Chapter 37
“Trent!”
Rick’s voice booms down the hall, loud enough to pull me from my research, which isn’t easy to do.
I hear the anger in that single word, though, and after everything that’s been happening lately, I can’t help but feel the need to go see what’s got him so upset.
Since Jade’s come home, he’s been pretty laid back, more so than I’d seen him, probably ever.
I push back from the table and grab my mug. At least if I’m going out, I can grab some more coffee. I live on caffeine most days as it is, but considering the fact that Jade and I did anything but sleep last night, I need it now more than ever.
I half-expect the house to be in chaos. The guys have told me a million times about how I tune out the world when I fall down the rabbit hole, as they like to call it.
It’s true, though. I hate walking away from a project until it’s finished, until I know everything I possibly can.
But this isn’t like that. I could be here for days, and somehow I don’t think our other problems will wait that long.
But other than Rick’s angry shout a moment ago, everything else appears to be in order. Nothing’s destroyed, Zander isn’t running around like a fucking psycho, and the security system hasn’t even been tripped.
What the fuck is he so upset about?
I get my answer the second I walk into the kitchen.
Hazel stands near the stove, arms crossed and brows pulled down, as she glares at Rick, who stands on the other side of the island. Rick doesn’t look excited to see her either, though. He leans against the counter, watching her as if she might try to bolt at any moment.
Well, that explains his anger.
Nobody is supposed to know Jade’s back, and Hazel showing up like this out of the blue will definitely put that at risk. No way will Jade be able to keep herself away from Hazel if she knows she’s here.
Damn it, Trent.
Neither of them looks at me as they continue their silent stare-off.
Unsure what else to do, I move to the coffeepot.
I might as well get my fix before this explodes, and I have no doubt it will.
No sooner than I’ve poured myself a fresh cup, Trent joins us.
The smile on his face is pretty common now, whereas it wasn’t a few months ago, but it only lasts a moment as he takes in the scene before him.
His mouth falls open, and his eyes widen in surprise as he finds his little sister here. Clearly, he didn’t know she was coming. At least he’s not a total idiot who invited her. Not that it will save him from Rick’s wrath. He’s still going to lose his shit for putting our plan in danger.
Speaking of.
“How did you get in here?”
I ask, turning to look at Hazel, but she doesn’t answer, instead turning her angry glare my way.
What the fuck? I’ve known Hazel her whole life, and I’ve never seen her this upset or full of attitude.
Clearly, Jade’s been an influence on her.
I’m just not sure if that’s a good or bad thing yet.
Had you asked me before, I would have said it would be good.
Hazel’s known to take too much shit from people, always too nice, even when the people around her don’t deserve it.
But I’m not sure that we are the ones who deserve to get it out of everyone.
I mean, we haven’t been around her much the last few years, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t looked out for her, anyway.
We’ve all always thought of her as our little sister, and that comes with certain protection, whether she knew it or not.
“Hazel?”
Trent snaps after it becomes clear she doesn’t intend to answer me. She doesn’t so much as acknowledge that she heard him, though.
“Where is she?” she asks, the bite in her tone clear. I see Trent’s face scrunch up in confusion, and I get the feeling he hasn’t seen this side of her before, either.
“That’s none of your concern.” Kratos’s voice booms through the room a second before he walks in, making Hazel jump. Good to know she isn’t exactly like Jade, not if she’s still afraid of Kratos. That’s a good thing, though, at least for us.
“Um, uh, with the code,” she stammers, stepping back as her eyes dart around the room as if looking to us for help.
“You gave her the code?” Rick growls, whirling on Trent.
“What? No!” Trent shouts as his shock at seeing his sister turns to anger at being accused. “How can you even ask that? I would never put either of them in danger.”
“No. No, I—”
Hazel cuts herself off as we all turn our attention back to her, and for a second, I wonder if her earlier show of attitude was a once-off.
“No, I went through his phone the other night after he fell asleep,” she says, lifting her chin and squaring her shoulders.
Guess not.
“What the fuck, Haze!” Trent rasps, raking his fingers through his hair, tugging at the ends in frustration.
“Don’t yell at me, Trent! I wouldn’t have had to steal it if you had just told me what’s going on!” she shouts, stomping her foot like the little girl we still treat her like most of the time.
She’s not a little girl anymore, though, and this might not be part of the plan, but I understand why she’s upset. Hell, she’s handling this fantastically compared to how any of us would, had we been in her shoes.
“I’m not leaving until I see her! She’s my best friend, and whatever is going on, I want to know!
” she huffs, and Trent opens his mouth to say something in response, but she cuts him off.
“I want to be there for her! Jade deserves a friend. I won’t let you make me abandon her.
She deserves to know someone cares about her! ”
“Hazel?” Jade’s voice rings out around the room, even though it was hardly more than a whisper.
“Jade!”
Hazel’s across the room the next second, slamming into Jade and throwing her arms around her. Jade stands frozen for a moment before an affectionate smile curves her lips, and she wraps Hazel up in a hug that’s just as fierce, if not more so.
Damn it. Maybe Hazel’s right. Keeping them apart wasn’t right. I knew it was eating at Jade, the idea that Hazel was in the dark. She was worried it would hurt her, but it was hurting Jade, too.
Something none of us wanted to do.
I look around the room, ready to plead their case if I need to, only to find the rest of them with pained looks on their faces as well.
Jade’s eyes snap up over Hazel’s head, finding mine. She works her way around the room, giving each of the others the same glare, and she doesn’t even need to speak for us to understand.
“Come on, we have girl time to make up for,” Jade tells Hazel, dropping her arms to grab her hand before tugging her out of the kitchen without so much as a word to us.
“Let them have the week. They deserve it, and Jade could use the distraction to keep her mind off everything that’s about to happen.” Kratos sighs.
No argument here.
“I almost shot her,” Rick says, slumping forward and slamming his hands down on the counter.
“What?” Trent and I both shout at the same time.
“Don’t ‘what’ me! She walked in the front door loud as hell. I knew we were all here. Nobody else was supposed to be coming. I…” He cuts himself off with a sigh, running his hands through his hair. “I thought she was a threat.” The anger drains from his words.
“Well, you didn’t, and that’s what matters,” Trent says in an attempt to make him feel better.
“No, I didn’t, but I get the feeling she’s going to want answers, eventually, to more than why Jade was gone.”
Damn it.