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“Do you think we could fool you?” Rogue asked.
“What?”
“You were looking at us, trying to tell if there’s any difference, right?”
“I was.” I hated that I’d been so obvious. I’d really let my guard down in the last few days. That was the last thing I needed to be doing when we didn’t have our eyes on the men who were after Fox. If they found us, and we weren’t prepared… We weren’t all going to survive.
“Find anything?”
“Only obvious differences are your hair and the way you carry yourselves.”
Rhys smiled slouching more in his chair and giving me a lazy grin. “We’re pretty good at imitating each other.”
Now, if it wasn’t for Rogue’s longer hair, I would have no idea who was who. “I guess you’ve probably used that trick a lot.”
“Definitely, since we were—”
“Three years old,” Grant said rolling his eyes. “Don’t encourage them.”
“They can’t use it on us.” TJ gestured between himself and Ghost. “They’ve not fooled us once.”
Rogue nodded. “It’s true.”
“See?” TJ glanced at Rhys. “That means we were meant to be.”
He really was an interesting man. I could easily envision him in his previous job as a mob enforcer, but there was so much more going on in his head than one would expect.
Fox pushed his chair back from the table, and I realized that while we’d all been talking, he’d shoveled down all his food.
“I’m going for a walk,” he announced. It was the first time he’d spoken since he’d joined us.
I frowned at him. “Not by yourself, you’re not.”
“No one knows where we are.”
“You can’t be sure of that.”
“I take care of myself.”
“You’re not going out there alone.” I used my coldest voice. Everyone in the room looked at me except Fox. He turned away and stomped up the stairs. A moment later, I heard his door slam for the second time today.
“I’ve got the key,” Rogue said.
“What the hell are you doing with the key to that room?” Grant asked.
Rogue grinned. “I’ve got a key to every room. You didn’t know that?”
“I don’t need a key to get in,” I said.
Ghost laid his hand on top of Rogue’s. “I know you like to laugh about everything, even when you’re worried, but I don’t like this. I’ve never seen Fox like this.”
17
FOX
As soon as I slammed the door, I crossed the room and opened the French doors that led onto the balcony. I needed fresh air. I needed to be outside, unconfined. I felt weighed down by my past and the fear of what would happen in the next day.
I looked out across the fields and watched the horses who were spending the night in the pasture. The Texas heat and humidity made the night far less refreshing than I wanted it to be, but it was still better than being closed up in the house.
I wasn’t going to admit it to him, but Darren was right; none of us should be out on our own. Ahmed’s men had found us far too easily in New York. I couldn’t be sure they hadn’t tracked us here. I knew better, but that didn’t stop me. If I stayed in the house, I might lose my fucking mind. I assessed the distance to the ground, then lowered myself over the balcony railing.
I held on for a moment, letting my body dangle above the ground before letting go. The jolt from my landing made my teeth rattle, but I’d had far worse. I did wonder how many more years my knees would be able to handle shit like that, but they were holding up all right for now. That was all that mattered. I needed to get away.
The question was, how far would I go? Part of me wanted to run, to disappear for however long it took, but I also knew Ahmed might come after my friends, hoping that would lure me out. There was also part of me that couldn’t handle the thought of not seeing Darren again or of disappointing him. I started walking, figuring I could decide as I went.
18
DARREN
After dinner was over, we set up a rotation to keep watch. Since I wasn’t on the first shift, I headed upstairs. I told myself I needed to check on Fox because he’d been so rattled at dinner and I’d pissed him off, but in reality, I was knocking on Fox’s door because I had every intention of bending him over the bed again. We both needed it.
My knock got no response. “Fox, it’s me. Answer the door, or I’m coming in.”
Still nothing. I turned the knob, expecting it to be locked, but it wasn’t, so I pushed it open and stepped inside. “Fox?”
I didn’t see him anywhere. I crossed the room to the adjacent bathroom. He wasn’t there either.
My heart was racing as I stepped out onto the balcony. He wasn’t anywhere on the wide expanse that stretched across the back of the second floor.
