Hideaway (Devil's Night 2)

My heart pumped wildly, and I could only picture Kai’s face as those words hung in the air. Was he hurt Michael would say that?

But if it were me, wouldn’t I expect to mean more to the man I was going to marry than his friends?

Judging from the silence coming from the room, everyone was realizing the dynamics of their little crew were getting a very clear dose of reality.

“I love you guys,” Michael said, “but are you fucking dense? You’re my friends. She is everything. Maybe someday you’ll know what the fuck I’m talking about.”

And the next thing I knew, he stalked out into the foyer, toward the door, holding Rika’s hand as she cast a mournful look back at the guys. I reared back, out of sight.

I could tell she was sorry they got yelled at, but what do you do? Michael had been scared for her.

And he certainly wasn’t the only man who didn’t want his woman around my father.

They left, and Kai and Will filtered into the foyer, looking the worse for wear.

“What does this mean?” Will asked him, looking at his friend.

But Kai just stared at the door Michael had left through. “It means we need new horsemen.”

Banks

Present

“Hello, hello?” a cheery voice pierced my sleep.

I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, finally noticing the light shining through my lids. What the hell? I was deadweight.

I yawned, rolling over and stretching my arms into the air as I registered a door closing and the rustling of bags.

“Did I wake you?”

“Duh,” I grumbled, recognizing Alex’s voice.

Seriously, what was it with this chick? Every time I turned around she was breaching my safe space. I wish she didn’t like me so much.

I blinked my eyes open, yawning again. “What time is it?”

Not waiting for an answer, I turned left and right, searching the bedside tables in Kai’s room for a clock. I must’ve fallen asleep before he even got upstairs last night. He and Will had to talk, so I laid down, in his shirt, to wait.

“There’s no clocks in here,” I thought out loud, sitting up.

“Yeah.” She sauntered over and plopped down on the bed next to me, on the mussed side where Kai must’ve slept.

I frowned, kind of disappointed we slept in the same bed for the first time, and I was passed out.

“This house is another dimension where time doesn’t exist, apparently.” She did spirit fingers at me, oohing like a ghost.

Holding her phone up, she checked the screen. “It’s two-thirty.”

“In the afternoon?”

She nodded, fitting an arm under her head. “You must’ve been tired.”

“And Kai just left me here?” I threw off the covers.

“Of course not. He worked from home today” she explained, “so he’s been here the whole time, but now he’s busy with the caterers, and I just got here, so he asked me to wake you.”

I looked at her. “Caterers?”