“Why don’t I believe you?”
I half laughed at that. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t believe myself.”
He was quiet. “Then why are you pretending?”
“Didn’t you know? That’s why I’m here. To pretend.”
He was silent again. Then a soft sigh came over the phone. “I can’t get away from where I am or I would.”
Why was he telling me that? It shouldn’t matter to me.
“Bailey?”
God. Why did he have to sound so concerned? It was breaking me. There was more sweating happening. I tried to talk, but only a whisper came out. “I’m—I was just scared.”
Fuck it.
Bending my head low, I walked to the wall and rested my head against it. My back was to Matt, and I whispered, my voice breaking, “It was like before, when they burst in. I had a second’s notice before—” I couldn’t speak. My throat was closed off, and those tears were strolling back down my cheeks.
“Breathe, ba—breathe, Bailey.” He was so soothing, tender almost.
My chest swelled up and the tension eased, just a bit.
He continued. “You had a traumatic thing happen to you. There’s going to be residual effects; this is just one of them. You will be fine. I promise.”
I was gripping that phone so tight, holding on to it like it was a life jacket. “You promise?” God. I hated crying. Hayes women did not cry. “Yell at me.”
“What?”
“Yell at me.” I groaned, clasping my eyes shut tight. “Please. I need a distraction.”
He laughed. “If that’s all you’re worried about, I think you’ll be fine.” He was silent a second. We both heard my sniffling. “I have to stay where I am for a while. Does that make you stop crying?”
I bit my lip. It did, but there was an ache in my chest. Why was that fucking ache there?
“Bailey?” he prompted.
I wanted him to come back, but that was ridiculous. Instead, I said, “Stop spying on me all the time. It’s creepy.”
A chuckle from his end. “You sound better. Matt said your phone’s probably at the villa. Call me when you get in.”
“Why?”
“Just do it,” he snipped at me—and just like that, I relaxed.
We were on firm ground again, ground I was familiar with.
“Yeah. Okay.”
I handed the phone back to Matt. He spoke a few more words before hanging up. Turning to me, regarding me with raised eyebrows, he asked, “What would you like to do now?”
We both knew I wouldn’t be sleeping.
I took a deep breath and considered what I needed to know to feel safe.
I needed to know the lay of the land. I wanted to know all of the security measures they had in place, physical and cyber, and I wanted to gauge any holes myself.
“Tour.”
Matt said, “Tour it is.”
NINETEEN
They had a bowling lane.
A pool with a waterfall. A tennis court. I already knew about the basketball court, the nine-hole golf course. I knew about the water fountains, but there was one inside the house as well. A movie theater room. Cyclone had a room where his friends could play air hockey, foosball, a pool table, a basketball hoop that I’d only seen at arcades. Seraphina had her own friend room, too, with a modeling stage, a photo shoot area, a selfie booth, and a rotating closet with clothes for dress-up. There were three makeup tables along the wall.
Matt didn’t take me to Quinn’s section of the house, but he stopped in his old room. Besides having his own entertainment area right outside his room, like the others, complete with a sectional couch that spanned the entire room and a movie screen against one wall and full-length bar against the other, his room was relatively normal. A desk. A large bed. A bathroom. That was it, besides the walk-in closet and his own entrance. The other two didn’t have that.
I was overwhelmed. Seriously and totally overwhelmed.
This wasn’t a life I could’ve had. There was no way I could stand with these people, with everything they were given. That was not what Hayes women did. We worked. We hustled. Hayes women kept going, no matter what happened to us.
Hayes women persevere.
Matt must’ve sensed my anxiety. His eyebrows went up. “Whatever’s going on in that head, don’t worry about it. I know I give Kash a lot of shit, but the guy’s saved my ass almost a dozen times. If he says you’re safe here, you’re safe here. Don’t get scared because I was the dumbass who broke in.”
He was mistaking my silence, but on that matter, he was right.
I took in his room. “You guys have … a lot here.”
The tour took a long time, and to be honest I wasn’t paying much attention to time. I knew it was early morning by now because the sun was starting to show through the windows. If Matt was tired, he never let on. He was patient through the whole tour.
He nodded, leading me out to sit in his entertainment area. Plopping down on one of the couches, he threw his leg up on the table in front of him. Leaning back, his arms spreading over the backs of the corner he was in, he frowned at me.
I followed at a more sedate pace, curling up in the far corner. I was tempted to pull a pillow over my lap, but I just toed off my shoes and pulled my knees up, hugging them to me. I gazed back at him, resting my chin between my knees.
He seemed about to say something, when a soft and feminine cough came from the hallway, just past the doorway that connected Matt’s “wing” with the rest of the house. Quinn stood there, not in a ball gown like the other day, but still looking just as exquisite. She wore a soft cashmere bodysuit. The front crossed over her body, connecting with a tied sash at the waist. There was a lace bodice underneath, but she was very classy. Her hair was swept up in a French side bun, and like the other day, there was no jewelry at all. She had a clean, simple, natural look to her, but I knew her makeup was as good as if a professional had done it for her.
Crap. This is how she looked so early in the morning?
No way could I hang with these people. I’d still be walking blind, trying to find the coffee pot, and probably knocking into everything and everyone in my way.
Before she spoke, I saw two heads pop up from behind her.
Cyclone’s grinning mischievous gaze sparked back at me, right before he pushed forward, shoving his mom aside as he darted ahead. “Heya, Girl!” He ran around the couch, launching over the table to tackle Matt. “Heya, loser asswipe!”
He was wide awake too.
When did these people get up? Was this normal?
Matt’s arms shot up, catching his little brother. “Oh really? I’m the loser asswipe?” He laughed, rolling Cyclone to the cushions beside him and starting to tickle him. “I’m the loser?”
“Loser!” Cyclone laughed as his legs were flailing in the air. He landed a good solid kick to Matt’s face. “Whoa! Sorry. I’m sorry, Matt.”
Matt jerked back, a hand cupping the side of his face, and he turned away.
Silence. Total silence.
“Matt?” Cyclone’s eyes were wide with fear.
A sniffle came from behind Matt’s hand before he jumped back on his little brother, pinning him back down and tickling him with no mercy. “Gotcha, you little punk. That’s what you get for kicking your older brother. Huh? Huh? Am I right?”