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I exhale a long slow breath. “Will you text me when you get to Tracy’s?” I ask, even as the nausea at the idea of her going anywhere swirls in my gut.
“I will, I promise.”
“And don’t leave their house for anything, except to come home.”
“I promise,” she replies.
“And keep Eric with you, all night.”
She laughs now and I instinctively know she is shaking her head at me. “I promise, Ethan. Now go and have a good time. If you’re lucky, I might even have drunken sex with you when you get home.”
I let out a scoff. “Like I’m getting drunk now.”
“You should,” she says. “Go, have fun. I love you and I’ll see you when you get home.”
“Love you too, baby,” I breathe out. “Please be careful.”
When I hang up, Brandon is already walking toward me. “What’s happened?” he asks.
I let out a long, low groan of frustration as I scrub my hands down my face. “This fucking asshole sent Zoey and her parents pictures of us.”
“Oh fuck,” Brandon says as Simon echoes commenting, “Shit.”
I’d filled my brother in on what was happening ever since Zoey was abducted. He’d been away on a photoshoot at the time and had insisted on leaving to come to Tahoe. I’d told him not to and by the time he’d managed to book a flight, Zoey had been found.
Since then though, he’s called me regularly and I’ve been updating him, the two of us trying to work out who the fuck would be targeting me like this.
“So you heading home?” Brandon asks, and I can tell from the look on his face that he is totally okay with me answering yes to that, to skipping out on his bachelor party because of some asshole who’s trying to ruin my life.
“No,” I reply, shaking my head. “Zoey won’t let me. She’s insisting we continue with our plans tonight.”
Brandon puts a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it gently. “Are you okay with that?”
I let out a laugh. “No, not really, but my girl is stubborn when she wants to be, so what can I do?”
Now it’s Simon laughing as he slings an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into a side hug. “I’d say there’s only one thing for it, big brother,” he says.
“Oh yeah, what’s that?”
He grins, giving me a wink as he says, “We need to get you drunk.”
Despite my insistence that I wouldn’t, drunk is exactly what I get. Simon, Brandon and I all doing several rounds of shots the second we walk into the private room I’ve had converted into an exclusive looking club, complete with roulette table, blackjack table and a poker table, a buffet of food and a small wet bar. There are wait staff serving both drinks and food and the whole vibe is that of a high roller’s room.
There are also about forty people already here and they all raise their glasses and call out with a cheer the second Brandon walks into the room. I take the shot of tequila I’m handed, throwing it back and relishing the burn of the liquid as I swallow it down.
Someone hands me a second and I put up a hand to say no, knowing I need to pace myself, until I realize it’s Declan handing me the glass.
“Hey,” he says, smiling as he holds it out to me. “Long time no see.”
I take the glass from his hand, shooting a quick glance at Brandon, who’s distracted by a bunch of guys who are busy securing a fake ball and chain around his ankle. I know he’s friends with Declan, certainly more than I am, but I’d forgotten he would be here tonight.
“Thanks,” I say, taking the shot as I nod in acknowledgement.
I throw it straight back, not bothering with lime or salt as Declan now asks, “So how’s things?”
“Good, busy,” I say as I turn to my brother and say, “You remember my brother, Simon, right? Simon, you remember Declan? Went to college with us?”
Simon reaches over to shake his hand, saying something like nice to see you again, even though I know he probably doesn’t really remember him. He’s met Declan maybe once or twice when he came to Seattle to visit, having stayed in L.A. after me and Brandon left for college, but he’s never spent any real time with him.
