Beaming up at them, I grinned. “So fucking happy to see your gorgeous faces, guys. We def have gotta stop doing this.”
In slippers and scrubs, Layla and Hunt shuffled across the room, each claiming one of the armchairs and lowering themselves gingerly into them.
Brady plopped onto the guest bed, leaned over his thighs, and clasped his hands. “Now that everyone’s awake, we’ve gotta talk. Shit’s bad.”
2
Starring in Our Very Own Shitshow
With a wince at the tug on my chest wounds, I pushed up farther onto my pillows so I could more easily see Brady, Hunt, and Layla. Griffin, well, I could scarcely take my eyes off him where he remained next to me on my bed.
That was going to be a problem—a freaking huge one. Lately it seemed we were racking up a whole long list of them.
My voice raspy, I told them all, “Given that every one of us hasdied—legitdied—in the last few months, I’d say shit’s more than bad.”
Layla crossed and uncrossed her legs, trying to find a comfortable position atop the armchair. When she grimaced, I guessed she hadn’t found one that didn’t pull on her own healing injuries.
With a frown, she said, “If shit’s not as bad as it gets, then I don’t wanna find out how bad thingscanget. I’m calling us done, right now. Right thehellnow.”
In turn, she glared at each of us, even her brother. “No more dying. And I fucking mean that.” As if we hadn’t gotten the message—as if any of us actually wanted to die—she meted out another round of glares, this time punctuated by a stabby index finger jabbing the air between us. “No. More.”
Hunt grunted out, “You got that right.”
But Brady gazed at his sister with wistful eyes—I might have gone so far as to describe them as adoring eyes.
Griffin wasn’t kidding. That was definitely new. After Brady had come back to life, it hadn’t taken long for Layla to resume treating him just as she always had: like he was an annoyance she only tolerated because he was her twin. Who would have guessed Brady had a soft, mushy side to him?
“Are our parents freaking out?” I asked before chuffing darkly. “They’ve gotta be.” I groaned. “They’re gonna have a field day with all theirI-told-you-so’s.”
“I’m sure they’re freaking out,” Brady said, swinging his legs against the edge of the bed a few times. “Mom’s probably got search parties out looking for us.”
My muscles tensed, causing another painful tug along my torso. “Wait. How come they don’t know where we are?”
Hunt scowled. “Because we can’t call out. None of our phones work, and before you go looking for it, we even tried yours. Apparently, we’re in a dead zone. Intentional, obviously.”
Layla nodded, brushing her long bangs out of her eyes. “Every time a doctor or nurse comes to check on us, we bug the crap out of them with questions, obvi. But it’s always the same answers.”
Brady grunted, and then he, Layla, and Hunt quoted at the same time: “Mr. Chase will be here shortly to answer all your questions.”
I felt my eyes widen. “Are we trapped here, then?”
Obviously restless, Layla let her head fall against the headrest of the armchair before immediately snapping it back up. “It’s looking like it. Just for now, though.”
“Yeah, ’cause we’re getting out of here no matter whose asses we gotta kick to do it.” Brady cracked his knuckles.
Hunt nodded, his dark eyes bright with his resolve. His jaw clenched before he waggled it to loosen it.
“Why haven’t you guys tried to see if we can get out of here yet?” I asked, but even as I did so, I realized the explanation.
Griffin faced me, gazing down at me with an open, guileless expression I might have also described as adoring if I hadn’t known better. He was just relieved I was alive, that was all. And why wouldn’t he be? We’d all been friends forever and a day.
“We weren’t gonna leave before we knew you were all right,” Griffin said, his voice gruff. “As much as I might hate this asshole for everything he’s done to us, and man do I have a hate-on for him, there’s no doubt he’s got the best medical care money can buy.”
Brady harrumphed. “You and I came back just fine at Ridgemore Hospital.”
Holding my eyes instead of turning to look at Brady, Griffin said, “True. But we all came back a lot faster than Joss. Who knows what might’ve happened at the hospital?”
“Why didn’t I come back as fast as you guys?” I asked.
