Page 33 of Reckless Vengeance

“I’d say it grows on you, but I’d be lying. There’s not enough people in the house to make it feel homey.”

“I feel sorry for rich people,” Mule scoffed as she followed me, her steps faltering as we walked through the front door. “Ugh, it’s like a magazine threw up in here.”

I snickered, knowing exactly what she meant. “Want a tour?”

“Sure. Should I take my shoes off? Damn.”

“It’s fine,” I insisted, taking her upstairs so we could work our way back down.

Josie was in her office, and she poked her head out when she heard our voices.

“Are you guys hanging out here today?” she asked, giving me a look of concern.

“Yeah. Figured it was safer. Josie, this is Mule. Mule, this is Caden’s mom, Josie.”

“Nice to meet you,” Mule smiled politely, knowing Josie was important to me.

“How do you two know each other?” Josie asked, and since I couldn’t exactly tell her we beat each other up regularly, I twisted it a little.

“We used to go to Hawthorne Heights High together. We weren’t really friends, but we ran into each other at the Psychos’ shed and started hanging out.”

“That’s wonderful. I’m glad to see you making yourself at home,” she beamed, patting my shoulder.

“We’ll be in the gym if you need us,” I answered when I heard her phone ringing, and she quickly excused herself to answer it, closing the door for privacy.

I led Mule to my bedroom, her eyes almost falling out of her head when we stepped inside.

“This is your bedroom? Bitch, it’s bigger than my whole house.”

“I felt the exact same when I first saw it. I don’t understand why anyone needs this much space in a bedroom.”

“I guess with all those guys of yours, the extra space is good,” she teased lightly.

“We usually crash in the theater room on nights they’re all here.”

“Theater room? Why do you need that when the bedrooms have TVs?”

“Who knows?” I shrugged, motioning for her to follow.

We headed down to the next level so I could show her the kitchen and living areas, and her jaw hit the floor when we went to the basement, where the gym, theater, and den were.

“This gym is insane. You honestly go to the Shed to work out instead of staying here?”

“I go to the Shed for the company and to spar,” I answered, pointing to the corner of the room. “Do you think we could set up a makeshift cage there? Caden was talking about it so we could train here whenever we wanted.”

“I’m surprised he’s allowing us trash folk into his fancy house,” she said dryly, and I totally understood how she felt. The guys were usually assholes to those they saw as less than.

“You’re my friend. He knows that. Besides, it’s not safe at the Shed right now, so we need somewhere else to train. This is a good idea,” I said confidently.

She was quiet for a moment before speaking, her voice careful. “How bad are things about to get? Can you tell me?”

I wasn’t sure how much I could tell her since Skeeter hadn’t told me, so I winced.

“Can I get back to you on that?”

“Sure. You doing okay? I know you and Slash fought a lot, but⁠—”

“We were seeing each other,” I mumbled awkwardly, raking a hand through my hair. “The dramatic asshole went out while confessing his love to me.”