Going Down Easy (Billionaire Bad Boys 1)

“Hi,” Lexie said, dropping her phone to the couch, putting her own wants on hold for the time being.

“Hi. Do we have any ice cream?” Kendall asked, opening the freezer and peering inside.

Lexie narrowed her gaze. “Where were you?”

“Out.”

“I know that,” Lexie said, her jaw clenched tightly. “You mentioned seeing Jay.”

“Yeah. Oh! Mint chip. Yum.” Kendall grabbed a spoon from the drawer, opened the container, and began to eat from the pint.

Lexie wrinkled her nose. “Can’t you use a bowl?”

“No,” she said, pacing as she ate.

Waffles, who had jumped off the couch when Kendall walked in, ran to her side. And as if sensing Kendall’s distress, the dog began barking and dancing around Kendall’s feet, as agitated as his owner.

“Is everything okay with Jay?” Lexie asked, pushing harder for answers.

“Yep. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Because one minute you were calm, happy, and we were set to go out for lunch. The next thing I knew, you canceled because you had a headache, but a few minutes later, you ran out of the apartment like it was on fire.” Lexie pushed herself up from the sofa. “Kendall, what’s wrong? I want to help.”

“You’re nagging me because I canceled lunch?” she asked in what was surely feigned disbelief. “How selfish can you be? I didn’t feel well. Then Jay called and I was feeling better and I wanted to see him. Do you really have a problem with that?” Kendall rocked on her heels and looked everywhere but at Lexie.

She blew out a long, frustrated breath. “I have a problem with you ruining my day too if you weren’t really sick, but that’s not the point. You’re suddenly agitated and—”

“Oh! We’re back to me being crazy?” Kendall asked, her voice rising. “I’m going to my room. Waffles, come!” She spun around and stormed toward her bedroom, leaving Lexie alone in the kitchen.

She grasped the counter, dizzy from her twin’s mercurial mood swing. Especially since she’d been doing so well. A few weeks ago, this was behavior she’d have expected and was used to living with. Since she’d adjusted her meds, Kendall had seemed better, with fewer highs and lows. Today’s had come out of nowhere.

God, she wanted nothing more than to escape by going over to Kade’s, but if her sister truly was suddenly spiraling and she left her alone, there was a good chance she’d walk out of here later and head for a bar. Pick up a guy for quick, meaningless sex, despite having a boyfriend. Though it had been awhile since she’d exhibited such reckless behavior, Lexie wanted to be able to talk her out of it or join her and play buffer to her destructive tendencies.

She walked over to where she’d tossed her phone, a lump in her throat and pain in her chest. How many times in the past had she had to pass on something she wanted to do to play her sister’s keeper? Too many to count, Lexie thought. But had she ever felt so bad before? Like she was suddenly on the verge of losing something she hadn’t even known she desperately wanted? She swallowed hard, wanting to believe she was jumping to conclusions. She hadn’t lost Kade. She was just skipping one night.

But that’s how it started, a little voice reminded her. With guys, with friends, it always started innocently enough. A canceled plan here. A sorry I can’t make it there. Until the guy or the friend stopped calling altogether.

She glanced at the closed bedroom door and flopped onto the couch in defeat. It didn’t matter how Lexie felt. She was needed here, she thought, and picked up the phone to let Kade know she wouldn’t be coming by tonight.

* * *

Sorry I can’t make it tonight. I’ll see you at work on Monday.

Kade read Lexie’s vague text with no explanation as to why, after spending most of their free time together, she suddenly just couldn’t make it.

He settled in to eat meatloaf that Helen had prepared for him, wondering what she was doing tonight that was so important. More important than him. Not exactly the kind of thoughts he was used to having.

He frowned and rose from his seat, rinsing his plate off in the sink and placing it in the dishwasher.

His cell rang, and, figuring it was a good distraction from everything circling in his brain obsessively, he answered without checking who it was.

“Hello?”

“It’s Evan Mann.” The investigator Kade had left a message for after finishing lunch with Ian Dare. “Got your message, but I was tied up until now, and I have pictures you’re going to want to see.”

Kade raised an eyebrow. “What kind of pictures?”

“Your ex-partner and some chick. You and your partners said you wanted anything I could dig up. Well, this woman seems to be important to him. I sent them over to your email.”