“Oh my God, fine. Get the keys,” I whisper, turning the knob and walking in.
The music is louder in the pitch black room, and I can’t see a damn thing, except light coming out from under a door.
“Fuck yes, right there, Tobias. Harder, dammit.”
“You like me wrecking your pussy, don’t you, Dee?”
Oh my freaking God! I cringe inwardly.
“Yes, yes! Oh, God, yes!”
Oh, God, no, I think as I feel around for my phone.
The music stops, the door opens, and I drop to the floor like a freaking rag doll.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” he roars, stalking over to me, towel in one hand, covering his dick. He grabs my arm and pulls me up.
“She’s a little late for a threesome.”
“The fuck do you not get about leave?” He starts pulling me toward the door.
I yank away from him. “My phone!”
“Let her get her phone Tobias and find me a damn towel so I can grab my clothes.” Dee, the naked blonde peeking around the door, says.
I look around and spot my phone. I yank it off the charger and turn around.
Standing in front of me is a butt-ass naked Tobias Easton and a wrapped-up walking Barbie.
“Jesus Christ.” I shake my head.
“Impressive, right?” Dee asks.
I look at her and wave my hand in his general direction, which happens to be the entire path to my exit. “That … It’s a lowercase D, at best.”
I don’t wait for him to respond, or even for him to move. I jump up on his bed, run across the mattress, hop down and out the door.
“Come on, Brisa.”
“I can’t find the keys!”
I look back at her and see she’s crying.
“Little bit, don’t cry,” Manbun says from outside.
“What the hell is going on in my fucking house?” Tobias booms from behind me.
“Trust me; we don’t want to be here, but we need our shit, and then we’ll be out of your hair, button.”
“Button?” Frank asks.
“The fuck are you doing here, man?” Tobias asks him.
“The girls needed an escort to get their belongings,” he tells him.
“I can’t find the keys.” Brisa sniffs.
“Don’t cry over lost keys, Brisa. I’m sure Dad has a spare set.”
“You can’t call him! He’ll flip!”
“Steel, your cousins are at my place; lost their keys.”
I look back at Tobias, who’s now wearing basketball shorts and glares at me as he continues with his phone conversation.
“Come get them, or I’m calling the cops.”
Still glaring at me, he listens to who I assume is Patrick.
He sighs. “I’ve got shit to do tonight, and you know it.”
“We can get the girls home,” Manbun says from outside.
Tobias looks over at the door. “You bring Ranger to my house before a fight?”
Frank answers, “Girls said they were having—”
“You bring him to my fucking door, Frank!”
“I found them!” Brisa yells as she holds up the keys.
I grab her hand and pull her toward the door.
As we run past Manbun and the other two long hairs and toward the street, he calls out to us, “Only gonna take ten minutes, ladies. Stick around.”
Almost to the vehicle, I hold out my hand. “Keys.”
“Um, fuck no, you’ve been drinking,” Brisa says, hurrying toward the driver’s side of my Rover.
“I’m pretty damn sober now.”
“Tell that to a breathalyzer,” she says, sliding into the driver’s seat.
I hop in the passenger side as she hits the start button.
“Call Patrick and warn him not—”
“Right.” I hit my favorites list and read the screen. “Why the hell do I need WIFI to make a call?”
“Oh, shit, it’s on airplane mode.”
“Lord God in heaven, please let my father not be freaking the fuck out.” I scroll and turn airplane mode off.
My phone blows up with messages from Dad and notifications from the stupid app.
When my phone rings in my hand, Brisa answers on the hands-free, “Hey, Patrick, we found the keys. No need to come get us.”
“Good fucking thing. I’m fucked up, and Savannah here doesn’t wanna drive my Jeep.”
“Text us your address, and we’ll come get you.”
“Sweet,” Patrick says before asking someone, “What’s the address here?” while hanging up.
“Brisa, are you insane? What if we get pulled over?”
She stops at the stop sign and looks at me. “Then I’m Katherine Steel.”
I laugh. “That will never work.”
She hits the gas. “It has before.”
“You’re so bad,” I sigh as I sit back.
My phone rings again, and Brisa answers it again.
“Hey, Uncle Cyrus,” she sighs exaggeratedly as she winks at me.
“Brisa, where’s my daughter?”
“Right here, driving.” She grins and wags her eyebrows at me. “Which is why she hasn’t answered the phone.”
“You know I love you, Brisa, but I call bullshit. Her phone was on airplane mode.”
“Dad, it was dying. We put it on airplane mode because it charges faster and forgot.”
“You good, Truth? For real?” he asks.
“Of course, Dad. I—”
“You picking Patrick up?”
Shocked, I ask, “How the heck do you know that?”
“He shot me a text to let me know.”
“Dad, how many times did you call him tonight?” I groan.
“If you were better with your phone, maybe took your charging case, we wouldn’t have this issue.”
“I will next time, Dad, I promise.”
“Love you, kid. Don’t let him drag you all over Jersey.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I huff.
Dad sighs. “I trust you, Truth. It’s the rest of the world I don’t.”
And there we go … the guilt trip. “I know, Dad. Love you, too. Tell Mom—”
“She’s in bed, but she knows.”
Brisa laughs. “No kids in the house, your wife’s in bed, and you’re on the phone? Uncle Cyrus, this should be adult play time.”
“Christ, Brisa,” he groans.
“Well, tell me I’m wrong.” She grins.
“What I will tell you is I’m sorry your father got dropped on his head one too many times as a kid.”
Chapter Four
Idiom
Curiosity killed the cat.
Truth
Cats have nine lives.
“Holy shit,” I gasp, scrolling through my notifications when I see a different kind of alert, one from The Sound.
“Stop with that nonsense. After tonight, do you really want to be in bed with any of those assholes?”
“It’s the code! Well, a code and—”
I feel the vehicle take a hard left and grab the dash, squealing, “Brisa, what part of don’t bring attention to your unlicensed ass don’t you get?”