“They look worried.”
Fucking Pandora.
West paced back and forth next to the pool, smoking a blunt.
Griff talked into his phone. As soon as he saw me, he moved the phone from his ear and rushed my way. “Thank God. There you go. Is Pandora with you two?”
I stopped. “What? Why would she be with us?”
“Fuck, man.” West shook his head. “I told you Cain didn’t take her on the walk.”
“Damn it.” Griff started typing on his phone. “Maybe, she’ll answer these texts.”
“I already told you that she’s not going to answer those damn texts!” West headed for him with his hands fisted at his sides. “You fucking idiot! I should have kept her in my room.”
“Hold on.” I dropped the bag and hurried over to them. “Pandora escaped?”
Neither looked my way.
Rage boiled inside of me. I was sure the veins in my neck bulged. “How long has she been gone?”
“Tell him.” West shoved Griff. “Idiot!”
“Stop it.” I pushed West back and got between them. “Catch me up.”
“I’m not an idiot!” Griff tried to walk around me. “When Phoenix ran off, you didn’t have this same fucking reaction with Cain. You just got his muddy ass a towel and told him to relax while—”
“Because at least I knew he would have some real plan—”
“Barely.” Griff barked back to West. “And he was naked when he was screaming for Phoenix, I have clothes on, so who is the idiot now?”
I held my hands up. “Eh! Shut the fuck up!”
They went silent.
Wait. Where’s Phoenix?
Frantically, I checked for her.
She’d sat down in a chair near the pool. The bag leaned against her foot. She must’ve picked it up and then went over there.
Good.
I let out the breath that I didn’t know I was holding.
She didn’t run away.
Returning to my brothers, I sneered at Griff. “How long has Pandora been gone?”
“I’m not sure.” Griff frowned. “When I woke up, she wasn’t next to me in bed.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You went to sleep again?”
West shook his head. “I bet she put something in your food, idiot.”
“No.” Griff waved his hands. “We fucked and I always pass out after we fuck.”
Idiot.
I let out a long breath. “After you fucked, did you at least tie her up?”
“No. She was asleep and snoring. I’m a light sleeper so I figured—”
“Moron.” West spat on the ground. “She already went down in the kitchen causing chaos today.”
“How do you know Pandora even started anything this morning?” Griff glared at him.
West tried to walk over to Griff. “Because Phoenix hasn’t been doing shit to anybody the majority of the time and then suddenly she’s fighting Pandora in the hallway.”
I blocked West and checked Phoenix again.
The book bag was now on her lap as she continued to quietly watch us.
“Fucking moron.” West pushed at me to get out of the way. “This is bullshit. All you had to do was handcuff Pandora. I said it. Cain said it.”
Griff hit his chest. “How am I a moron?”
“You should have tied her up!” West got around me and headed his way. “I should break your fucking skull.”
I grabbed West’s arms and dragged him behind me. “Calm down so I can figure this out. The both of you arguing is not going to help anything.”
“Go fuck yourself, West.” Griff flipped him off. “Cain doesn’t have Phoenix tied up. Why are you always on my balls?”
“Because Phoenix is fucking over there.” West pointed in the back.
I checked her again.
Her hand was in the book bag, but her view was on us.
“Leave Phoenix out of this.” I eyed Griff.
West yelled at me, “And where have you been, Cain? Huh?”
I frowned. “West, you need to—”
“News flash, Cain. This isn’t a couple’s retreat. We came here to rob a club!”
“Quiet, West.” I turned back to Griff. “I need to understand what happened. When did you wake up to see Pandora gone?”
Griff looked down at the ground. “About two hours ago.”
She’s probably in a police station by now.
Fear coiled and twisted inside of me, tightening my stomach and constricting my throat. Every nerve in my body hummed in terror.
No. I can’t go to jail, when I’ve just found Phoenix and truly learned how to live.
Griff continued, “I went to your room, Cain. I saw that you and Phoenix were gone. I know how you are when we visit a new place.”
I focused on calming down. “Okay.”
“It is a forest and shit back there so I knew you would go hike and what not so I figured you took Pandora and Phoenix on a hike.”
West unclenched his fists. “And I told you that it didn’t make sense for Cain to do that! Pandora and Phoenix were just fighting in the hallway. Why would he now take them off to hike?”
“Yeah. Yeah.” Griff barked back. “You’re so fucking smart!”
Two hours. That’s a long time for Pandora to trigger mayhem.