Since I was still thinking about the cookies she’d given me previously, it was averyeffective business plan.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ONE OF US, ONE OF US
LUNA
The smell of coffee filledthe kitchen, and I nearly wept. I needed a pick-me-up after an anxious night on an awful mattress.
“So how can we help?” Piper asked, and it took me a moment to realize she wasn’t talking about my exhaustion.
“I just need a few pictures.” I looked between the three women. Women who were happy. Who had people who loved them. Having photos with people from Rhys’s circle might’ve helped show my immersion into the group so my appearance didn’t look so sudden, but it could hurt them. Not willing to put a target on any of them, I amended my plan on the fly. “But not with any of you fully in them. An arm. A side. Something that makes it look genuine.”
“Totally doable. Unless you’re implying we’re not cute enough to be in your pictures, in which case, Rhys gets your stash of dessert.”
I laughed as I shook my head. “It’s definitely not that. I’m just being cautious.”
“We all are,” she said with a look of understanding. “Hence why Hollywood is here.”
I blinked, not knowing what to say since I had no clue what that string of words meant. Even my mouth was internally shrugging, unable to come up with a feeble response.
“The biker,” the brunette woman explained, reading my confusion.
“Oh, sorry. He was talking to you like you’d already met.” Piper poured a big ol’ mug of coffee and handed it to me. “It’s been a wild day, and my brain is operating with about a million tabs open.”
“Thanks.” I took a sip before risking scalding my mouth by taking a bigger gulp. “Wow.”
“I know,” Harlow said as she poured half the pot in her thermos. “The coffee is the only reason I agree to the free labor.”
“Is it really free if I pay you in coffee and friendship?” Piper shot back.
“True.”
“Also, I’m Joss,” the other woman said as she fixed her own very small coffee.
Piper looked aghast. “My God, I am failing at this hospitality thing. It’s a wonder that my mother hasn’t popped out of nowhere to remind me of my manners. Joss is my occasional employee when I’m way behind, and my always friend.” She nodded to the other side. “And this is Harlow.”
“Am I not your occasional free labor and always friend?” the gorgeous redhead pouted at her simple introduction.
“Ride or die, babe. You know that.”
“We’ve met,” I said.
“Oh. Right.” Piper gestured to her head. “Told you. A million tabs, and none of them loading.”
“It’s totally fine. I’m the one invading your time and space. I promise this is a one-time thing.”
Okay, no. Right then, she lookedtrulyaghast. Beyond aghast. “No way. If you’re with Rhys, you’re pretty much with all of us. It’s inevitable. The best thing to do is just accept it.”
“Like slowly freezing to death,” Harlow muttered, earning a whack from Piper.
“I’m only working with Rhys temporarily. Could be a week, could be just the weekend.”
“Then for that week or weekend, you’re one of us,” Piper declared.
As much as I loved her loyalty and acceptance, I was still a detective. Protect. Serve. All the things. Which was why I cautioned, “I appreciate you being willing to help with my… situation, but you should be careful.”
“You can speak freely in here.” She spun her finger around. “Hollywood is part of MayCo, and he already cleared my side. The security is secure, and the bugs are bugless. Thankfully. I don’t want a video of me badly singing to go mega viral.”
