“Who is it?” I called as I got closer to the door.
They released the doorbell. “It’s Drake,” his deep voice assured me.
Frowning, I unlocked the door and pulled it open. Drake stood on the front step with a warm smile on his face and his arms open for a hug. I didn’t hesitate to give it to him. I hadn’t seen him in weeks. Months, really. He hadn’t come with Lana when she’d gone to D.C. with my parents and he hadn’t been with her when she’d stopped by to check on me the last few days. I knew that he knew about what was going on. Lana didn’t keep anything from him and I wouldn’t want her to.
Drake’s hug was warm and tight, making me feel safe and loved. When he pulled back, however, there was a glint of tears in his eyes. “How are you?”
“I’m okay,” I assured him. Even with the urge to cut, I really was okay. Mostly. I wanted to reassure him, though. Those tears were not something I liked seeing in his blue-gray eyes. Drake was one of my favorite people on the planet and I only wanted him to smile—not have that haunted look in his eyes that I could see trying to break through the peace I knew he’d fought so hard to find.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as I started to step back and let him in. “Is Lana okay?”
“Angel is fine,” he said as he stepped inside and I closed the door. “Go get dressed. I want you to go somewhere with me. Okay?”
“But…”
He hugged me again. “Please? No questions. You’ll see when we get there.”
Curious, but trusting him nonetheless, I went back upstairs and quickly got dressed. Fifteen minutes later we were in Drake’s car and headed into the city. Because I was with Drake, I didn’t have to take Marcus with me, but I’d called him and asked him to meet me at First Bass later since I knew I’d probably be out with Drake all day.
It was nice to have some alone time with my brother-in-law. We rarely had time for just the two of us, so this was a special treat for me that I was going to savor.
I was surprised when he pulled into the garage at the apartment building. “What are we doing here? Is this the surprise?”
He shook his head. “This is a short pick-up.” He got out of the car and came around to open my door. I wasn’t sure if it was Lana who had taught him such good manners or Aunt Emmie over the years she’d taken care of all the Demon’s Wings guys, but it was adorable and I gladly took his hand when he offered it to me.
I knew where we were going as soon as we stepped into the elevator and he pressed the button. I’d only been to Harris and Jenna’s apartment a few times before in the past, but I still remembered which floor it was on. I also knew that Harris had moved out of their apartment into one on the same floor as Jace St. Charles.
Some of my pleasure at being with Drake evaporated. I didn’t know how to handle seeing his sister right now. We hadn’t talked in months and I still didn’t know where I stood on the whole Tessa-Harris-Jenna nightmare. I wanted to blame her, but deep down, I knew it wasn’t really her fault. She’d gotten clean and broken things off with Tessa. How could she have known what would happen afterward?
Still, I tensed as the elevator lifted. It paused in the lobby for a moment to let on a blonde in a baseball cap and an outfit that looked both expensive and trashy. I shot Drake a look and rolled my eyes at him, causing him to grin. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against his side. The blonde didn’t even spare us a second glance as she stabbed the button for the floor she was getting off on.
I wasn’t surprised at the floor she was going to, but didn’t question it as the doors opened and let her off. Gray Knight was probably expecting company, or any number of other residents on that floor. Part of me wanted to jump off with her and go knock on Harris’s door, but he was probably still asleep and I had promised Drake I’d go with him.
“You can see the boy anytime,” Drake grumbled as the doors shut again.
“You read minds now?” I asked with a smirk.
“Baby-cakes, I’ve known you since you were six years old. I know you just as well as I know my own girls. Yeah, when it comes to Harris Cutter, I can read you loud and clear.” His arm tightened, a dark look passing over his eyes. “At least I thought I could.”
My teeth sank into my bottom lip because I knew what he was thinking. “Don’t beat yourself up over that, Dray. Mom and Dad didn’t know. Harris didn’t even know. I hid it really well.”
“Yeah,” he muttered. “Yeah.”
Thankfully the elevator came to a stop right then and we exited onto Jenna’s floor. Pulling me with him, Drake went down the hall to Jenna’s apartment and knocked. It opened a few seconds later, but I wasn’t expecting the beautiful little blonde who answered the door.
Seeing me, Angie’s face split into a welcoming smile. “Hey, stranger.”
I stepped forward to hug her. “Hi. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
She shrugged. “Jenna and I are good friends.” She waved us inside. “Jenna’s just getting ready. She shouldn’t be much longer.”
Drake nodded. “Thanks, Ang. I appreciate you helping me put this together.”
“What exactly is it, by the way? You still haven’t said.” Obviously my surprise was for both me and Jenna, but I couldn’t figure out what it could be. With Drake, it could be almost anything.
He shot me a wink. “And you won’t unt
il we get there.”