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“Hold on to your nuts. This ain’t no ordinary blowjob.” Barney guffaws and holds his fist up for Hailey who bumps his fist.
“I hate to say it, kid. But we need you to open the present.” Wally shoves the package in my direction.
“Nuh-uh. No way. You open it.” I shove the package right back at him.
“No. It’s addressed to you.”
I put my hands up to prevent him from giving me back the gift.
“I’ll open it!” Suzie shouts before grabbing the gift off the table and tearing the wrapping paper off. “Well, that’s disappointing. I was hoping for edible undies at least.”
My upper lip curls. Edible undies. Those two words should never be said in the same sentence, let alone put together into a product.
Suzie slides the box my way. It’s a bottle of Stolichnaya vodka.
“There’s a card here, too.” She holds up the tiny card. “All it says is I’m sorry.”
“Could it be from your husband?” Lenny asks.
I glare at him. “I don’t have a husband.”
“Okay.” He gives in. “Is it from Theodore?”
I shake my head. “Theodore has no idea I drink vodka martinis, let alone what vodka I prefer to drink.”
“Which leaves Ryker.” Wally grunts. “How the hell did he get into the building without us seeing? We’ve had the place watched since we brought Phoebe back.”
His words do not instill confidence in their ability to keep me safe despite their undeniably impressive rescue operation. Maybe it’s time for me to run.
Sid growls. “You’re not running.”
I throw my hands in the air. “How can you possibly know what I’m thinking?”
He smirks. “Like I don’t know what a woman looks like when she’s about to take off.”
Suzie giggles. “Yeah, the man is an expert in the ‘look’.”
Sid slaps her shoulder, but he doesn’t contradict her. “We got you. You’re safe here.”
“I can’t deny I’m impressed with his skills, though,” Wally adds.
I roll my eyes. Are they seriously crushing on Ryker’s ability to get past them unseen? The same man who kidnapped me?
“I think your uncles are crazy,” I tell Hailey.
Her eyebrow raises. “You’re only figuring this out now?”
We spend the rest of the evening eating and drinking with the uncles. By the time Pops walks me up to the apartment several hours later, I’m feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. I may be a little tipsy. Another rule of my mother’s I’ve broken – never get tipsy in public. I am done with her and her stupid rules. Screw her!
Pops leaves me with a kiss on my forehead. I walk into Hailey’s childhood bedroom to discover two of my suitcases on her bed. All of Hailey’s childhood memorabilia have disappeared. I walk to the dresser and open a drawer. It’s empty. I pull all of the drawers open to discover each one is empty. I move on to the closet. It’s also been emptied.
I collapse on the bed. My phone beeps and I grab it out of my pocket to read the message.
It’s your bedroom now.
I can’t accept this. I text Hailey back.
Too late.
