Chapter 4
Four
Liam
The front door swings open with full force, and the entire gang comes charging into the house. I’m stretched out on the sofa, staring at my phone.
I keep debating whether I should attempt to reach out to Bristol or leave her be.
The last time I saw her, we were in the emergency room together. She got two liters of saline, which seemed to help, and then I drove her back to the dorms, where she proceeded to tell me that she never wanted to see me again.
Not a huge surprise.
I wasn’t exactly expecting a thank you.
There’s tension between all of them, and I can’t tell who is mad at whom, but something happened.
“You’re back early.” I glance at Luca, wondering why they’re home from his father’s house already. I would have expected them to be gone, at minimum, overnight.
Luca’s nostrils flare as he storms inside the house. “My wife decided to pay a visit to the police station.”
Harper scowls, grabs the bag from Luca’s hands and carries it off to the bedroom in silence.
“Damn.” If I wasn’t already seated, I’d be falling into the sofa on that shocker.
She shuts the bedroom door behind herself, and I glance up at Luca. “Are you okay?”
“Not happy right now,” he mutters, and Zeke comes to tackle his legs, giggling.
It’s like the kid is attempting to cheer him up.
Luca sighs and lifts Zeke, twirling him upside down through the air, listening to his fit of giggles. At least one of us is oblivious to the drama around here.
“I’m going to check on Harper,” Nova says, and Luca grabs her arm to stop her.
“Just leave her be. I’ll talk to her in a bit. Right now, I need some space before I blow up at her again.”
“Tense drive home?” I guess.
My phone buzzes with a text, and I’m shocked by its sender—Kyler Greyson.
Thanks for keeping me updated last night. I owe you one.
Never thought I’d have a billionaire, former professional hockey player owing me anything. I try not to smile too wide, but I can’t help it.
“Booty call?” Ashton quips, seeing me glancing at my phone.
“No. Is the smile that obvious?” I try to wipe it away, but damn, it put me in a good mood.
Wish I could spread the joy around here, because the tension steaming off Luca and Ashton is worse than when they wanted to kill each other a few months ago.
“You’re happy. Did you get laid recently?” Ashton quips.
Nova smacks his arm.
“Ow. What was that for?” He shakes his head, staring at her. “Are you still mad at me from earlier?”
“That’s a rude question to ask,” Nova scolds her boyfriend.
“If I’m mad?”
Nova grumbles and steps closer, staring up at him. “No, if he’s had sex recently. You’d be pissed if Liam asked me that question.”
“Of course, I would, but that’s because the only person fucking you ought to be me.”
Nova tries to suppress a smile, but she’s failing miserably. It’s cute. “That’s not happening tonight, at least not with you.”
Ashton raises an eyebrow. “Who else do you plan on bringing to bed? This guy?” He jabs a thumb in my direction.
Why are they bringing me into their flirty, fighting banter? “Excuse me? I’d rather fuck Bristol than get in between the two of you and whatever it is going on there.”
As soon as the words leave my lips, I grimace, realizing the truth.
I’ve known it for a while, since that stupid kiss.
I’m catching feelings for Bristol Greyson, and as much as I want nothing to do with her, I can’t stop thinking about her.
Ashton smiles down at Nova, wrapping his arms around her waist and then immediately dropping his hold.
Their banter is a bit strange tonight, but it’s nevertheless amusing to watch. Besides, I’m glad to have Nova around, she keeps Ashton a bit more in line than he otherwise would be.
Nova glances in my direction, raising an eyebrow. “Who’s Bristol?”
“No one,” I mutter under my breath.
Luca comes to crash next to me on the sofa, bringing Zeke with him. “Is this the girl you spent all day with yesterday? The one that broke your dick and landed you in the emergency room?”
I roll my eyes and turn my phone around so no one else can see the text message that I’ve been staring at from her father.
“She didn’t break my dick because we didn’t have sex. We didn’t even kiss yesterday.”
“Boring!” Nova climbs onto the sofa, squeezing between Luca and me. She winks at Ashton, who is forced to sit on the love seat on the other side of the room.
“It was anything but boring,” I admit. Whenever I’m with Bristol, boring does not describe our relationship, which isn’t even a relationship. It’s not even classifiable as a friendship.
“Are you going to share any other details, or just relive it in your head?” Nova stares at me, and I hope I’m not blushing.
The room is warm, or maybe it’s just the fact there’s three of us on the sofa.
Zeke climbs across Luca’s lap and lands in Nova’s arms. Burying his face in her neck, he closes his eyes.
The little guy is getting sleepy but clearly fighting it.
“Liam?” Nova is waiting for me to answer.
“Right, I, uh, saw Bristol yesterday at the coffee shop. The short version is that she came all the way from Great Falls to see me.”
Nova’s eyes widen. “That’s promising.”
