And Easton?
He might not have been on my tracking app, but it was still a safe bet that if Maddie was there, her man was close by.
For one, I knew my best friend better than I knew myself. She would never cheat. Ever.
For another, Maddie was crazy about Easton.
But he was downright feral for her.
Tripp gripped my jaw, roughly forcing my face away from the scene around me so I had to look at him. His voice was a gruff order. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
That this is the sexiest bar I’ve been to.
That I’m confused.
That I’m suddenly so overheated, I feel like I could actually light a piece of paper on fire just by touching it.
I answered him with a question. “What is this place?”
“Gilded,” he said simply.
“That’s what the woman out there said, but that doesn’t explain what it is.”
“We’ll stop to see Maddie, and then I’ll give you the tour.”
There’s more to see?
I waited for him to release me, but he didn’t.
Tripp’s face was usually expressive and relaxed, but as he stared down at me, it was the opposite. The only insight into how he was feeling came from his clenched jaw and the furrow between his brows.
Otherwise, he was so eerily blank, it left a sour taste in my mouth.
With an inhale, he said, “Fair warning. You can see Maddie, but you’re not supposed to talk to her. And she won’t talk to you. Not unless Easton says it’s okay.”
My brain wasn’t able to process that before he moved his hold from my jaw to my hand and practically dragged me through the maze of tables and chairs.
We reached the far side of the room, and it took me a moment to even spot my best friend.
Maybe I don’t know her better than I know myself, after all…
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
MAYBE THE NEPO BABY IS PREPARING FOR HIS NEW ROLE
TRIPP
Iwatched Greer more intentlythan usual—which was saying something.
It took her a few beats before her gaze dropped to actually see her friend.
When Maddie was on her cushion, she was under strict orders not to speak to anyone without Easton’s say so. Even still, she snuck a little wave at her best friend, offering her a small smile.
Both might’ve been reassuring if not for the rattle of handcuff chains that clanged at the movement.
Maddie’s blue eyes closed, and she looked so tense, it was a wonder she didn’t shatter.
Greer took a concerned step toward her friend, but I banded my arm around her waist and hauled her to me until her back was pressed to my side.
