Chapter 29
AVA
The three of us waited for Cruz to get to his apartment complex.
On the way there, we stopped by to pick up a couple of pizzas since we figured Cruz had barely eaten anything today. If we were hungry, he had to be starving.
“Hell of a place to live alone,” Grayson mumbled as he investigated the apartment building.
Both Micah and I looked at each other, but we knew damn well we shouldn’t tease Grayson about caring. He would go ahead and deny it, but we knew better.
Cruz was growing on him, and he hated it.
I loved it, and I assumed Micah did too.
Our boyfriend was starting to like our other boyfriend.
Was that too confusing?
“Look, there he is,” I said, pointing toward the entrance where Cruz’s car could be seen.
He pulled in and parked in the spot next to us, but it took him a whole minute before he turned off his car.
“Hope I didn’t make you guys wait long,” he said without really looking at any of us.
Ignoring his sour mood, I bypassed Micah and Grayson so I could reach him and give him a hug.
Cruz not being his usual joker self was a bit alarming.
I wondered what happened on that ride with Big Dog.
He leaned into my touch, burrowed his head into my neck, and took a deep breath.
No one said anything as I rubbed his back and hugged him.
After a few minutes, Grayson cleared his throat.
“We should probably head inside…you know how everything around us has eyes.”
His voice was surprisingly gentle. I turned back and gave him a grateful smile. Now was not the time to start snapping at Cruz.
They both could be so stubborn, and I was afraid one day they wouldn’t hold back and end up hurting one another without really meaning to.
“Yeah, let’s go inside.”
We all followed Cruz in a single line as we made our way to his apartment. Once inside, he told us to make ourselves comfortable while he went to the kitchen. He came back a few seconds later with napkins and disposable plates.
Micah raised an eyebrow as he took the items.
“This is very domesticated of you,” Micah murmured.
“Kinda hot,” I added.
He gave us a small smile. It was better than him being all serious. “You do realize I’ve been living alone all my life, right?”
I scrunched my nose at his comment. It made me grateful for all I had growing up, and I admired him all the more.
“Disposable plates mean no dishes. I hate doing dishes.” He sighed but kept going. “I always hated how my hands get pruned afterward, but now I hate anything that has to do with water.”
The last part was admitted in a whisper.
“I don’t feel comfortable taking showers at the facility anymore,” Grayson added.
“I hate being home alone,” Micah said as he slowly opened one of the pizza boxes.
Okay, I guess we were doing this.
“If I’m not with you guys or my dad, I no longer feel safe.”
We all reached for a slice of pizza without saying another word. When Cruz broke the silence, I knew he had some things to get off his chest, and we had to be patient and let him.
“Do you ever think we let this get bigger than it should have? At what point are we going to be, like, fuck, we should have gotten help or something?”
I didn’t say anything because I had wondered the same thing on many occasions, and when neither Micah nor Grayson spoke, I figured we were all in the same boat.
“We went to the church,” I offered, and boy, did this have a reaction.
“What?” Cruz bit out.
“Um…we kind of wanted to follow you, you know, have your back, but it was too risky. We figured that if we could figure out what the church needed Big Dog for, it could help you out.”
Cruz looked at Micah like he had grown two heads, then he turned his glare toward Grayson. “You let that shit happen?”
“Fuck you,” he shot back. “We’re all in this together. That shit you pulled today in going MIA was not cool…and honestly fucking selfish.”
Both their jaws were clenched, and I couldn’t help but think how hot they looked.
“You guys are hot when you’re angry.”
All three of them turned around and gave me an incredulous look.
“I’m just being honest,” I said as I bit into my pizza. “So let’s swap intel.”
“I’d rather swap spit, if we are being honest,” Cruz added with a hint of a smile, and it was contagious that the three of us couldn’t help but join in.
“The church people are fucking creepy,” Micah told Cruz. “We found dried blood on their altar.”
Cruz didn’t seem surprised by this.
Micah looked at all of us and continued. “And some hair…blonde hair dipped in blood.”
At this, Cruz’s eyebrows went up to his hairline, then he spoke.
“One of my boys said the crates smelled like dead husk. My guess is they are doing some rituals or some shit.”
I gasped. “Poor animals.”
“I also found out some information. It might be something, or maybe nothing, but I found out the leader of the church has a lakefront property.”
“Shit, and you said the day of the lake you had been following Big Dog, didn’t you?”
Grayson put the dots together before Micah and I did. “You think they’re connected?”
Cruz shrugged. “I don’t know, but I do know their connection just got a whole lot more interesting.”
After that, the conversation turned a little lighter.
Cruz cleared his throat. “You guys are welcome to crash here whenever.”
“I noticed there’s a bush and a tree right behind your bedroom window,” Micah said.
“Yeah, what of it?”
“It’s a perfect hiding place in case someone wanted to keep an eye on you.”
“But my blinds are always down.”
“But what if they weren’t?”
Cruz seemed to think over what Micah was implying. “So, we’re going to put on a free show? Fuck, at this rate, let’s open an OnlyFans. We’re hot as fuck, and once shit hits the fan, we’ll have money for legal fees or to escape to Costa Rica or some shit.”
“Yeah, not Costa Rica,” Micah added. “They can extradite us to the US.”
“So, all of a sudden, we are all experts in criminal law?” I mocked them.
Grayson smiled. “At this point, we should be.”
He was not wrong.
“Okay, so when is this thing going down?” Cruz asked once he stopped eating. “You can’t just ask me to perform on demand.”
“I don’t think your cock has a problem with that,” Gray shot back.
“You just want to see me fuck while some psycho beats their meat at the thought of killing me,” Cruz snapped back.
I rolled my eyes at their banter. At this point, I was convinced it was foreplay.
“We won’t let it get that far. Look, you and Ava can engage them, while Micah and I stake out, and then we can deal with them.”
“Why can’t I be outside dealing with them?” Cruz glared at Grayson for seemingly putting him out of the action.
“It’s your apartment, dickhead,” Grayson said as he rolled his eyes.
“Should I be offended?” I asked even though I knew he didn’t mean it. “I didn’t know it would be such a hardship.”
“You’re not actually going to fuck in front of the psycho,” Micah added. “Grayson and I will make sure to stop them before they see too much.”
“Does that mean we can carry on while you guys figure out who’s stalking us?” Cruz asked. “I don’t function well with blue balls.”
I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped me. “This is the most bizarre conversation we’ve ever had.”
They nodded in agreement.
“So, we do it today?” I asked.
Cruz smirked at me. “Impatient to get into my pants, aren’t we, princess?”
I rolled my eyes, but I felt my cheeks heat with embarrassment.
Grayson cleared his throat, and if I wasn’t mistaken, there was heat in his eyes that wasn’t there a few seconds ago.
“We need to talk about you spending the night. To make sure that whoever is watching us will come.”
“Ah…” Cruz opened his mouth in a tiny smirk. “We need to advertise.”
“The library,” Micah threw out without missing a beat. “I always get the feeling like we aren’t totally alone when the four of us are there together.”
I nodded because I felt the same.
“Okay,” I said in a yawn. “Now that that’s settled, we can take a nap. I’m sleepy.”
I lay my head on Micah’s lap while I turned to face Cruz.
“Bring out your pillows and blankets. We can all stay here since I don’t think your bed fits all of us.”
His features softened.
“You guys are staying here?” Although he was just looking at me, I knew his question was for everyone.
“Yeah.” Grayson was the one who answered.
Grayson couldn’t see it, but I could see the pleased smile that crossed Cruz’s face.