t worry. We were just trying to get ahead,” Berlyn overexplains, her eyes darting to each of us.
Jude grabs a piece of pizza and when Berlyn opens her mouth to start rambling, he shoves it into her mouth. “Here you go, B.”
I cover my face with my hand in a pathetic attempt to hide the sound that just came out of my mouth. Summer doesn’t bother, cackling as she nods her approval of my brother’s method of getting Berlyn to relax.
“I knew I liked you,” she says.
He grins his appreciation at her, letting Berlyn take the pizza from his hand. “Thanks, Autumn.”
She’s already caught on to his ways, so the wrong name rolls off her back. “You’re running out of seasons,” she comments, but he only shrugs.
“I can get creative,” he promises.
Berlyn giggles and I hand her a plate since Jude didn’t bother with one after shoving pizza into her mouth. She seems more at ease, sitting cross-legged on the floor, with us all surrounding her than the last time we were here.
Maybe the banter between Jude and her friend helped.
“I like your decorations. Very festive,” I say, my gaze drawn back to the ceramic skull sitting on the coffee table staring at me.
Berlyn’s cheeks heat and Summer smacks her leg. “He wasn’t teasing you, freak,” she whispers, though not very quietly.
“Thank you,” Berlyn answers, still a little embarrassed. “I know it’s a lot and you’re meant to decorate outside,” her sentence lingers for a beat before she shrugs. “I like feeling like I’m living in a witch’s lair.”
Fuck. She’s so damn cute.
Jude hums, nodding his head. “So is this you fattening us up to cook us in your cauldron?”
She nearly chokes on her bite of pizza, coughing as Summer alternates between laughing and hitting her on the back. Probably too hard.
“Do you decorate outside?” I ask, changing the topic and handing her a drink.
She nods gratefully, taking a few sips. “It’s on my to do list.”
Hmm. Would it be too obvious if her stalker made a reappearance by doing her decorations for her?
“Did Weston tell you guys we got pumpkins to carve?” she asks after a moment of silence. “You’ll see the decorations then for sure.”
Summer subtly nods her encouragement and praise, but then ruins it with the least subtle thumbs up I’ve ever seen. We pretend not to notice but Berlyn only rolls her eyes, sipping on her wine. Maybe the buzz is what’s really helping. Anything to help her lower her guard with us.