Tacet a Mortuis (The Elite King's Club 3)

“Please tell me were not throwing a party…”

Bishop shook his head. “Nah, just us out here. If you two need to go home to get some clothes, I’ll take you now since I have to stop at my parents’ and see Dad quickly.”

“Ok,” I nodded, and then hitched my thumb over my shoulder, toward the cabin. “Is there still no food up in there?”

Bishop gave me a look that said “correct.”

“We’ll stop and get food. I’m starving and I need a shower.”

Bishop’s hand sprawled out over my belly and he pushed my body into his, his lips falling to my shoulder. “Shower later. Come on.” He slapped my ass and then made his way to his car. Tatum brushed off her pants and shot Nate a scolding look before following Bishop.

“Just out of curiosity,” I muttered, slowly walking toward where Nate was sitting. “What did you do to piss her off so bad?”

“What?” He threw his hands in the air innocently. “Why do I have to be the one who had done something wrong?”

I quirked an eyebrow at him. “Because you’re you?”

He pretended to think over my reply. “Valid.”

I rolled my eyes and started following Bishop and Tate. “You.” Was all Nate had said, just as I passed him.

I turned back to face him, my hands on my hips. “What?”

He shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “She’s mad about what we did with Brantley, only she wasn’t sleeping with Brantley.”

“Wait, so she’s mad at me too?”

Nate shook his head. “No. She was mad because I got in between you and Bishop. She’s team Madship.”

My eye twitched. “Team, what, what?”

He snorted. “Go do your thang, girl.” I looked at Jase and Hunter, who were watching me carefully, then turned to make my way to Bishop’s car. Was she mad at me for hooking up with Nate? I didn’t even think of her feelings while I was doing what I was doing. Damn. I was such a bad friend.

“You alright?” Bishop asked, dropping to third and flooring it out of the driveway.

“Yeah, I think.” Truth was, I wasn’t sure. I knew that how I had acted in the past was shit, but for the first time ever, I’d made it impact Tatum too. She’s an innocent in all this.

We pulled into Tate’s driveway first and I slid my seat forward to let her out.

“I’ll be in in a sec!” I called out to her as she jogged up her front steps.

I turned to face Bishop. “I upset her, I think, with all that Nate stuff.”

Bishop’s eyes followed Tate. “Nah, I don’t think she’s mad at you. Him probably.”

“I won’t be a second.” I climbed out of the car and followed her up the steps. Closing the door behind myself, I headed straight for her bedroom which was on the first floor. She converted the media room to her bedroom because she hated the sunlight so much. My best friend was a vampire, but it worked for us. Netflix and chill dates were like business class luxury at Tate’s. Not that her parents would give a shit. They checked in on her once every three or so months but always kept the trust fund full. I wasn’t entirely sure what the crux of their issues was with Tate, but apparently, according to Tate, it had always been like this. There was a cleaner and a cook that lives here full time, sort of like my Sammy and Jimmy, but other than that, her parents never came home. To some, it may sound amazing. A twelve-bedroom mansion all to yourself with a bank balance that could match CEO executives. But to Tate, I knew she craved something more, it was why she always had so much to give. Which was why I was such a terrible friend.

I walked into her bedroom and giggled at the bed. “You actually converted the seats to a bed?”

She halted her packing and looked over her shoulder. “Why of course. Jump on it, it’s so comfortable.” I took a step closer and sunk into the bed. She was right. It felt like my ass was being caressed by a marshmallow. “Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

She continued her packing, throwing in bikinis and short skirts. I was too focused on my apology to stop her. “You’re mad at Nate about what happened?”

She paused, then continued. Standing to her feet, she headed out the door and turned toward her bathroom. “Sort of!” she yelled out from the hallway before entering with her toothbrush in hand. “I mean, I’m not mad at him for hooking up with you because I’m jealous. I was mad because he knew what he was doing and knew his loyalty to Bishop, but continued to pursue you anyway.”

She zipped up her duffle bag. “Tate, it was me as much as him.”