Chapter 29
The entire ride home from school, I stole furtive glances at the guys surrounding me.
Declan’s revelation had felt like a massive bomb dropping.
It wasn’t that I thought Colt, Ronan, Dash, and Trace owed me every piece of information about their lives.
But the fact that it had never once been mentioned that Ronan had a twin brother?
It made me realize they were drowning in secrets.
It also made me feel dumb. Because as much as Colt had been my lifeline when we were young, I hadn’t seen him in years and had no idea who he really was now.
And yet, I’d just jumped when he’d offered me a place to stay.
It was almost as bad as the girls in slasher movies investigating the sound in the dark, creepy basement.
I had no idea why Colt had really invited me here—what other secrets he and the rest of the guys were keeping. But I just had to make it through this year. The moment I hit graduation, I’d be out of here, and they could have their secrets and lies.
Dash bumped his shoulder with mine. “You okay?”
I looked back at the warmest of the four. The deception hurt the most from him because I’d thought he was so sincere. “Fine.”
Dash’s brow furrowed behind his black-framed glasses. “You sure?”
I nodded and turned my focus back to the road. If they didn’t give me their answers, they sure as hell didn’t deserve mine.
The moment Colt parked, and Dash got out, I hurried to follow and made a beeline for the house. No one bothered calling my name. I took the stairs two at time and got to my room in record time.
Briar let out a loud meow. Crossing to her cat tree, I gave her a good scratch and then pressed my forehead to hers. “At least I’ve always got you.”
I ditched my backpack and changed into sweats and one of the artfully slouchy tees Carly had sent. I knew I should jump right into homework, but I was too twitchy. Going downstairs would be a risk, but the house was huge. Hopefully the guys had already disappeared into their respective corners.
Slipping out of my bedroom, I paused to listen. I didn’t hear a thing, so I tiptoed downstairs and wound my way toward the kitchen.
Baldwin rounded a corner, a bright smile on his face. “Leighton. Are you hungry? Can I make you a snack?”
I bit my lip. “Hi. I was actually wondering if I could use your kitchen?”
His brows lifted. “I can make you anything you’d like.”
“I like cooking.” It used to calm the chaos in my mind like nothing else. Until I’d gotten too scared to brave the kitchen in my mom’s house. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a nice space to do it in.”
My dad and I used to make pancakes every Saturday and cupcakes on special occasions. And he taught me all about marinades that he would make from scratch. Cooking was the best way to feel close to him when I missed him. And right now, I missed him like crazy.
Baldwin’s expression gentled. “Of course. You’re welcome to the kitchen anytime. Do you want me to give you a tour?”
I shook my head. “I’ll figure it out. Thank you.”
He nodded. “Just holler if you need anything.”
Baldwin disappeared just as quickly as he’d appeared, seeming to understand that I needed a little alone time.
I took a deep breath as I looked around the space. It was the kind of kitchen you saw in magazines—or maybe some reality show about rich people. There were three different ovens, a massive cooktop, two refrigerators, and more appliances than I could count. But it was the pantry that had me gaping.
The storage space was practically the size of a garage. My gaze swept over every nook and cranny. It was expertly organized with tags scrawled in perfect calligraphy. There were enough snacks and dry ingredients to take us through an apocalypse.
As I took in all the options, I knew instantly what I wanted to make.
I got to work gathering flour, sugar, cocoa powder, potato chips, and a few other things.
Then I pulled eggs and milk from one of the fridges.
Before long, I had all the dry ingredients mixed, and I was feeling a little more in control of things.
That was what making something with your own two hands did. Gave you back a little of that feeling that you could master your own universe.
“Should I be worried you’re going to burn down the house?”
I whirled at the sound of Ronan’s deep voice.
He chuckled. “You were really in the zone there.”
I scowled at him. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t sneak up on people.”
A flicker of surprise lit in Ronan’s eyes. “What’s going on, Firecracker?”
I turned back to the bowl of dry ingredients, making doubly sure that they were mixed as well as they should be. “Nothing. I just wanted some time to myself.”
I thought for sure he’d take the hint but, of course, Ronan didn’t. He moved in closer so that I could feel the heat coming off him in waves. “Brownies and…potato chips?”
I scooted away from him and went in search of a mixer.
Ronan caught my elbow, halting my progress. “Talk to me. Something’s obviously bothering you.”
My back teeth gnashed together, and I fought the urge to scream.
“What could possibly be bothering me? It’s not like random people show up at the house and give cryptic warnings, but then you guys refuse to tell me what’s going on.
Or that I don’t even know why all of you live here.
Or that I walked up on Trace hooking up with the worst girl ever.
Or that I found out you have a twin brother that you never once mentioned, but it seems like you hate each other. ”
I sucked in air, trying to catch my breath after my tirade.
Ronan winced, dropping his hold on my elbow. “Well, when you put it like that…”
I slumped against the counter. “You’re all just incredibly confusing. One minute, I think you want to be friends, and the next, it’s like you don’t want me anywhere near you or your business.”
Pain flashed across Ronan’s face. “It’s not that we don’t want you with us. We do. More than we probably should. But being near us isn’t always safe.”
“That,” I growled. “It’s cryptic crap like what you just said that is driving me batty. Either tell me what’s going on or just leave me alone. I can stay out of your hair until I graduate. Declan said he could give me a ride to and from school.”
“Declan isn’t giving you a ride anywhere,” Ronan snarled.
My eyes widened at the ferocity in his tone. “What happened with you two?”
Ronan opened his mouth, and I knew it was going to be another of those nonanswers.
I held up a hand. “If you go all cryptic on me again, I’m going to smash this egg on your head.”
A laugh burst out of him, which was the last reaction I was expecting. He shook his head, grinning. “You really are a firecracker.”
I just arched a brow.
Ronan sighed. “He’s not anything to me but blood. I honestly don’t think of him as a brother. Colt, Trace, and Dash are way more my brothers than he is.”
My stomach cramped at the hurt that lived below those words. “Why?”
Ronan’s gaze locked with mine. “Because he betrayed me when I needed him most.”
I could’ve given him hell for going cryptic on me again. But I could tell it wasn’t because he was trying to hide things from me. It was because it was too painful to talk about. I had things like that.
I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his waist, squeezing hard. “I’m sorry.”
Ronan didn’t move for a beat. I was about to let go when his arms came around me in answer. The move was robotic, as if he hadn’t hugged someone in years.
Ronan rested his chin on the top of my head and breathed deeply. “Thanks, Firecracker.”
We stood there for several minutes, and I let myself revel in the warmth of Ronan, as if he were my own personal heater. Finally, he released me and stepped back, a small smile on his lips. “Can I help you make whatever weird thing this is that involves both brownie batter and potato chips?”
I huffed out a breath. “You’re going to be eating those words when you taste my potato chip brownies.”
Ronan scrunched up his nose. “Potato chip brownies?”
“Don’t knock them,” I warned. “It’s the salty and sweet. They’re delicious.”
“They sound disgusting.”
“You know, you don’t have to help.”
He held up both hands. “Just tell me what to do.”
“Grab me a mixer.” I bent, my slouchy tee sliding off one shoulder as I turned on the oven to three hundred and fifty degrees.
Footsteps sounded behind me, then stopped, and Ronan sucked in a breath.
“What. The. Hell. Happened. To. You?”