“Except that we hate each other. Well, she still hates me, probably more than I hate her. Not that I ever liked her—” I shut my eyes and tip my head back on the sofa.
“Right. You have a lot of strong feelings toward a girl you don’t like.”
“Hate is a strong emotion,” I counter. But Nova is right, the feelings are strong between us.
Luca gets up from the sofa and points at the bedroom. “Speaking of hate … I need to talk to Harper.”
Nova and I exchange a laugh. “I don’t think you could ever hate Harper.” I’ve seen the looks those two give each other, how they can undress one another solely with their eyes.
I want that kind of relationship, where it’s both passionate and filled with trust.
I’m not sure if I could ever trust Bristol; passion, that’s something we have a ton of, even though it’s more rooted in hatred than romance.
Lust and hate aren’t necessarily opposites, though, either.
Fuck, am I lusting after Bristol Greyson?
Zeke climbs down from the sofa and follows after Luca.
“Daddy!” he squeals, running right up from behind, and Luca swoops down, lifting him into the air and letting him fly like an airplane.
Zeke holds his arms out, sailing through the air and giggling the entire time on his way to the bedroom.
Luca finally puts the kid on his hip and then carries him into their bedroom, shutting the door behind himself.
With Harper and Luca out of the room, I have to ask, “What’s going on with those two? You guys mentioned a visit to the police station?” I’m still wondering what the fuck happened today. I’m not usually one for gossip, but if it involves two of my best friends, then I want to know everything.
Nova shrugs, and Ashton stands up from across the room and grabs the empty seat on the sofa.
“I’m not entirely sure. She mentioned stealing from Dante the stuffed dragon that Massimo had used to threaten Luca. But she thought it belonged to someone else—”
“Who?” I ask. “Wait, was he the reason we’ve been keeping an eye on Harper and Zeke?” I’m trying to wrap my head around what’s going on. I feel a bit like Harper, kept in the dark.
“Yes.”
“And how do the police factor into this?” I glance between Ashton and Nova.
Nova’s voice is soft, fueled with concern. “I believe she may have been trying to take down Dante, without realizing all of our involvement.”
Ashton glances at Nova, raising an eyebrow.
“I just mean all of us as family. My hands are clean.” Nova holds her hands up in the air. “Mostly.”
There’s a smirk on her face and I roll my eyes and stand, heading toward the fridge. I could use a beer. “Sounds overly dramatic for a Sunday night.”
“Tell me about it,” Ashton mutters. “Any more trouble today around here? I heard about the guy lurking this morning.”
“He did a little more than lurking,” I say. I open the fridge, grab a beer and pop off the lid, taking a swig. “But we scared him off. No more trouble, yet. Do you think he was tied to that Massimo fellow?”
“Likely,” Ashton says.
We don’t have a massive supply of beer, since getting a hold of it can be a bit difficult during the summer. At least during the hockey season, there are seniors who are willing to buy and supply us a case here and there.
Campus is practically dead, but in a little over a week, students will start moving back into the dorms.
Town will once again be bustling.
I’m looking forward to everyone getting together to practice. A few of us still meet up at the gym daily, but it’s nice when it’s the entire hockey team.
I’m not thrilled that classes will be resuming and my chances of running into Bristol become non-existent, unless I’m visiting my twin, Sophia, at Great Falls or we’re playing against their team, the Predators.
“Hopefully, we didn’t cause more trouble today,” Ashton grumbles. “We cleaned up some shit, but I can’t be certain more problems won’t follow.”
“Life of the job.” I glance back at Harper and Luca’s bedroom. “Unless you mean trouble because of that—” I gesture behind me for their door.
“Harper paying a visit to the police puts all of us on notice. We need to be careful.” Ashton glances at each of us.
“I’m always careful,” Nova says, pulling her legs up on the sofa beside herself as she leans against Ashton.
He wraps an arm around her shoulders and nods. His eyes are heavy, he looks tired but alert.
“Do we need to start worrying about taking shifts, someone staying awake, watching security feeds outside the house?” I know we’ve already agreed to not let Harper and Zeke be alone.
Ashton sighs and runs his hands along Nova’s arms. “I don’t think that’s necessary yet. We’ll know rather quickly whether everything turns to shit or not.”
“That’s not exactly reassuring,” Nova says.
I bring my beer back into the living room and head toward the loveseat across from Ashton and Nova.
“It wasn’t meant to be.” Ashton pulls Nova onto his lap. “You don’t have to worry; we’ll keep you safe.”
Nova smirks and stretches her legs out on the sofa. “I wasn’t worried. I can take care of myself.”
I sit and take a swig from my beer. “Do we know anything about the men who were harassing Harper?” I ask.
Ashton nods, his hands caressing Nova’s hips, pulling her closer protectively. “Their mafia don is dead. Now, we wait to see what happens.”