Chapter 35
One week.
In one week, we’ll be flying out to Italy. One of the most romantic places I can think of, and we’re going to kill the man who made our girl’s life hell.
Fuck, I should just ask her to marry me while we’re there, because how will we ever top this? I could give her my entire collection of pinkies, and it wouldn’t even be close. No, handing her his literal fucking head will be the highlight of my existence. I can feel it.
“Want to tell me why you’re staring at the toaster like you might leave Jade for it? Trouble in paradise?” Leo asks with a smirk, walking into the kitchen and pulling me from a fantastic fantasy.
Jade was covered in blood, looking like the fucking goddess she is as I fell to my knees to present Ivan’s head to her.
No big loss, though; it’s kind of hard to daydream about giving her the head of a guy whose face I don’t even know yet.
“Don’t need trouble to add a little bit of fun to the bedroom,” I shoot back, wiggling my brows at him suggestively.
His face screws up at the nice mental image I just gave him, and he gags. I’m not sure if it’s real or fake, honestly, but it’s funny as fuck either way.
“Gross, you know she’s my cousin, right, asshole? Shit, we grew up close enough that I used to think she was my sister. The literal last thing I want to hear about is her sex life,” he grumbles as he makes his way to the fridge and grabs a bottle of water.
Leo and Dom have been around a lot lately, and I can’t even find it in myself to complain. They might not be my favorite people on the planet, but they are far from my least favorite anymore. I hate to admit it, but I find myself liking them more every day.
Something shifted in the gym when Dom and Kratos sparred.
Kratos still isn’t speaking to Dom, but he doesn’t glare at him like he wants to kill him all the time anymore, either, and that’s progress if I’ve ever seen it.
Jade isn’t as cold with them either. She’s still distant, but she can have a conversation without looking like she’d rather be strung up and tortured.
“Who said anything about sex?” I ask, unable to let him get off so easily. He started it, after all. “The last thing Jade needs is spice in the bedroom. Not to toot my own horn, but I’d say between the six of us, she’s more than satisfied. If you know what I mean.”
Leo’s hands fly to his ears as he shoots me a glare, but I know he can still hear me.
“Besides, if I were going to add anything, it wouldn’t be a toaster. Now, a pole, on the other hand…”
“Ahhhh! La, la, la!” Leo shouts, trying to drown me out, and I can’t help but laugh. If only he knew how serious I was. I’d been meaning to get a pole put in my room ever since we saw the way she moved on one a few months back.
Damn, and just like that, I’m hard as fuck.
I often am when I think of Jade; even just her scent is enough to do me in, but her on that pole. A gift from the gods. I could jerk it to that memory for the rest of my damn life and never need anything more.
Leo stops shouting and slowly pulls one of his hands from his ear. “Are you finished now?” he asks, his lip curled in disgust.
He makes it too easy.
I palm my hard cock through my pants. His eyes follow my movement without realizing what I’m doing before they snap back up, looking at me in clear disbelief.
“Nah, not just yet, but I’m sure she won’t mind helping me out with that,” I tell him as I stand, heading out toward the living room in search of my girl. “She does this thing with her tongue…”
I duck out of the way a second before his water bottle slams into the wall where my head just was. Glancing back over my shoulder, I shoot him a wink before throwing my head back to laugh.
“Sick fuck!” he yells after me as I turn the corner. “I’m going to have to bleach my fucking brain by the time we’re done with all of this,” I hear him mumble, which only makes me laugh harder.
I make it all the way upstairs, still laughing, before I realize I have no idea where Jade is right now. It’s hard enough to keep tabs on her in one room with constant moving, but this damn house is huge. She could literally be anywhere. I could text her, but where’s the fun in that?
I start on the right side of the hall, down at Rick’s office, and keep going from there, checking each room.
Rick is the only one I come across in my search, and honestly, he was so deep into his precious numbers, I’m not even sure he noticed me.
But Jade wasn’t there, and that’s all I’m worried about right now.
The rest of our rooms are empty. Trent’s at his mom’s house visiting, but I checked his room anyway.
Jade’s been known to crawl into our beds for a nap, whether we’re there or not.
