Priceless (Forbidden Men 8)

Setting a hand against my chest, I sent her a look promising revenge as I blew out a breath. “Damn, you’re evil,” I said, actually appreciating her demonic charm.

She only laughed harder, so a reluctant chuckle slipped from me.

“It’s my best feature,” she flirted back.

“Interesting,” I murmured.

We’d gotten a block from her apartment, and I was just deciding tonight might not be such a bust after all, when my phone alerted me to an incoming text. I barely glanced its way where it sat in the cubby between our seats when the lit screen showed Sarah’s name and the distinct letters SOS.

Forgetting propriety and how it was rude to talk, text, or google on your phone while on a date, I snagged it up and opened the message as I stopped at a red light.

All Sarah had said after her SOS was an address to what must’ve been an apartment building because it also had a room number: 5A. I had no idea what was going down in 5A, but I was about to find out.

“Quick detour,” I said, tossing the phone back into its cubby and stomping on the gas as soon as the light turned green.

Julianna grabbed onto the door when I whipped around a corner too fast but didn’t scold me. All she said was, “Everything okay?”

“Uh...” I scratched the back of my neck and sent her an apologetic wince. “I’m not sure. My best friend just sent me an SOS, so I’m going to stop by real quick and check it out.” Belatedly, I realized she might not be down for that, so I quickly asked, “If that’s all right with you,” when honestly, it didn’t matter what she thought of my plans. Nothing was going to keep me away from Sarah when she’d sent out an SOS.

But Julianna was surprisingly cool. “Hey, no problem. I’ve had to bail friends out of trouble too many times to count. It’s cool.”

I grinned at her right before I found the street I needed. “Thanks.”

When I pulled to the curb at the address and glanced out the window at the harmless-looking building, I frowned in confusion. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but there weren’t any ambulances, police cars or fire trucks outside. There was no commotion at all. That eased my anxieties some but heightened them in other ways.

What if she really was on her date? What if he ended up being a douche and— Dammit, I couldn’t even bring myself to consider worst-case scenarios. My skin was already prickling with all kinds of dread.

“I’ll be right back,” I barely told Julianna as I slung open my door and surged from the truck.

It was a feat of its very own for me not to sprint to the front door, but I contained myself to a quick march. Once inside, I found the elevator, and when it didn’t open as soon as I pushed the door button, I darted up the nearby stairwell, jogging to the fifth floor. The apartment I wanted was located at the other end of the hall, but I reached it within a couple seconds.

Pausing at 5A, I strained to listen to anything happening inside: screaming, cursing, crying. But there was nothing.

I knocked. When footsteps neared, my muscles tensed and my hands curled into fists at my sides.

The latch turned, and the door opened. The guy who peered out looked completely harmless, like maybe he could be an accountant in training. No muscle tone, no tan, receding hairline, thick-rimmed glasses.

I blinked, hating him even though I knew absolutely nothing about him. But, really. Sarah actually went for this kind of jackass?

His brow crinkled as he peered out at me. “Who’re you?”

No polite, “Can I help you?” or “How’s it going?” Just a blunt, “Who’re you?”

Yeah, I didn’t like this dick already. Not in the mood to answer his question, I said, “Is Sarah here?”

He pulled back in surprise. “Who wants to know?”

Done talking to him, I glanced past his shoulder and into the apartment. “Sarah?”

The dick shifted to block my view. Lifting his hand toward my chest, he opened his mouth, probably to spill out some other dick-headed comment when Sarah’s voice called, “Right here.”

That was all I needed to hear. I stepped inside, making the dick sputter and stumble out of my way. When I saw her, I sucked in a breath and jerked to a halt.

Damn.

Reese had obviously gotten hold of her because her hair had been curled into the neatest coils. Her makeup made her lips glossy and too incredibly kissable and her cheekbones appear higher than usual. She wore a black dress I hadn’t seen before that stopped just above the knees, and her feet were encased in the highest heels I’d ever noticed her wearing before.

Sarah was so goddamn beautiful it made my stomach clench. I hated that she’d dressed up for him. Which made me hate him, and then hate myself because I couldn’t be happy for her the way she wanted me to be. But I couldn’t help wanting to kill the guy she looked so nice for.