Page 84 of Risking it All

Noah tossed a chin nod back.

“Let Demarius sleep.” Noah took a bowl out of a cabinet and started cracking eggs. “Macie said none of you go in to work until later this afternoon, and my wife’s out back finger painting with your sister. Last I checked, they were having a ball. Scrambled work?”

“I don’t want to put you out.” I had never wanted to split so badly in a situation in my life. Except for Eric. Eric was always worse.

“You’re not.”

Unsure of myself, I surveyed the kitchen. “Where’s Macie?”

“At my house.” Isaiah laid the bacon into the hot skillet, and it sizzled. “She stayed the night to help Lev. I’ll text Rachel to send her over once breakfast’s ready.”

Yeah, I didn’t like any of this. Let Demarius sleep. I could carry Camila as I walked my ass home. “I don’t mean any offense, but I don’t feel comfortable. I appreciate everything you’ve done, but I’m going to head home.”

Isaiah and Noah shared a glance then Isaiah said, “He tells it straight. That’s something.”

“Something,” Noah muttered as he poured the eggs into a hot pan. “You’re dating my daughter. How about the two of us pretend this isn’t awkward as fuck and eat some eggs.”

Feeling stuck, I leaned my ass against the stool at the island.

“Macie says you live in the Freedom Apartments,” Noah said as he used a spatula to cook the eggs.

“Yeah.”

“Is it still a shithole?” Isaiah asked. “It was when Noah and I lived down the street in our foster parents’ home.”

My eyes flashed to his, and an understanding passed between us, shaking me to the core.

“Remember when me and you rented that place at Heartland?” Noah asked.

I raised an eyebrow at that. I’d live in my car before I allowed Camila to step foot anywhere near there. The entire place was nothing but junkies.

“Now, that place was a shithole,” Isaiah said. “I don’t know why we bothered with locks.”

Isaiah placed a plate of bacon on the island. Noah followed up with the eggs. He also placed a plate in front of me along with a fork and told me to, “Eat up.”

Still standing on the other side of the island, they filled their plates with food, so I went ahead and took a portion for myself.I ate the bacon first. That was expensive shit we could never afford.

“Can I talk straight with you?” Noah asked.

“It’s your house,” I answered.

“The Freedom Apartments are part of the Broad Street gang territory,” he said. “How much of that is a problem for you?”

My stomach dipped. “What did Macie say to you?”

“Nothing I couldn’t figure out for myself the moment she told me where you lived.”

Translation: would I be a problem for Macie? It was a fair question, and the answer was yes. “Was it a problem for you?” I countered. “You have a nice house, especially for someone who claims they grew up on the streets.”

“When I met my wife’s dad, I was ‘no, sir’ and ‘yes, sir.’”

I had no idea how to navigate this. “I’ve managed to stay out.” Getting harder by the day, and once I returned home, I’d be in for life, but what was the point of telling him? Odds were he already hated me, with good reason. “And I noticed neither of you answered.”

“He’s a cocky prick,” Isaiah said to Noah.

“So were both of you.” Macie’s mom entered from the backyard. “Good morning, Relic. I’m Echo. I hope you don’t mind, my youngest, Oliver, and I are painting with Camila in the backyard. Noah, can you hand me that roll of paper towels?”

He tossed them to her, and she assessed the three of us. “Are the two of them playing nice?”

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