Page 108 of The Pact

Ash asked me to be his girlfriend and Kelley didn’t say it in so many words tonight but I think he meant something similar.

I was about to tell him about who I am twice tonight but both times I got interrupted and I chickened out.

I make a decision that I’ll talk to him and Shep tomorrow after the races. Maybe it was selfish of me to want to tell him now while he still has to compete and things could mess with his head. Or maybe it’s convenient since I’m nervous about coming clean.

Regardless, I hear the shower running and I decide to give us tonight to just be together and we can think about the real world tomorrow.

I nod to myself as I hear the shower running. My heart starts picking up its pace at the thought of Kelley’s hands and mouth on me. Of him inside me.

I stand up and walk over to the bathroom but there’s a knocking on the door.

Kelley lets out a frustrated huff. “Who the fuck could that be? I swear if it’s one of the guys, I’m gonna be pissed. We had a deal. The one with the highest score tonight had dibs. Alone time with you. I’m not sharing you tonight.”

I smile at the possessiveness in his hazel eyes. “I bet it’s our food.”

He doesn’t look convinced. “But you just ordered it.”

“You’d be surprised how fast they can be. Let me go get the door while you get started in there.”

I’m buck naked, so I grab the white, fluffy robe that’s hanging by the door and make my way back into the room.

The knocking is insistent and I sigh, slightly annoyed. If it’s room service, they ought to be a little more discreet.

Holden is on the other side of the door, looking pretty agitated. He keeps staring at his phone screen and running a nervous hand through his black hair.

I wonder if the sponsors got mad that Kelley ditched the party? “Hey, is everything ok? Kelley is in the shower, do you want to tell me or—” I offer, a little embarrassed because I don’t have any idea how much he knows about me and the guys.

“I don’t need to talk to Kelley. I was looking for you, Ausra.”

I struggle to hide my surprise. The amount of words Holden might’ve said to me the entire time I’ve been hanging out with the guys could be counted on one hand. Which I guess is going to change if I’m to be the team’s manager.

“Ok?” I ask. “What can I do for you?”

He keeps his eyes on his phone, checking on something before lifting his gaze back to me. “Have you spoken to Mc today at all?”

I stifle a frustrated sigh. Not more of their drama! But I try to hide my impatience to get back to what I was doing when I remember that they were supposed to get the DNA test results yesterday. “No, actually. Last time I spoke to her was yesterday afternoon, right before the guys came to pick me up.” I’m a fucking terrible sister. “Skye had a fever again and Mc said she was going to watch her and decide if it needed medical attention. She’s been having these fevers every time she gets a new tooth. Then last night we got here late and I immediately passed out as soon as I got to my room. I texted her this morning but with the races and ... everything else, my phone has been on silent all day. Why, have you tried to contact her? I hope that doesn’t mean that Skye is not well.”

The man’s reaction surprises me. Holden is normally pretty quiet and detached. He keeps the guys under control with an iron fist but right now, he looks like a nervous mess.

“Fuck, that’s not good. I hope my daughter isn’t sick. I should fucking be there. Can you see if she texted you back, please?”

I ignore his question, shocked by his previous statement. “Your daughter? Do you mean that—?”

He nods. “Yeah. We got the test results yesterday afternoon. This is why I was trying to call her. I’m Skye’s father. Maybe she’s disappointed with the results but it isn’t like her not to reply at all. We’ve always stayed in touch even when she wasn’t ready to see me. She’d always text back even if just to tell me to fuck off.”

His agitation begins to rub off on me. This isn’t like Mc, he’s right. She promised to let me know if Skye got worse and my sister always keeps her promises. If she needed space from Holden after getting the test results is one thing, but I’m surprised that she didn’t try to get ahold of me.

I’m trying to make sense of the situation and to keep the panic down. Maybe she went to see Johnny? I know she was almost sure that he was Skye’s daddy.

“Listen, can I see your fucking phone? I really need to talk to McKayla.”

Holden takes a step forward, trying to enter the room, making me instinctively step back. I come into contact with a solid chest.

“Hey dude. What’s up?” Kelley has just appeared behind me, with a terry cloth towel wrapped low on his hips and slightly damp hair. “Baby, what’s taking you so long?” he asks as I turn my head to look at him. Then he looks at his coach. “Hol, did anyone get pissed that I ditched the party? Look, as you can see, this isn’t a good time. I’ll apologize and make nice with them tomorrow.”

Holden shoves his phone in his pocket, clearly frustrated. “No, the sponsors are fine. The others have been filling in for you soaking up the spotlight for once. Can I fucking come in? Look, as soon as Ausra tells me if she’s heard from her sister or even better, gets McKayla to call me, I’ll be on my way and leave you guys alone.”

Mc had asked Holden not to mention to the others that we were sisters. He must’ve forgotten about it. I open my mouth to say something but Kelley precedes me.

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