“I don’t wanna have this conversation with you!” he snaps.
She lets out a huff. “Well, too fucking bad. We’re gonna have it.”
I rip my shirt up and over my head and unfasten my jeans before shoving them down my legs. I yank the covers back and crawl into the soft bed.
“Why didn’t you tell me the guys were coming?” she continues.
“Slipped my mind,” he lies.
I know why he didn’t tell her. He doesn’t want Austin to have the slightest clue of what is going on, but she’s a smart girl. She’ll figure it out. He should know that by now.
“Well, how long are they staying?” She huffs.
“Don’t know.” His response is flat.
“Do you know anything?” she snaps.
“I know I’m going for a swim.” Their bedroom door opens and then slams shut.
I sigh, placing my hands behind my head and stare up at the white ceiling. I should go down to the pool and talk to him, but sometimes the best thing you can do for Cole is give him space.
I just close my eyes when my bedroom door bursts open, hitting the interior wall. They snap open. I hold in a sigh when Austin enters my room, hands on her hips and a sour look on her face. “What the fuck is going on, Deke?”
I sit up. “That’s for Cole to tell you.”
“He won’t.”
“Then I can’t help you—”
“Bullshit!” she snaps.
I lie back down and close my eyes, dismissing her. When I hear my bedroom door slam shut, I smile in victory. My left hand reaches out to grab my phone. I need to set my alarm. I have a nine a.m. class tomorrow. My eyes spring open when I feel nothing but my nightstand.
I throw the covers off. “Shit!” My phone is missing. I just had it. I put it right there ... “Austin?” I shout her name, running out of my room. I enter their bedroom without knocking and find it empty. But their adjoining bathroom door is shut. I run over and try to open it. It’s locked! “Austin?” I pound on the door.
Silence.
Shit! I move back, about to shove my shoulder into the door to get my phone back, but then decide against it. This is Cole’s problem. Not mine.
I make my way downstairs and out to the back patio. Cole has his head underwater, swimming laps. I reach over and grab the first thing I can find, which is a towel. I take it and throw it at him. His arm gets caught in it, pulling it underwater. He comes to a stop and lifts his head. “What?” he demands.
“Austin locked herself in your bathroom.”
He just stares up at me from the pool.
“And she has my phone with her.”
He frowns.
“I don’t have a lock on it.”
Recognition dawns on his face. Placing his hands on the edge of the pool, he pushes himself out of the water and makes a mad dash for the house.
I follow him but much slower.
“What’s going on?” Bennett asks as I walk through the living room, my feet stepping in the puddles that Cole left behind. He and Shane are sitting on the couch.
“Nothing,” I answer, not wanting to explain it. Making my way up to my bedroom, I enter and shut my door. I can hear them arguing once again.
“This is no joke, Cole.” Austin growls. “This is Evan Scott!” she snaps. Maybe she doesn’t know. “Becky told me a while back that Evan Scott was Deke.” Well, fuck! “And I highly doubt he sent this to you and himself.” He says nothing. “And all of a sudden Bennett and Shane show up? Obviously, someone is fucking with you guys. And you were gonna keep this from me?”
“Yes.”
She gasps at his honesty. “Why?”
He sighs. “Why would I tell you? Sweetheart”—he softens his voice—“I pulled you into this game nine months ago, and it almost got you killed. I can’t lose you …”
“Nothing is going to happen to me, Cole.”
“You don’t know that,” he argues. “And I’m not willing to take that risk. Not again.”
“Wouldn’t you want me to be alert? I take Lilly to school. I pick her up. She has dance and ballet. I’m not with you a hundred percent of the time. Barely fifty percent now that you have classes and swimming. Wouldn’t you rather me know to keep my eyes open for something off than be in the dark?”
He doesn’t answer that because he knows she has a valid point.
“You’re different,” she whispers, and it’s so low I almost didn’t catch what she said. “And I can handle dark and moody, Cole, but not this one who keeps secrets. We’re supposed to be a team.”
“I know,” he says with a rough voice.
“I’m going to be your wife.”
“I know.”
“Whatever you are getting into, I’m getting in too.”
“No!” He growls.
“Yes! This isn’t just about you anymore. You, me, Lilly, and the guys. You’re all my family, Cole. I trust you all with my life. You need to trust me just as much.”
“I trust you.” He snorts.
“Then show me that.”
A long silence follows before he speaks. “I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you too.”
Then they’re kissing. Her moaning follows shortly after. I roll over onto my side and grab the spare pillow on my bed and place it over my head, not wanting to hear them fucking. You would think as much as houses cost these days, the walls would be soundproof.
“Stop,” she says.
“Excuse me?” Cole asks, sounding surprised. Pretty sure he’s never heard that word from a woman before.
“We need to talk to the guys.”
“It can wait …”
“No. It can’t. This is important.” She growls.
Seconds later, my door opens, and she pokes her head in. My phone sails through the air, almost hitting me in the head. “Get dressed and meet us downstairs.”
I sigh and do as she says, wanting to get this over with. I already told them I’m fucking tired.
DEKE
We all gather in the living room. Austin sits on Cole’s lap in the leather recliner. I’m perched on the couch next to Bennett, and Shane stands by the back door, refusing to sit.
“Do we have an idea who it is?” Austin asks. Her eyes scan the paper one more time. Cole gave it to her ten minutes ago, and we’ve all sat here while she silently went over it.
“No.” I answer.
“Demi has to be behind it.” Shane growls.
“I don’t know,” she says slowly. “Demi doesn’t seem to be that type.”
He pushes off the wall. “Deke is fucking her.”
“What?” She gasps, her large green eyes meeting mine.
“I’m not.” My jaw clenches. I’m only fucking her in my dreams. My dreams where she pretends to be Becky and tells me to hurt her. Too bad I end up killing her every time. I keep that to myself, though. Don’t wanna cause more worry than there already is.
Shane goes on. “She knows too much. And she needs to die.”
I didn’t think Austin’s eyes could have gotten any bigger when she looks at him. “You can’t be serious.”
“You have a better option?” he asks.