Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
________
EVA
After we emerged from the pile of kissing and laughter, we separated. Not ideal, considering I still wanted to climb inside their skin, but we all needed to shower, and now I needed coffee.
I found a hoodie on the floor of the bedroom we’d used for the nest. Apples and Cinnamon told me it belonged to Tyler. It hung down nearly to my knees, which was good. I really didn’t want to put my dress back on.
Maybe they had a pair of pants I could roll up.
I’m not sure which would be worse: being photographed in my dress from the DCAs five days later or being photographed in nothing but a hoodie and bare legs after disappearing with a rock band for five days.
I wasn’t embarrassed by it, but I didn’t like to give the paparazzi anything for free.
Fuck me, five days. Everyone was probably losing their minds. Oh my god. Mom.
I found my phone near my dress and clutch in a corner of the room. The screen was an absolute disaster zone of notifications. Coffee first, then I’d deal with whoever was trying to reach me outside these walls.
The kitchen was downstairs, and I found my way there without much trouble. They hadn’t given me the tour yet. But everything in the penthouse was beautiful, even if it was mostly blank.
Coffee was already in the machine and hot. Perfect. There were a few mugs on the counter near the machine because they hadn’t even unpacked the kitchen yet. I hadn’t asked questions, but all the food they fed me was probably takeout. Good call.
“Nice to see you coming up for air.”
I yelped and turned, just managing to save the mug from falling to the ground. Wes sat at the table in the kitchen, his tablet propped up in front of him along with his own steaming cup of coffee. I hadn’t noticed him when I came in.
“Sorry.” He chuckled. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I’ll be honest,” I said. “I entirely forgot you guys were here.”
“Good. You’re not supposed to be thinking about security during a heat.”
Turning away, I poured my coffee and found both cream and sugar. “I’m sorry you had to be stuck here for it. And…” I didn’t turn around. “Sorry for whatever you might have… heard.”
Wes coughed, and it sounded distinctly like he was covering a laugh. “Miss Williams, my pack is scent-sympathetic. I understand. And it’s my job. There’s nothing to apologize for.”
My face still felt like the heat had come back for how hard I was blushing. ‘Cause it didn’t matter if you understood, listening to someone fuck for five days straight was still awkward. At least in my mind.
Neil chose that moment to enter the kitchen, fixing his tie. He nodded at me and smiled. “Heat’s over?”
“Yeah.” I pressed my lips together, and out of the corner of my eye saw Wes stifling laughter. “Thank you for being here.”
“No problem. I also have something for you. Hold on.” He stepped out of the kitchen and I heard what sounded like a bag and rustling papers. He handed me a paper folder when he returned.
“What’s this?”
“Take a look.”
I set my coffee on the counter and opened the folder to see Dylan’s face, and a breakdown of his life. Education, family, arrest record—which was empty.
“You did background checks?”
“I did.” He didn’t sound apologetic in the slightest. “I probably would have done it anyway, but I would have waited until after the heat. It wasn’t my idea to start now.”
“Whose idea was it?”
“Mine.” Liam stood in the doorway to the kitchen.
Barefoot in jeans and a black T-shirt, hair damp from the shower.
“Jack’s right. We know you’re ours. But we also have nothing to hide, and if looking into us helps you or anyone else in your life feel more comfortable, I wanted it sooner than later.
” He crossed the distance between us and tucked a hair behind my ear.
I didn’t look at Neil as I spoke. “Anything in this folder you’re concerned about?”
“Nothing that would affect your safety. Maybe a couple of things the press won’t like,” Neil said. “But no, nothing.”
Liam shrugged. “We’re not squeaky clean.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “We are rock stars after all.”
“Am I going to have groupies banging down the door and trying to kill me for taking you off the market?”
He laughed, wrapping his arms around me and spinning me around. “No. Definitely not.”
“Good.” My phone buzzed on the countertop, and I glanced at it. “I think I have messages from… everyone.”
“The whole world?” Liam asked.
“The whole fucking world.”
“Then I think we should give you the tour and make the world wait.”
I grabbed my coffee and left my phone on the counter. “Couldn’t agree more.”
Esme
You alive?
Hello?
Okay, Neil has confirmed that you are okay.
I assume that means you’re still being dicked down.
Answer me when you have a chance.
Mom’s asking where you are, by the way.
She says you’re not answering her messages.
I lied and told her you were doing some kind of super remote on-location thing. But she’s not going to believe that forever.
Eva
I am alive.
Esme
Holy hell, woman.
Thank goodness.
I think my phone is ringing as much as yours does right now.
How was it?
Eva
Incredible, but I don’t want to tell you over text. Why don’t we get lunch tomorrow, and I’ll tell Mom to meet me later. We’ll just go early.
Esme
Works for me. Where?
Eva
Aurelia’s.
Esme
Eva
I know, but you know Mom loves it. And I think I’m going to need all the ammo I can get.
Esme
What do you mean? She’s going to be over the moon.
Eva
About being scent-sympathetic. It’s the rock band part I’m not sure about.
Esme
Not like she can do anything about it.
Eva
Good point.
I’ll let you know what time after I talk to her.
I hadn’t been lying when I said I had messages from everyone. Sloane and Petra wanted details. Jasmine wanted to make sure I was all right and check in about some scheduling things and the press. Brian, my agent, wanted to know why I’d skipped our phone call.
And there were also press calls. I changed my number enough, but someone always found it. From the messages I heard there was no confirmation of what had happened. Only rumors. But the rumors were circulating hard.
I didn’t care.
Of everything in front of me, people deciding whether they were okay with me being with my Alphas was the least important. The most immediate thing I needed to worry about was moving.
I loved the penthouse. It sprawled over the top two floors of the building. The bedroom they wanted to convert into a nest was perfect, and the rest of it was a beautiful blank slate. The timing couldn’t be better. We could decorate it together, the way we wanted.
The bedroom we’d had the heat in would be mine. With a bigger bed. Because I knew there was a high chance we’d all be sleeping together no matter who the room belonged to.
“The real question is how I get out of here to go home and get clothes without giving the paps photographs that will make them a year’s salary.”
“Are we hiding?” Dylan asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “Not really. But I don’t usually go out in a hoodie and nothing else.”
Liam smirked. “Remember when we had the lube delivered?”
I raised an eyebrow. “How could I forget?”
“In the back corner of the bedroom you’ll find some bags with some clothes. Nothing fancy, but I think they’ll fit.”
“You bought me clothes?” Something sweet and lovely warmed in my chest.
He laughed. “Well, as much as I don’t love the idea, we knew you’d have to leave our place at some point.”
“All right. I’ll change and then we can go. I need to pack a bag.”
“Or everything,” Tyler whispered.
Glancing over my shoulder, I smirked. “I’m not packing my whole apartment by myself. I’ll work hard at everything, but moving is a whole different ball game.”
They all laughed as I left them in the living room, and I heard Tyler call after me. “Fair enough!”
The clothes were exactly where Liam said they were, and the simple clothes were perfect. Enough for me to get out of here, so I could grab what I needed and come straight back.