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She shook her head. “Let me think about everything. Figure out what’s okay to share and what isn’t. Figure out what I want to ask you.”
“I’m glad you told me. After everything I’ve been through, everything you’ve seen … you’re still here. I’m here for you, too.”
Lily reached out to grab my arm and pulled me into a hug. “I should’ve told you earlier. You might not have felt so alone.”
“No. I understand why you couldn’t.” I hugged her back. “Thanks for trusting me. I won’t tell anyone your secret.”
“Ditto.”
We broke the embrace and looked at each other for a long time before I turned to leave. “
“Em? Wait.”
“What?”
She held out her hand, her signature moxie back. “The apron doesn’t go with the outfit.”
Chapter 32
I figured I’d start at the Renegade House. It was almost too easy. His car sat out front. He’d had access to a phone yet failed to call me.
Payback time.
Taking a quick glance in the rearview mirror, I yanked the pencil out of my hair and shook it out. I got out of the car and marched toward the porch. Before my heel hit the top step the door flew open.
“Why is it impossible for you to do what anyone asks you to do?” Michael wore the same clothes he’d had on the last time I saw him. They were wrinkled, as if he slept in them—except he didn’t look like he’d done any sleeping. His eyes were bloodshot, his chin stubbly. I wondered briefly how it would feel against my face if he kissed me.
Then I remembered I was mad.
“Why is it impossible for you to call someone when you’re supposed to?” I reached up with both hands and gave him a good shove to the chest, feeling a jolt of electricity that ran all the way to my toes. “My brother practically handcuffed me to the furniture. I spent all night worried, wondering what was going on.”
“Easy. I need you to stop yelling.” He rubbed his eyes with his fists. “It’s been a long night. I apologize for not calling, but it took us forever to find Kaleb.”
“Us?” I asked, my voice thick with jealousy.
“Us. Me, Dune, Ava, and Nate.” He leaned back, propping one foot against the side of the house. “We had to split up and take it place by place. He went barhopping in downtown Nashville. Luckily, he didn’t drive.”
“Is he even old enough to get into a bar?”
“He’s almost eighteen, but not quite. Fake ID. He uses it to do lots of things he shouldn’t. It’s easy to tell when Kaleb is hell-bent on destruction. A friend called here, and Ava answered. She couldn’t get me on my cell, so she had to come to the loft.”
Had to, my rear end.
“Come inside.” Michael pushed himself away from the wall and gestured to the screen door before pulling it open. “But I’m warning you ahead of time: it’s not very pretty. Kaleb is my best friend. I hope you don’t judge him on what you’re about to see.”
He held the door for me, and I followed him into the living area. The smell hit me first. Part brewery, part gas-station bathroom.
“Whoa.”
Even though the room was dim, from the doorway I could see one foot hanging over the arm of the couch. A big foot, the ankle attached encircled by a tattoo resembling barbed wire. I walked quietly around it to take in a sprawled-out, snoring figure.
One huge bicep featured a tattoo of a dragon’s head; the other bicep, a forked tail. Taller and broader than Michael, Kaleb had the most defined abs I’d ever seen. The flannel blanket wrapped around his waist would’ve been a perfect size for me; on him it looked like a hand towel.
“Why isn’t he wearing clothes?” I whispered the words to Michael.
He grimaced and whispered back. “You don’t want to know.”
I wrinkled my nose and started breathing through my mouth. Taking a step closer, I noticed Kaleb’s face, probably beautiful when he wasn’t hung over. His black hair was cut short, and he had a small hoop earring in each ear, kind of … sexy pirate. I jumped back when he groaned and opened one violet-blue eye.
