Page 73 of Embody

Twenty-Four

Bellamy

BRYNN AND Ihave just sat down with our plates of pizza and hit play onSteel Magnoliaswhen my front door threatens to rattle off the hinges from a booming knock.

We both jolt and shriek, my pizza now in my lap.

“Shit, hot, hot!” I whisper-hiss and jump up, more concerned with the second degree burns to my thighs than the possible serial killer trying to beat his way into my apartment.

Brynn runs back in from the kitchen, handing me some ice wrapped in a towel then stares at the door. “Were you expecting someone?” She too whispers.

“No. Especially not the Cartel or a very unbalanced hitman.”

“Neither of those would knock first, just for future reference,” she covers her mouth before laughing—silence,as if no one’s here, is our friend right now. Unless, of course, they take the silence as a sign that the “coast is clear” to break in and rob me.

“You put the ice on your legs and get 9-1-1 punched in, ready to hit call. I’ll check the peephole,” she says so quietly, I almost can’t hear her.

I nod and sit, one hand on the ice pack, the other gripping my phone.

She rises up on her tiptoes and looks, then—and I’ve never been hunting in my life— makes a gnarled, angry noise that I, for some reason, immediately imagine is exactly what a grizzly bear caught in a trap would sound like. I don’t know why…being absolutely petrified makes me think of random shit I guess.

“What is it?” I shush-ask.

“It,” she flips the bottom lock so hard it may now be broken, “is,” next is the deadbolt, also possibly damaged, “my brother.”

She throws open the door…okay, definitely gonna have to fix that knob-sized hole in the wall, and blocks the entrance.

“What the hell are you doing here, JT? And could you have knocked any louder? Scared the crap outta both of us! Only landlords owed money and the police pound on a door like that!”

“Also the Cartel or very unbalanced hitmen,” I add in a mumble.

“No, Bellamy, keep up! I told you neither of those would knock first,” Brynn schools me with an exasperated sigh.

Unconcerned with our debate, Jefferson peers around his sister, still blocking his entrance, and his brows dip as he frowns. “Baby, why and how are you hurt?”

“Because of you, Goliath!” Brynn sidesteps, obscuring his view once more. “You banging like a lunatic scared her and she dropped steaming hot pizza on her legs.”

“And the police,Cartel, or a landlord, who technicallyworks for us, seemed more likely than a visit from her boyfriend?” he asks Brynn in bitter ridicule.

I should point out the Cartel was all me, but Brynn’s already on her tiptoes, screaming back at him.

“Yes, when Ispecificallytold you to leave us alone it does! And now she’s hurt. Justanotherreason you should listen to me, JT!”

“Damn,” I hear him mutter right before he easily moves Brynn aside, rushing over to me and dropping to his knees at my feet. “I’m so sorry, Bellamy. Is it bad? Let me see.”

“I’ll live,” I assure him, lifting the bag so he can assess for himself. “Feels better already.”

He gazes up at me, his eyes the darkest shade of cocoa brown I’ve ever seen them. “You want me to run and get you some aloe? Shit, I really am sorry.”

“Relax,” I gently push his shoulder. “No big deal. You can get me a new piece of pizza though, it’s on the kitchen counter. Help yourself, too.”

“Nooo,” Brynn’s hot on his heels, “no helping yourself. You’re not staying. Dammit JT, I asked for one day. One!”

“And I gave it to you. It’s after seven o’clock at night,day’sover. My turn.”

I clear my throat, twice, then a third time, starting to sound like I’m choking on a hairball…and finally get their attention. “Brynn, if he wants to stay and watch the movie with us, there’s no harm in letting him, is there?” I put emphasis on the word “movie” and stare in her eyes, channeling unspoken girl code.

A deviant grin lights up her face and I know she’s caught what I was throwing. “Okay,” she fakes pouty surrender, “you can stay for the movie. It’s Bellamy’s place, her call.”

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