Chapter 65 - Jade
They’re up to something.
I’m not sure what it is, but I can tell.
“Why are we flying out here again?” I ask for what feels like the millionth time, carefully watching them.
None of them so much as flinches. “Elio asked us to come down for a meeting, Demon,” Spencer answers without so much as looking up at me, his annoyance clear in his tone.
Except he’s not actually annoyed. I can tell, trust me, if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s annoying Spencer. I do it by accident all the time and sometimes even on purpose. Which means I know when it’s fake.
Like now, for example.
With a huff, I cross my arms over my chest and flop back on the couch. Clearly, whatever they’re up to, they don’t feel like sharing yet.
If I didn’t trust them so much, we would have a real problem right now, but I do. So even though I don’t like it, I’ll let them have their secret, for now.
Thankfully, one thing I’ve gotten better at is flying.
I still don’t love it, but I’m also not spending the entire flight in a panic.
We fly to Russia pretty often now, with me, Dom, and Leo running things, and while I try to leave most of it to them, that’s not always possible.
We also spent another week in Italy this past summer.
Zander was still butthurt he’d missed out on beach sex.
Not to mention his grocery list of things we missed last time we were there.
It was really nice, actually, plus keeping our friendship with Elio and the Italian mafia strong is never a bad thing.
Hazel and Leo chatter behind me, and I can’t help but smile at hearing snippets of their conversation.
Trent’s going to lose it when he finally realizes what’s going on.
Hell, they all might. The rest of them look at Hazel like a little sister, too, but for now, I’m not saying anything.
The same way I haven’t called my brother on the way he looks at her, either.
The flight doesn’t take long, and it’s early afternoon when we land. I expect us to end up in the city, but as the limo drives, it seems to take us into a residential area instead. I side-eye the guys, but none of them pay me any attention.
When we finally stop, I wonder if maybe we’re in the wrong place.
The house is beautiful, but I swear I see people already inside.
The guys don’t seem concerned, though, as they pile out and start unpacking our stuff from the trunk.
I keep an eye on the windows. Everything’s been quiet lately, but that doesn’t mean we’re safe.
If anything, we might have bigger targets on our backs than ever.
Before I can get myself too far into fight mode, the front door opens, and Charlotte barrels down the stairs. She hits me like a rock, taking the air from my lungs. She’s not as little as she used to be, that’s for sure.
“Jade! You have to see this house! It’s amazing,” she shouts, lacing her fingers in mine and tugging me toward the house.
Her excitement is contagious, and I can’t help but smile as she drags me behind her. “I’m coming, Char. No need to pull my arm off,” I tease, but she doesn’t let up. If anything, she only gets more excited as we make it through the door.
Three steps in, and I already know the guys went overboard. Whatever they’re doing, this is a perfect example of them throwing their money away for me, which is something they know better than to do. Damn them for inviting Charlotte, though. They know I won’t say shit with her here.
Zander walks through the door behind us, reaching for a button on the wall, and the windows around the house open, vanishing to let people come and go.
I glare at him over my shoulder as Charlotte raves about how this is the coolest transformer house she’s ever seen.
“Wait till you see the bedrooms,” he tells her, and then they’re off, running down the halls into the house and out of sight.
The way they feed into each other’s energy is exhausting just to watch, but I can’t deny that I love that she has a relationship with each of them.
They look at her like a sister, always ready and willing to help and spoil her rotten.
I hear Trent a second before he wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me back into his chest.
“What do you think, Sweetness?” he asks with a chuckle, his voice teasing. I turn in his arms enough to look up at him.
“Do you really want the answer to that?” I ask, letting him see how unamused I am.
“Don’t be like that. We do really good at following your rule, as stupid as we think it is. But every once in a while, you have to let us spoil you, too.” He drops a kiss on my head. “If it makes you feel better, this is more of a family vacation, anyway. Charlotte seems to be enjoying it so far.”
Those last two words ring in my ears, and I know this isn’t the end of it.
Whatever their plans are, it’s more than just coming to stay in a nice house.
But he makes a good point. I know it kills them that I don’t like the more expensive things in life.
We have money to spare, and while I don’t hate nice things, they aren’t really at the top of my list. I don’t wear the expensive jewelry they buy me.
