Chapter 31 Spencer
In the days that follow our dinner with Randall, it feels like everything changes.
I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not yet.
We used to be very selective about who we allowed on our property, but seeing as it's the only place we can guarantee Jade’s safety and full security, we’ve turned it into more of a base of operations for the time being.
I’ve spent the better part of the last few days going over everything, trying to figure out how Jade got out without tripping a single camera or alarm, and it’s driving me nuts.
It shouldn’t be possible, but that doesn’t mean shit when it comes to her.
It’s Wednesday, and while everyone else headed off to class today, I stayed home again, trying to figure it out.
I hear the front door open, and without looking at the clock, I know I’ve just wasted another day on this.
I push off the desk, letting the chair roll across the floor.
Grabbing my smokes, I head out to meet them.
I stop dead when I see that it’s not just Jade and the guys here.
If I’d been paying attention, I probably would’ve realized it was a lot more noisy than usual for them, but I’d been too distracted.
That only makes me more upset.
How is it that she can get under my skin like nobody else?
Zander and Rick stand just inside the doorway as Trent, Hazel, and Leo follow Jade up the stairs not so much as glancing my way.
Zander nudges Rick, whispering something I don’t catch.
Rick shoves Zander hard enough that he knocks over one of the tables, almost going down with it.
Jade pauses on the stairs, looking back over the railing, but Zander just smiles up at her as if nothing's out of the ordinary. He’s completely oblivious to the death glare Rick is shooting at him.
“All good, Doll. Ricky’s just mad I caught him watching your fine ass walk up the stairs,” he says with a laugh, brushing himself off. He shoots a wink at Rick. “Don’t be embarrassed, man. It’d be a shame not to appreciate it. I know you didn’t mind it the other day.”
Zander hardly gets to finish his sentence before Rick lunges for him, but Zander’s not dumb enough to poke the bear without an escape plan. He knew what he was doing when he started in on him. He’s off and up the stairs with Jade in no time, leaving Rick fuming.
Zander slings his arm over Jade’s shoulder, pulling her into his side while she looks back and forth between them.
She’s probably waiting for Rick to give chase, but Rick knows better.
Zander’s slippery when he wants to be. It’s best to wait and get him later.
And judging by the anger radiating off Rick right now, there will definitely be a later for this one.
“Looks like I caught the firefly this time. I always was better at it than you,” he says to Rick before he turns to Jade, and I swear her cheeks look pink now but it’s impossible to know for sure so far away.
“Come on, Doll. I’m pretty sure you have some studying to do,” Zander says, leading her up the stairs, and out of sight.
“What the fuck was that about?” I ask Rick once they're gone.
“Nothing,” he huffs before stomping off toward the kitchen.
I stand in the entryway for a minute. I’d originally come out here to grill Jade on how she got out, but with other people here, that’s going to have to wait. I have no intention of anyone else knowing that happened. It’s a weakness we can’t afford right now.
Looking down at the table that still lies on the floor, I know Zander really got under Rick’s skin. Rick likes order, which makes him kind of a neat freak. Any other day this wouldn’t fly, he would have either had Zander clean it up or done so himself before he went on to do something else.
Somehow I’m even more annoyed than I was before I left my PC, so I decide to have a smoke and give Rick some time to cool off before I grill him. He’s mad enough at Zan as it is. I don’t need him to turn that shit on me.
I feel better. A smoke always helps me take the edge off, and while I don’t think there's enough nicotine in the world to help me deal with Jade, at least I don’t want to bang my head against the wall anymore.
I can’t help but chuckle, noticing the table’s fixed as I make my way to the kitchen.
If Rick went back to clean up, he should be calm enough for me to talk to him at least. I find him pulling out shit for dinner and starting on it already.
It’s not surprising. Rick does most of our cooking, always has.
I used to think it was just because he was a health nut, but after years of living together I know he uses it as an escape as well.
Growing up, we all had people who cooked and cleaned for us, never our own parents. It was all we knew, so we didn’t even spare it a thought. Until we moved out, that is.
