Chapter 13 #2
Jack’s been silent as usual, his hood up to hide his face, and his hands tucked into his kangaroo pocket while following our little group as our shadow.
“I already unlocked it when we came out of the elevator,” Dane reminds me as if we hadn’t all seen him do it. I’d hoped to get her consent to enter, but maybe that was being overly optimistic.
I open the door and peek inside. She’s nowhere to be seen in the hallway or from what I can see of the living room. “We’re coming in, okay?”
Portia wraps her arm around mine and tugs me inside. “Come on! I’m starving, and I’m sure she will be too when she smells it.”
We stride down the hallway until it opens to a kitchen and living area.
It’s a carbon copy of Harvey’s and Reid’s except with fewer doors.
There are two on the left wall and one on the right corner of the living space.
There are no doors or windows that open outside like Harvey’s old apartment, but the windows on either side of the entertainment unit are floor to ceiling.
Even with a thin shade covering them, the light from the setting sun filters through as a soft, orange glow over the beige carpet and furniture.
“Who the heck are you?”
Alice is standing at the counter with a glass of water.
She’s eyeing Portia up and down with her brows pinched as if she can’t figure out what to make of her, which is fair.
I’d done my own double-take of glitter girl when I’d first met her.
She’s not wearing her usual getup for the nightclub, but she’s still in a thigh-length skirt with tulle that swishes around her legs as she walks.
It’s black velvet and covered in glitter and sequins, so even the apartment lighting catches and reflects the sparkles every time she moves.
A fitted sleeveless turtleneck at least contains her chest. Her hair is half up in two space buns and laced with glittering ribbons, while her face is bejeweled and shimmering to highlight her cheekbones and make her vibrant green eyes pop.
I’m convinced Elias made her wear something with more coverage before allowing her to join us.
He isn’t far; he’d stayed behind with Aiden to work through some details of the Tower and costs.
I’m a bit worried how they’ll do together, but at least Cibrina was walking into the office as I left.
Hopefully, she was there to stay and could act as a peaceful mediator when needed.
Portia isn’t the least bit deterred by Alice’s demand. She bounces forward and grabs her hand. “Alice! It’s nice to meet you! I’m Portia: Raegan’s bestie, partner-in-crime, and now a badass too. Maybe not as end-of-the-world badass as Rae is, but definitely close.”
Dane moves next to me and sets the bags of food on the counter. He leans and whispers in my ear, “I thought Kell was your partner-in-crime.”
I cringe. Maybe he’ll welcome another partner instead of taking it as her trying to replace him. Right. Because Kellan would definitely not see it as a challenge and try to duke it out with Portia. My cheek grazes his when I whisper back, “Not a word to Kellan.”
He smirks and straightens, silently retrieving the containers of food to stack on the counter.
Alice pulls her hand back, still staring at Portia like she’s struggling to figure out how to respond. I’ll bet she wants to be mean to push us away, but Portia completely derailed her anger with her excitement and smile.
Jackson strolls past us and disappears into the nearest attached room.
He reappears a few seconds later and heads to the next one.
Alice stiffens when she notices him exiting the first room.
“Making yourselves at home already,” she comments, sarcasm dripping from her tone.
She sets her glass down hard on the counter.
Dane’s arm tenses where it’s pressed against me. He’s eyeing the glass like a possible weapon. When he drags his stare to Alice, she’s glaring back, no sign of the humbled girl who thanked him at the funeral.
“What? You think I’m stupid enough to try breaking a piece to attack her? I know I’d be dead the second the glass breaks.”
“Sounds like you've thought about it,” he accuses.
I nudge his arm with mine. “Dane.”
This is why I didn’t want them coming. Between the two of them, her guard is up. She couldn’t keep her anger on Portia, so she redirected it to the guys.
“Are you hungry?” I ask her, trying to restart the conversation.
Alice looks at me but doesn’t answer.
Portia starts pulling the containers of food in front of her.
“What’s your favorite? I got a little of everything.
.. well, maybe not everything, but close enough since we weren't sure what you liked. Do you want some soup? Pork fried rice? Or lo mein? Maybe beef and broccoli or orange chicken? Oh! And egg rolls! Lots and lots of egg rolls!”
Damn. No wonder there were so many bags.
“Did you buy all their food for the night?” Dane questions in disbelief.
Portia shrugs. “Just a bit of everything.”
“I’m not hungry.” Alice avoids looking at the food and Portia. “So you can take it and leave.”
“Don’t be silly. Here.” Portia snaps a pair of chopsticks apart and stabs them into an open container of lo mein noodles.
She takes Alice’s hand and shoves it around the food.
“Start with this, and you can decide later what else you want. Rae, let’s dig in and then eat in the bedroom. The boys can stay out here.”
Jackson is suddenly behind me, his cool fingertips sliding beneath my shirt to find my hips as if he needs the skin-on-skin contact. “The apartment’s safe,” he breathes quietly into my nape. “I’ve confiscated anything that might be dangerous and checked the rooms. Call out if you need me.”
Everyone’s eyes are on us. Only Dane was close enough to hear, and the tension in his body eases with Jackson’s words.
I give Jack a short nod. He presses his lips to my hair, holding himself there longer than normal.
