The buzzing stops, but another sound grabs my attention.
Did someone just open the front door? It can’t be Rowan. He’s waiting for me at the mall.
I freeze. The sound of footsteps echoes through the hallway downstairs, slow and deliberate. My heart thunders in my chest as I dip my hand into the drawer and grab the gun. I inch out of the bedroom and toward the stairs, my palm sweaty around the cool metal. Adrenaline courses through my veins, and I can hear the blood pounding in my ears.
“Hello?” Sam appears at the bottom of the stairs, a long package tucked under his arm.
I slump against the wall. “Oh my God.”
Sam's eyes widen as he takes in the sight of me clutching the gun. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know.” What is wrong with me? I’m spiraling. “What are you doing here?”
“I just needed to drop off some wallpaper for Rowan. He told me to use my key.”
I shut my eyes and take a deep breath. I need to calm down.
Sam props the package against the wall and climbs the stairs until he reaches me. “What’s up?” He sounds concerned. He’s probably worried I’m having a nervous breakdown. “Why do you have a gun?”
I look down at the weapon. “It’s Rowan’s. I just heard someone coming in, and I got spooked, so I grabbed it.”
“Okay…why don’t you give that to me?”
I hand him the gun and let out a long breath. “I need to talk to you, Sam.”
“You okay?”
“Not really. Can we go downstairs?”
His brows are furrowed. “Sure.”
I walk into the living room and sink down on the couch.
Sam sits down beside me and puts the gun on the coffee table. “What happened, Blake?”
I look at him. “I have to ask you something.”
“Okay. Anything.”
“You have to promise me you’ll be honest.”
“Of course.”
I watch his expression for any tell that he’s about to lie to me, but he seems more confused than anything. “That day you walked in on us on the couch…you know…”
Sam nods. “I remember.”
“Where did you and Rowan go?”
“We had to go see a client.”
“So you didn’t go to Frostbite and threaten Brett?”
The line between his brows deepens. “Where is this coming from?”
“I saw photos of you two. Brett showed me a photo of Rowan pointing a gun at him. He had it pressed just under Brett’s chin, and you were there too.” I dig out the rumpled photo from my pocket and hand it to Sam.
He pales.