It's hard to keep people out of the house and have privacy when you need things like maids and chefs and other shit. We learned what we needed to. We keep the place clean, bought a good dishwasher and after a few failed attempts with a washer and dryer, we figured that out too.
We all did what was needed, but Rick was the only one who could make anything more than basic shit without setting off the smoke detectors. I don’t know how he learned or where, but it was good he did.
Not to mention his food is fucking delicious
“What happened to the ‘only the people who have to be here’ rule?” I ask, skipping the bullshit.
Rick doesn’t even look up from the chicken he’s washing. “Jade needs to study so she doesn’t fail, and it’s not exactly safe at the school that gets a good portion of its funding from the Ross family.”
He shuts off the water, laying the chicken on a cutting board before he starts pounding it with a mallet, using a lot more force than I’m sure is necessary.
Making dinner early makes a lot more sense all of a sudden.
I let him pound away at the chicken because I don’t really have a response, at least not one he’ll like, not to mention it’s probably not smart to piss him off with a weapon. Rick is dangerous with his bare hands, so the last thing I want is to look like that chicken.
I suggested we have her drop her classes until all this shit is handled.
Jade agreed, saying school was something she could do later and that she should be focusing on taking down the ring instead of math.
But the guys wouldn’t hear it. Rick thought that pulling her out now might draw more attention, and he could be right, but we can handle that.
Random people in our house just opens us up for more problems.
“So, unless you plan to tutor her yourself, she needs help. I agreed they could come and use her room only. No wandering around, no sightseeing,” he explains, as if that’s going to put me at ease. Even if it did the way he’s waving around that mallet is unsettling.
“She couldn’t handle me as a tutor.”
Rick looks up at that, trading his mallet for a knife that he points at me. “You're right. She would kill you within the first hour.”
I roll my eyes as he turns his attention back to the chicken and begins splitting them.
“I could handle her,” I say under my breath, but he hears me anyway. He barks out a laugh that makes me bristle, his disbelief clear.
“Whatever. Since we're on the subject of the Demon, why don’t you clue me in on what the hell you and Zan were going on about earlier?” I say, knowing it’ll get under his skin.
He pauses in his cutting but doesn’t take the bait.
“Nothing,” he growls before he goes back to cutting.
I know I should let it go, but suddenly I want the fight.
I don’t know if it’s my building irritation with Jade and her Houdini act or just the stress of the last few weeks, but I could use a good argument.
“Oh, nothing? That’s not what it sounded like to me. If it were nothing, it wouldn’t have gotten to you. Don’t pretend I don’t know you, Rick. You can act like you don’t feel shit, but I know you do,” I tell him, pushing, hoping for a reaction.
I get my wish when his eyes flick up to meet mine, the slightest crack in his carefully constructed mask.
“You're one to talk, Spence. Or have you forgotten I know you as well?” he says, catching me off guard.
I expected him to deny it. I knew Rick had some kind of feelings for her, but I never thought it was more than a need to keep her safe.
Once he found out she was Froggie, he took a giant step back, because that’s who he is.
He’s not the type to mix business and pleasure.
Rick wouldn’t want to muddle the lines. But he didn’t deny it at all, and while that raises a huge red flag for me, I can’t get past the words that just came out of his mouth to process it just yet.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I know what it sounds like he’s implying, but there's no fucking way that can be right.
“Don’t play stupid with me. You can act like you hate her, the others might believe you, she might believe you.
Fuck, you might believe yourself, but I call bullshit.
You don’t really hate her. You didn’t even hate her in the beginning.
You were intimidated by her and the potential threat, but that’s gone now, and you're just too stubborn to admit that you were wrong,” he grits through clenched teeth.
He’s lost his fucking mind, and I don’t hesitate to tell him that.
“No, I haven’t. You just made this feud with her, and now you’re in so deep you can’t seem to let it go, or maybe you don’t want to let it go.
But I see the way you look at her. I see the stress her being in danger causes you, just like it does the rest of us.
So don’t come in here talking and acting like you're any different.”
“I don’t exactly have a choice,” I shout back. “She’s not just a mission, she’s our fucking boss, you don’t just–”
His hand hits my chest, shoving me back a step, and I’m stunned enough that I lose my train of thought.