Page 127 of Under the Lies

“I did too.”

I don’t remember the last time I laughed so hard or smiled so much. Thea is an easy person to get along with. She has this carefree personality that is warm and welcoming. Take tonight, she didn’t need to come check on me, but she did because she wanted to see how I was doing.

And while out shopping we saw a homeless man on the street and she pulled me into the nearest coffee shop ordering the largest hot chocolate they had and a dozen assorted baked goods.

She gave them to the man with a wide smile.

A big heart and caring soul.

She’s such a stark contrast to the guys she hangs out with but equally badass.

“Seriously, Sayer.” She looks me dead in the face. “This is the most normal thing I’ve done in years.”

“Shopping?”

She shakes her head with a sad smile. “Hanging out with a friend.”

I set my chopsticks on the table, confused. “Aren’t you friends with Noah and the guys?”

“Yeah, but not a lot of girl friends. Most of the girls that are in The Underground stay away from me, thinking we can’t be friends because I’m in the ‘inner circle.’” She uses air quotes around inner circle.

“What does that even mean? Inner circle?”

“Just that I’m close with the guys.” She rolls her eyes. “An original founder if you will since I have a share in the building. The four of us built The Underground from nothing.” She speaks with such pride on her face.

“You’re proud of what you’ve built?”

“We all are,” she tells me. “We’ve all come from money, but we don’t depend on our parents. We’ve made our own way.”

I bite my lip. I know she’s not talking about me, but it’s still a reminder that even though I know what it’s like to earn a dollar, I’m relying on the money my granddad left me.

“Shit.” Thea stares at me. “I didn’t mean—”

“I know,” I reassure her.

“Seriously, Sayer—”

“I know, Thea,” I repeat, cutting her off. Not wanting to talk about this anymore I change the subject to something that’s been in the back of my mind this entire night. “Have you heard from Noah?”

She takes a long, slow sip from her drink. Yes, yes she has.

I try not to let my fists curl, those embers roaring into flames. He can reach out to Thea but not me?

She sees the question on my face. “He needed my help, Sayer,” she explains. “It wasn’t a social call.”

And his call to me would be. In my lap, my fists tighten. When she doesn’t offer any more information, I try a different tactic. All a girl is trying to do is get a little information. “Why didn’t you go with him?”

“Yeah, not my kind of field trip.” Thea snorts. “I’m more of an indoor person.”

“They’re somewhere outdoors?” I try to keep my voice relaxed.

It doesn’t work. I’m too starved to know anything.

Thea gives me a look that says nice try. “Outside for me is anything not my office. I’m kind of a desk-body. It’s like a homebody, but I basically live at my desk with my fingers glued to my keyboards.”

It dawns on me I don’t really know what Thea does. I know she works with Noah. So do Gabe and Reeve, but I’ve never paid close enough attention to know all their titles and roles. “What exactly do you do for Kincaid Enterprises?”

Her lips curl in a grin. “I do too much, but mostly it’s a lot of IT stuff.”

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