Page 55 of Smoke and Mirrors

I nod and swallow hard. “True, and I guess he was super drunk, so he probably could have lost it in his stupor.”

His lips turn up in a slight smile. “Exactly. Let’s just hope it doesn’t have a fingerprint ID on it.”

I gnaw on my bottom lip and swipe the screen to see it doesn’t even have a pin code. Smirking, I giggle and show Kace. He shakes his head, rolling his eyes. “Jesus Christ, kids these days. Security is so important.”

I nod and purse my lips. “Just happy we don’t have to mess around with trying to figure out the code.”

“It would have been one, two, three, four, with the look of that guy.”

I laugh and tilt my head. “Probably, I should—”

“Yeah.”

I dial in Molly’s number, and she groans as she answers. “Who the hell are you and what the fuck are you doing calling me this late? And if you’re not a hot guy, I’m hanging up!”

Shaking my head, I sigh. “It’s me, Molly.”

“Lily?”

I sigh in relief when I hear her voice. Molly may be crazy and psychotic at times, but being away from my parents had been lonely and scary at first. Molly has become my rock. She tells me when I’m being stupid and isn’t afraid to stand up for me when my back’s against a wall. Just hearing her speak calms my body.

“Hey, Moll. I need a huge favor,” I say slowly. “I have to go away with Kace for a while, I’m not sure when I’ll be back.”

“What do you mean you have to? Is he kidnapping you?” she asks frantically.

I laugh. “No. It’s better if you don’t know, but he’s going to look after me.” I look up at him. His eyes are focused on me, hardened with a vow of protection as he silently confirms my words. “He’ll keep me safe.”

“Lily, you’re scaring me. Safe from what?” The sound of desperation in her voice makes my heart sink. I want to tell her everything, try to explain, so she won’t worry.

“The less she knows, the better,” Kace whispers softly, the hard look on his face changing to one of understanding as I attempt to console my best friend.

I clear my throat. “Kace wants to know if you’ll please look after Daisy?”

He pulls the phone slightly from my ear so we can both hear. “She’s in my apartment, the door is unlocked. There’s enough food there to last her for a while, and I’ll get some money to you for anything else,” Kace says loudly enough so she can hear through the receiver.

“Will she eat me?” Molly asks.

A smile touches the corner of Kace’s mouth. “She only attacks when told to or when she senses danger. You’ll be fine.”

Molly is silent for a minute, and I know she really doesn’t like this. That girl is talkative at the worst of times, the silence now tells me just how fearful she really is.

“Molly,” I murmur. “I’ll be okay. We’ll be back before you know it. Think of it as us going on a holiday for a bit.”

“A romantic holiday?” she prods.

I giggle, shaking my head.

“You’re going to fuck him, aren’t you?”

“Molly!”

“You need to call and tell me if he’s any good. And how big it is…”

And she’s back.

I avoid looking at Kace, but I can feel him smirking beside me. “Okay, we’re done. We need to go now.”

She groans, “Spoilsport. Okay, I’ll watch the dog. But tell him he owes me. I will take payment in orgasms for my best friend.”

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