Page 107 of Fighting the Odds

Crap! What do I do?

He’s already out of the car and around to my side. When did he get out?

I’m frozen, mentally playing tug of war as he stares at me.

“Sierra, what’s wrong?” He squats down eye level with me. Cyrus places his hand on my cheek, angling my head toward him so he can look me in the eye. “Are you okay, baby?”

When I finally find my voice, I answer. “I am and I’m not. Secrets, like big ones, we shouldn’t keep from each other, should we?”

His face is calm, the skin between his eyes wrinkling a bit.

“Small ones, like gifts, or trips we want to surprise you with, they’re okay. But bigger ones that impact us all, no. Why are you asking this? Do you have one? If you slept with one of the guys, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. While I’d like to know where you are with them, it’s not necessary for you to tell me.”

My head shakes of its own volition. “No, we haven’t done that. Kiss yes, sex no. But there is something that happened today, and I think you should know. Just don’t be mad or tell anyone, because it made me so happy.”

He smiles, a genuine real one full of love.

“Is it that you saw your sister?”

My eyes go wide, and my jaw drops. How does he know? Why didn’t he tell me he knew?

“Yes, but how?”

He laughs under his breath, before adjusting to a more comfortable position and looks me in the eye.

“He sent us a group message while he was with you. Colton explained everything he did, even how he reminded Sam she couldn’t tell a soul. The guy even told us how he hid her in the Jeep so no one would see the two of you together. Which I did scold him for not being safe. What if he was in an accident? She could have been thrown from the car. But the video and pictures he sent were worth it. So thank you for telling me. The guys and I, well, I think we’re getting a good hang of this brother-boyfriend thing.”

“You’re not mad he did it?” I whimper.

“I’m not mad. Am I jealous that I didn’t come up with the idea? Yes. I wish I was the one who put that smile on your face. But Colton and you had the most tension in your relationship, and I think the gesture from him was needed.”

I turn in my seat and wrap my arms around his neck, knocking him off balance. He laughs as he grabs me, catching us so we don’t land on the ground.

“Baby, it’s time to get in there,” he reminds me as he pulls away. He stands up and takes my hand, helping me out of the car.

“Yeah, I know.” I groan, making sure my hat is on correctly.

He laughs as he grabs my bag of costumes and wig, putting the strap over his shoulder.

“Come on, baby, let’s do this so we can get home sooner.” He places his arm over my shoulder and pulls me tight into his side as we head inside the club.

It’s not crowded yet, still a little too early, but there are a fair amount of people. Scanning the room, I see the one prospect—Tank, I think it was—sitting at a table, eyes focused on something on his phone.

When I glance over at the bar, I see Rico talking with the bartender. He looks up and sees me, nodding his head toward the back hallway.

“Come on, guess we’re being sent to the boss’s office.”

“You saw that?” I ask, tilting my head up to his.

“Baby, when it comes to you, there’s not a lot I don’t see.” He places a kiss on my cheek and guides me through the tables.

When we get to Rico’s door, Cyrus opens it, holding it for me to step inside. “You want something to drink, baby?”

“Yeah, water or Pepsi would be great.” I make my way to the couch and sit down. I’m still tired from today, even after the nap with Colton. Memories of lying in my bed with him, head on his chest, feeling the rise and fall of it along with the beat of his heart fill my mind.

“I’ll be right back,” Cyrus chuckles. Does he know what I’m thinking about?

Navigating four men is tiring.

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