I just never remember, and to me, the expensive clothes fit just as well as the store-brand stuff.
Calling it a family vacation makes it easier to handle, especially since it’s making Charlotte so happy.
“Fine,” I say, caving and getting the joy of watching his brows shoot up.
“Really? Just like that?”
I hear the disbelief in his tone, and for a second, I consider fucking with him until the rest of the guys flood in the front door, and I see their smiles.
I can let them have this, but I can do them one better.
“Yup, just like that. And from now on, I think we make a habit of yearly family vacations. It will be your guys’ one pass, once a year,” I tell him, barely finishing my sentence before he’s spinning me around and pressing his lips to mine.
“Who are you, and what have you done with my Demon?” Spencer says with a laugh before I’m ripped out of Trent’s arms, and he presses his hand to my forehead as if checking for a fever.
“Har har, very funny,” I tell him, swatting his hand away and making him laugh harder. “I could always take it back.” I threaten as Rick steps up behind him.
“Shut up, Spencer,” Rick growls, shoving him away and stealing me. “It’s my turn.”
“What? No, it’s still my turn. You can’t just take her.”
Spencer reaches for me, but Rick spins around, putting his back to him with me still trapped in his arms.
“What do you mean? You literally just stole her from me!” Trent argues.
Rick takes advantage of their bickering to lean in and kiss me. Kissing Trent was light and sweet, but with Rick, it’s always rough, like he’s one second from losing control, just the way I like him.
No matter who it is or how they kiss, I can always feel their love. Even years later, they make my stomach flip, my heart skip a beat, and often leave me clenching my legs together.
“Oh, my turn!” I hear Zander shout from down the hall, and a moment later, Rick grunts, and even before I open my eyes, I know Zander’s on his back.
“It’s actually still my turn, thank you,” Spencer says, pulling Zander off Rick’s back and shoving him away. Zander stumbles but remains upright. The look of horror on his face makes me laugh out loud.
“Oh my god, guys, get a room. There’s like at least ten to choose from,” Hazel says, gagging, and I shoot her a look. She might be able to slide under her brother’s radar for now, but she'd better watch it.
Her eyes go wide when she looks at me, and I think she got the message.
“Twelve,” Jake tells her matter-of-factly, which earns him an eye roll.
“That will have to wait. We need to get going,” Kratos says, somehow cutting through the surrounding chaos.
“Going where?” I ask, hoping to catch him off guard.
“Nice try, Killer.”
Should have known better. That might have worked on Zander or even Trent in the right setting, but not Kratos. Can’t blame a girl for trying, though.
“Let’s drop this stuff off in the rooms, and we can head out.”
And just like that, he’s gone, headed down the hall with more than half of our luggage. It’s completely unnecessary, considering how many of us there are. We easily could have helped, but I can’t complain as I watch the muscles in his arms flex.
“You’re drooling, Doll,” Zander teases, slinging his arm around my shoulder and directing us down the hall after him while the others grab the rest of our stuff.
Charlotte’s parents had been unpacking in one of the rooms. The moment they see us, they gush about us doing this for them and tell me how excited Char has been since they got here.
“Wait till she sees what’s next,” Trent says with a shit-eating grin, disappearing around the corner before I can hound him about what the hell he meant.
“Come on, we have a schedule to keep,” Rick says, herding us all back to the limo that still waits for us out front.
Twenty minutes later, I’m still no closer to knowing what’s going on when Char lets out an ear-piercing scream that instantly puts me on high alert.
“What?” I ask while she pushes her face up against the glass, but a quick scan doesn’t reveal anything out of the ordinary.
“Tell me that’s where we’re going!?” she demands, turning around and pouncing on Zander. She doesn’t even give him a chance to answer before she’s leaning over to hang on Kratos’s arm, begging him, but all they do is smile.
Clearly, I’m missing something.
The car rolls to a stop, and Char is the first one out, damn near vibrating in place as I get my first glimpse of what has her so excited.
Disney.
Years ago, Zander told me about Disney World, and I’d made a comment that Char would love it as he showed me picture after picture of rides, snacks, and happy people everywhere.
I’d totally forgotten about it until this moment. Clearly, they hadn’t.