Alice’s eyes widen a fraction with fear, and I realize he must be looking at her over my head in warning.
I lean forward to break his contact, then glance at him over my shoulder.
There’s just enough lighting in the kitchen to see the quirk of his lips and the dangerous depths of his blue eyes within his hood.
He reaches toward me. I hold my ground, waiting to see what he’s going to do, but his hand continues past me.
Jack withdraws with a skewer of meat in his hand.
He bites the first piece off, still smirking, then stalks to a chair in the corner of the living room.
An array of kitchen knives and anything else with a point hover behind him.
He jumps, effortlessly reaching the height needed to squat on the back of the chair so he can see the whole apartment from his perch.
The floating objects spread throughout the room like metal sentries as he bites off another piece of meat.
Portia sidles up to me, wrapping her arms around one of mine. “Sooooo... what do I need to do to stay on his good side? I know what you told me before, and I believe you, it’s just... he looks stab-happy.”
I pat and squeeze her hand. “I promise, you’re safe.”
Alice huffs irritably and pokes her chopsticks into the noodles. “Not me, though, right? He’s here because of me.”
“Come on.” Rather than lie to her, I detangle from Portia and start filling my arms with food while Portia does the same. “Let’s go eat and relax. We’ll even close the door, and you can pretend they aren’t here.” I usher Alice to lead the way.
She makes a face but turns and complies, probably just to escape Jackson’s critical gaze.
The bedroom is a decent size with a bed, a simple desk, and a sofa chair.
There aren’t any knick-knacks or personal items, of course.
Still, I see clothes on the floor and hanging in the closet, so at least she’s been given enough basic amenities to be comfortable.
Portia empties her armful of food onto the desk, grabbing a container and a pair of chopsticks before hopping onto the bed.
“Finally!” She crosses her legs and digs in with a small groan.
“Mmmygawd! I missed this. The chicken is so much better here.” She points her chopsticks at Alice, who’s still standing awkwardly in the middle of the room with her noodles.
“Did you know they make the chicken different depending on which coast you’re on? ”
Dragging the desk chair to the side of the bed, I sit and set in to consume my food as if it’s been days since I’ve eaten last.
“What is this?” Alice asks, ignoring Portia’s commentary on the food.
“What’s what?” Portia responds through a mouthful and stuffed cheeks. “Chinese food?” She swallows, then gasps, eyes growing wide. “Is this your first time?”
Alice rolls her eyes. “Not the food. This. You two. Is this some sort of interrogation technique to get me to open up and tell you what I know? Because if it is, you can leave right now. I’m not making the same mistake as Harvey.
I’m not dying for you people.” Her face almost flinches as the words fall from her lips. She sucks them in and looks away.
I keep quiet, letting Portia take the lead since this is more her thing.
She laughs, and it’s such a bright and bubbly sound that I can’t help but smile. “Oh, this is just girls’ night! I heard you were in here all alone and thought you might like some female company.”
The girl frowns. “Company to do what?”
Portia chews on her next bite and waves at us and the room.
“This. Eat and talk about stuff.” When she sees Alice’s annoyed expression, she shakes her head.
“We don’t have to talk about any of that stuff.
You know, dumb, silly things. Like how one time I replaced Ethan’s body wash with latex-based glow paint on Wear White Night, and apparently, he’d layered it on thick enough that you could see his dick through his shorts all night.
The worst part was that it wouldn’t wash off like I thought it would.
He had to scrub a lot of it off, and even then, it took a few days.
He had a date the next night, and I told him he should tell her that he had fallen into a pool of nuclear waste and now had glowing superpowers. Which wasn’t wrong!”
“Oh my god, Porsh!” I cackle.
“What?” She giggles. “How was I supposed to know he uses body wash on his dick?”
“You're a savage. Remind me to never get in a prank war with you.”
She beams. “He and I have been at this for two years now, and I still think all mine have been winners.” She swings her arm at Alice and the open sofa chair. “Sit! Sit!”
Surprisingly, she does. “I don't have any stories like that,” she admits softly.
Portia smiles. “That’s okay; they don’t have to be like that one.”
Alice grips her food. “No. I mean... I don’t have stories... at all,” she grits out like it’s painful to admit.
I nod, shifting my food around with the chopsticks. “I don’t have many, either. The ones I do have are actually from my time on the island where we’d been kidnapped to. But I’m starting to make more here.”
“I just have my siblings. And Mom and Dad.” Her cheek indents. “They’re the only ones who know I exist.”
Portia stretches her leg out and pokes Alice’s knee with her toe.
“Not anymore.” She draws it back and leans forward.
“Let’s make lots of fun memories, Alice!
We could go dancing together, go shopping, or just hang out eating and watching movies all day.
Oh, and I could introduce you to everyone at the club, too! You’ll have loads of friends!”
“Or you could join the Guild,” I offer, and when Alice appears unconvinced, I shrug.
“It’s just an option. You don’t have to be isolated anymore, not in here, and not by Charles.
You could live here, pick the jobs you want, work with friends.
I know they’d all be happy to have you. They welcomed me, after all, and it’s like I’ve been here all along with how they treat me. Once you’re in, you’re family.”