Teller
By Monday morning,I’m out of my mind with worry.
No one, except Trinity, has heard from Heidi or Blake.
Blake’s even dodging Wrath—his business partner—something I thought he’d never do. I managed to fuck up every aspect of my best friend’s life.
“Now you know why I didn’t want to do this.” I stab an accusatory stare at Rock, who showed up on my doorstep right after sunrise.
He glares right back. “Waiting so damn long sure as fuck didn’t help.” He pushes away from the kitchen door where he’s either been staring out the window or lecturing me since he got here.
Charlotte eyes both of us carefully from her spot by the coffee maker. “Do you want me to stay home?”
“No.” She might be worried we’ll kill each other if she leaves us alone. “We’ll be fine,” I assure her.
“Call me if you hear from them.” She finishes filling her travel mug and grabs her briefcase.
“I will.” I stand and walk her to the front door.
“I’m sure they’re fine.” She squeezes my hand. “Try not to worry.”
“I’ll try.”
“And stop blaming Rock,” she says in a lower voice. “This wasn’t easy for him either. Try to work together instead of butting heads.”
“I don’t think we know another way.”
She cups my cheek. “You’re smart. Figure it out.” She leans up on tiptoes. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Outside, she tosses her briefcase on the passenger side and climbs into her truck. As I’m about to close the front door, the big grill of Wrath’s GMC pickup comes into view.
“Motherfucker,” I grumble.
Leaving the front door ajar, I return to the kitchen and start another pot of coffee. “Your enforcer’s here,” I say over my shoulder. “Word of warning—I’m not in the mood for his bullshit today.”
“Well, I’m never in the mood for yours, yet you keep throwing it at me.” Rock pulls out a chair at the dining table and sets his coffee mug down with a thud.
“Where you at, welterweight?” Wrath’s voice booms from the hallway.
“The house ain’t that big, bro,” I shout back. “Figure it out.”
He appears in the doorway between the kitchen and the hall a few seconds later. “I see you woke up annoying today.”
“Having him on my doorstep at the ass crack of dawn will do that to you.” I jerk my thumb toward Rock.
Wrath raises his eyebrows and shoots Rock a “what the fuck” look.
“Why are you here?” I shove a mug of coffee in Wrath’s hands and sit at the table across from Rock.
“What the fuck’s going on with Murphy? Heidi sent Trin a text about a family vacation. He missed his shifts yesterday. That’s not like him.”
I glare at Rock.
Wrath drags a chair to the side of the table, sort of placing himself between Rock and me. “You finally do it?” he asks Rock.
“God dammit,” I snarl. “Is there anything you don’t know?”