Some indistinct shouting reaches me, followed by a crash and a feminine shriek. Wait? What? What if Mom is home early? But why wouldn’t she do something to let me know it’s her? If she found Luke’s room empty, she would have knocked on my door.
Every instinct makes me want to race out and make sure Nico is okay, but I should stay here. My finger lingers over the panic button.
I should just press it. It’s there so if the system fails, I’m still protected.
But if I press it, how long do I realistically have until the intruder gets to me? My phone buzzes and I almost drop it.
Jack:
All clear, sweetheart. See you in ten
Uh. See me?
Yeah, I’m not sure what that means. All clear means everything is good, right?
I set my phone down and rub my sweaty palms on my shorts. Someone raps their knuckles on the door. My heart stops.
“Come out, little nympho.” Caden.
My insides warm and I open the door. He holds his arms open and I step into them, resting my head against him. His hand strokes my hair. I release the breath I feel like I’ve been holding forever.
“We caught her.”
“Her?” I lift my head and meet his green eyes.
“Sidney.” Caden wraps his arm around my shoulder and draws me out of my room. “Eli and Nico are watching over her, so come on.”
I pause and grab a sweatshirt, throwing it on over my tank top. The faint scent of Luke’s cologne wafts over me. I glance down at one of his football sweatshirts and smile.
Good. Luke may not be here, but she needs to know he’s mine.
Sidney sits in a chair with an ice pack against her arm. She’s glaring at Nico. Eli glances up as I walk in. He lifts his hand for me and drags me down onto his lap. Caden sits beside us on the couch.
“This is cozy.” Sidney sneers.
The guys don’t say anything. I guess this is my chance to lead.
“Give me a reason not to call the police.” I lean back against Eli and arch my eyebrow. “You broke into my house in the middle of the night. Explain yourself.”
Sidney’s eyes narrow and her lips draw into a tight stubborn line.
I pull out my phone and sigh. “Ten, nine, eight?—”
“Fine. You caught me. Good job. What a great little Scooby gang you all are.” Sidney rolls her eyes as she slow claps. “It’s not like I was going to hurt you.”
“Why are you here?”
Sidney smirks and leans forward, giving me a mock innocent look. “Because I’m desperately in love with you and can’t handle the fact you’re whoring yourself out to five guys.”
I press my lips together. Yeah, she’s a bitch.
She laughs like I’m the idiot. “Because if you need us, the horsemen will need us. Easy. Then we have an in. Just needed you anxious again. Seems like you all have gotten cozy and forgotten there’s a threat out there.”
That doesn’t really track. “Why would you think the horsemen would turn to you? When you’re cuddled up with their enemy?”
My eyes narrow and Eli squeezes his arm tight around me.
“Zach?” Sidney rolls her eyes. “Zach serves a purpose but he’s not god’s gift or anything.”
