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Ipat Jordan on the shoulder as he parks my bus. “Thank you for staying so low-key through this. I know it can’t be easy for you.”
He turns slightly over his shoulder, shifting the gear into park and spinning around to face me. “It isn’t, but I understand why you’re doing it.”
Christopher clears his throat in the passenger seat. “I don’t mean to overstep, but did they not ask who was driving you?”
I shake my head, moving back the same way I came to grab my already packed bags—or should I say never unpacked bags. “No. There’s so much crew they wouldn’t think to ask.”
Jordan follows closely, dressed in comfortable clothes instead of his suit. “You know since we’re all going on this plane, it’s going to be more difficult to keep this from them?”
I toss my handbag over my shoulder, patting his chest. “I’m guessing that right about now… they’ve figured out who I am.”
Jordan’s face pales. “Cartier…”
Smiling up at him softly, I straighten his hoodie. “It’s what needs to happen. I’m going to need their help with Eli since I don’t know how else I can help him, and I don’t trust Dove.”
Jordan’s eyes flick to Christopher before coming back to me. “Cartier—” There’s a bang on the door and I shove my phone into my back pocket.
The afternoon sun slaps me across the face when I see Lilith standing at the bottom of my steps holding Luna.
I smile down at both of them, lifting Luna’s heavy little body into my arms and resting her on my hip. “Good morning to my most favorite person!”
Luna’s little hand reaches out and twists with my hair as Lilith leans to the side, catching Jordan and Christopher picking up our bags. “Oh, okay…”
I kiss Luna on the head. “It’s not that.”
“You don’t need to tell me anything. I’m just coming to get you since your brother is acting like a psycho again and asking for you to sit near us on the plane.”
“Ah, I can’t. I’ve got these two with me, but!” I turn to face Luna, rubbing my nose against hers. “I will be stealing you.”
She giggles and her little chest shakes as her sweet voice fills my ears and calms my panic. Everything is going to be fine. You were trusted with this position, which means they trust you will make the right choice.
“Hey,” Lilith interrupts, and I follow the steps down to her. “Is everything okay? You know you can talk to me, right? About anything. What we found out was deep, and I don’t know if you’ve been talking to anyone about it or not, but just know I’m here. I won’t go snitching to Ky either. Please. He’s going to break me if I give him any more ammunition for angry sex.”
Luna reaches up behind my neck and pulls me in deeper, resting her little head on my shoulder. A lump forms in my throat when her breathing evens out against my neck.
“I know.” I trust Lilith completely, more than I trust anyone else here—including The Brothers, because with them, I know their loyalty always lies with one another. It has always been like that and always will be like that. “We can talk when we land in Prague.”
“Speaking of…” Lilith’s eyes move behind me as Christopher and Jordan close the bus door, bags in hand. “What are we doing in Prague?”
I tap the tip of my nose, massaging the back of Luna’s dark hair with my thumb. “Let’s go before Kyrin starts throwing shit around.”
We make our way onto the tarmac, where the large 747 is lit up from the inside out. The words Midnight Mayhem are stamped into cursive lettering, with Nero Enterprise Holdings below it. They’ve done a few international tours, but this is my first one, since I’ve always been put in the corner like a delicate doll.
The Brothers are waiting at the steps with security and a couple of flight attendants dressed in the black Midnight Mayhem attire. They’re hired, as is the pilot, but they wear our uniforms when we have them booked.
I pointedly ignore Keaton. After last night, I don’t know how I feel about the rabbit hole we’re both constantly fucking each other into. It’s like a riptide that doesn’t release you and continues to drag you out to sea.
“Is everyone already in?” The question is pointed at any one of them, but it’s King who answers.
“Yeah, but who the fuck are these two?” He points to Christopher and Jordan.
Lilith interrupts. “Ah, they’re her bodyguards? The fuck do you think they are? Her boyfriends?” Her face falls and pain flashes across her face.
“Hey.” I reach for her arm, but she jerks, looking up at me. There are slight dark circles around her eyes, and her shoulders seem deflated as though she just remembered. “It’s okay.”
I pass Luna to her carefully without waking her, and wait until Lilith is in the plane before I turn toward my impossibly frustrating brothers. Kyrin looks smug, with a smile hiding behind his teeth, and King has an eyebrow raised, knowing my answer before I’ve even said it, but it’s Keaton that tips me over the edge. His dead, unfazed look as he looks distantly over my shoulder.
Not bothered.
