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“Because you have a place.”
“Um, a place that was broken into. I don’t want that one anymore.” I slap his hand away and brace myself for a fight. I’ll climb over him if he doesn’t give me my phone back.
“Are you expecting it to happen again?”
“Jason! Give me my phone!” Without warning, I tackle him, and we both topple to the side onto the couch.
His laughter is loud while our limbs get tangled as I struggle to grab my phone back. My own, albeit softer, giggling mixes with it. The struggle only lasts as long as it does because I’ve locked my legs around Jason’s arms, pinning them to his side. But in this position, I can’t quite reach my phone. He jerks to the left and suddenly we’re both falling. I hit the ground on my side. The impact knocks the breath out of me. It doesn’t help when Jason’s weight comes down on top of me, making breathing impossible.
“Ok, ok, keep the thing!” I wheeze as I try to push him off.
“Shit, are you ok?” His weight vanishes as he sits up and scoots back.
I giggle again as he helps me back up onto the couch. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
He hands me back my phone. I take it, lock the screen, and shove it into my leggings pocket.
“Why are you looking at apartments so far from this one?” he asks.
I scoot further into the couch so that my back presses against the cushion and tuck my feet beneath me. When I’m comfortable, I shoot him a baffled look. What kind of question is that?
“There’s no need for you to look for a new place,” Grant touts as he comes toward us, Trip right on his heels. “We’ll make sure to send a cleaning crew to your house. When they’re done, it’ll be like no one has ever been there.”
I grimace. “I don’t want to lie in bed wondering if someone is waiting to break in again.”
Beside me, Jason flinches.
“Yeah, I kind of agree with dollface here,” Trip says, frowning. “She shouldn’t go back to living at that complex.”
“You agreeing with me is weird,” I tease weakly, hating that I’m suddenly the center of their attention and how the three of them share a look. “Whatever you’re telepathically communicating between each other needs to stop,” I order. “I’ll figure this out. I don’t need help or your input.”
Grant looks down at me, his eyes flashing with displeasure. When his lips purse together and his pupils narrow on me, my heart skips a beat. From fear of course. Definitely not from anything remotely close to attraction or anything.
“Actually, if I remember correctly, weownyou,” he says, his voice carefully controlled. “That means, what we want goes where you’re concerned. Since someone has made it a point to target you, we’re going to heavily weigh our opinions on the matter of your living situation and you’re going to heed them.”
I gulp nervously as he takes a calculated step toward me, a strange smile splaying across his lips.
“In fact, if we told you to move in here, you’d have to. That is, of course, if you don’t want your dirty secret getting back to your employer.” He shrugs. “If you don’t care about being fired or jailed, then I guess you could take the risk and do things your own way.”
I think my eyes nearly bulge out of my head as shock steals my breath away. Move in with them? Here? He can’t be serious. I glance at the others who are exchanging looks. Looks not of concern, but of bright-eyed excitement. My stomach sinks. No, no… This isn’t happening. This is some sick joke and they’re waiting for my response before they take it back. Grant, Trip, and Jason will soon grow tired of this situation with me, and they’ll send me packing. That will be a lot harder to do if they have me move in. Grant has to know that, as calculating as he is. This is a bluff, and I’m going to call them on it.
“Move in with you?” I pretend to think about it for a second before I force a smile onto my face. It feels a bit stiff, but it’s the best I got. “Sure. If you’re offering, let’s do it.”
Feeling smug, I wait for a look of disgust and incredulousness to flash across his face. Instead, Grant doesn’t even bat an eye as he shrugs and says,
“Wonderful, I’m glad we could come to an agreement quickly.”
Wait, that’s it? No, hold on. I was supposed to call them on their bluff, and he was going to backtrack. That’s how this was supposed to go. Instead, Grant is reaching for the remote while Trip strolls over to Jason and me on the couch, a smirk clinging to his mouth. Jason throws an arm around my shoulders and leans in close to nuzzle my neck as I have a mini mental breakdown. I hate it. I knock his arm from around me, feeling suddenly claustrophobic. Before Trip’s butt hits the couch, I’m on my feet and backing out of the room.
“No. I’m not moving in here! This has to be a joke. Tell me you’re joking, Grant!”
Grant looks up at me, still half bent over. His brows raise nearly up to his hairline. Then his gaze shifts to Jason or Trip.
“Did either of you think I was joking?”
“Nope,” Jason replies immediately, trying to catch my hand and pull me back. I step back, out of his reach.
“You don’t say things you don’t mean,” Trip shrugs, grabbing me for Jason. His fingers wrap around my wrist as Grant takes a step toward me.