It’s kind of adorable, honestly. But she’s not there, or in Hazel’s room, or Jake's. Yesterday, Trent and I helped Jake move his stuff into the room across from Trent’s.
Dom and Leo now have the far rooms while they stay here.
It didn’t make sense to have them coming and going all the time.
Not only could it draw attention we don’t need, but having them here makes planning easier.
Jade didn’t love the idea, but with the little time we have left, everyone is scrambling to get everything nailed down, and even she agreed it made sense.
I don’t even bother checking their rooms. I’d bet my left nut she’s not there. Not with the way she avoids being alone with either of them.
Alright, so not the bedrooms.
Gym or Library?
Either option is good, and I debate where to check first as I head back toward the stairs.
“Where you off to, man?” Spencer asks as I pass him on the steps, heading back downstairs.
“Looking for our girl,” I tell him, and with the roll of his eyes, I can only assume he could have guessed.
“She’s down in the gym working with Jake. He asked for some help,” he tells me, and I smack my palm hard into my forehead.
I was going to go to the library. Oh well, not like I can’t go down to the gym.
“Damn, he’s good.”
Spencer throws me a confused look.
“Asking for ‘one-on-one’ help,” I say, quoting with my fingers to emphasize my point. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“For fuck’s sake, is everything about your dick?” he asks, shouldering past me, but I can’t let him get the last word. Turning back around, I follow him back upstairs.
“Nope, but when it comes to Jade, this head isn’t exactly in control, if you know what I mean.” I point to my forehead with a finger gun and mime blowing my brains out. He chuckles at that, shaking his head before he shoves me into the wall as we round the corner back upstairs toward the rooms.
“So you can relate, huh?” I tease, jogging after him to catch up.
“Shut up, Zan,” he shouts back over his shoulder, flipping me off as he goes.
Anyone who doesn’t know Spencer might think I’m annoying him, and well, I probably am, but that’s not the point.
The point is, I’m right, and we both know it.
I’ve known him long enough to know he’s avoiding right now.
Which is fucking hilarious, considering the fact that he’s gone all soft for her now, too.
I knew he would cave, eventually. I mean, how could you not with a girl, no, a woman like Jade?
But for a while there, I thought it was going to take years.
Thank fuck it didn’t, though. Honestly, his whole snooping on her and bad attitude was getting exhausting.
I missed the fun, Spencer, you know, the one who didn’t have a stick shoved so far up his ass.
I run after him, lunging at his back, but he’s used to my shit.
At the last second, he leans forward, and I’m forced to leapfrog over him to avoid landing on my face.
Righting myself, I turn to find him standing in front of Jade’s bedroom door with an easy smile on his face, shaking his head at me.
Yeah, it’s nice to have him back to normal, maybe even better than before. He seems happy now.
Wait, why is he going to Jade’s room?
Unable to stop myself, I follow him, my curiosity piqued. Which isn’t exactly hard to do, but still, now I need to know.
It doesn’t take long for me to put the pieces together, though.
Someone mostly cleared out. The bed and dresser are still there, but other than that, it’s pretty empty.
No sign of the destruction that used to be all over the place from his outburst. Jade had told me a few weeks ago that Spencer was going to fix it all up for her, but with everything going on, it hadn’t been something any of us were worried about. Least of all, Jade.
Hell, most of the time, she ended up in one of our beds or passed out on the couch with us while we watched TV.
None of us had a great sleep routine. Between the upcoming party and keeping Vengeance going, we were all lacking.
When she finally passed out, we often just let her.
The alternative was that she didn’t sleep, and that put all of us on edge.
No, she needed the rest, and who could complain about free cuddles?
Shit, not me. I slept sitting up on the couch the other day because she fell asleep with her head on my lap. I didn’t have the heart to wake her, even if it was just so I could lie down with her.
“If you’re going to be here, you can at least help,” Spencer snaps at me, tossing a box into my arms as he walks out of the bathroom and into her closet. I fumble with it for a second before I get a good grip, just barely keeping it from tipping over and dumping whatever might be in it.
Unable to stop myself, I flip open the lid to look inside. It’s full of her bathroom stuff: shampoo, lotion, even her toothbrush.
Now I’m less sure I know what he’s doing.