Page 78 of Drilled

“Yeah? And what happens next month when he screws up again?” Silas pressed, his voice tight. “You going back into the cage every time he gets desperate?”

Dax went dead silent, his jaw clenching as he stared straight ahead into the unfinished bathroom.

He was being destructive, dedicating himself to self-sabotage. I couldn’t figure out why. The formerly comfortable air suddenly turned brittle and the underlying tension the conversation resulted in remained for the rest of the evening.

*

“We could stay the night again,” Bear offered. The three of them all looked at me with expectant eyes. I raised an eyebrow at him and gave him a wry smile.

“Hmm. Thanks but I have a full day tomorrow. I need the rest,” I said.

Sy grinned. “We promise to let you get your beauty sleep in, Lane. Come on, it’ll be fun.”

Yeah, too much fun. “I don’t trust any one of you to keep your hands to yourselves. I’ll see you off now.”

Bear shrugged his heavy shoulders. “Fine, if that’s what you want. But I’m not leaving until I’ve made sure everything is secure.”

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, soldier.”

He performed a methodical sweep of the entire house, forcefully ramming heavy wooden dowels into the window tracks, testing the deadbolts until they clicked aggressively and wrapping a heavy chain around the rear kitchen door handle. Everything was completely locked down.

I looked at his adjustments and planted a hand on my hip. “Why does this feel more like a prison than anything else?”

“Try breaking into one,” Bear said, pulling in for a kiss. He followed it up with a chaste peck and for just a brief moment, I wished I’d agreed to let them stay. “Take care of yourself, okay? And keep us on speed dial.”

I nodded. “Yes, sir.”

I walked them to the door and gave Sy a kiss as well, drawing him closer by the back of his neck. “Thanks for everything today.”

He smiled sheepishly. “It’s my pleasure, Lane. Sleep well.”

When I got to Dax, the tension between us was still somewhat prickly. But I let him tug me against him anyway, and returned the depth of his kiss. I pressed my forehead against his. “Please. Just be careful.”

He swallowed hard but didn’t say anything, nodding and kissing my cheek before heading out.

“We’ll have a sleepover again soon, I promise,” I called after them.

“I’ll hold you to that, Counselor,” said Bear with a wink.

Just as they got into their respective vehicles, I heard a loud, contentious snort coming from the second-floor landing above me. I craned my head and saw Sandy staring down, leering at me with a smile that made me queasy.

“You better get a good night’s rest, Miss Whittaker. The cops will be here nice and early tomorrow morning,” he said smugly.

I pressed my mouth into a resolute tight line and stormed up the iron stairs until I was face-to-face with him. I reached into my pocket and unfolded the notice Nance dropped off with a flourish, then shoved it straight in his face.

He stumbled back in shock, and when he paused to actually read the paper, his eyebrows shot up into his receding hairline.

“Make sure to give them this when they get here,” I said triumphantly before turning on my heel and walking back down to my own unit. I looked up for one last satisfying glimpse of Sandy’s shocked face before I ducked into my house.

30

Lane

Nance and I slipped out for a quick morning coffee before the day’s workload got really hectic. We caught up a bit and spoke about a bunch of different topics until the whole Sandy debacle inevitably came up again.

“You know that ledger can bury him, right?” Nance asked, looking at me over the rim of her steaming Americano. I nodded, blowing at mine.

“Of course. But that’s not what I want. That’d be way too easy of an out for him. I’ve been wanting to make him squirm for the longest time,” I said.