Page 61 of Pin-up Girl

“Tomorrow.” I twisted my glass on my thigh, watching the fabric of my dress move with it. “Tonight’s been everything I knew it would be. I’d rather do it tomorrow. Your father said you have two days before we have to be back at his place. Preferably, I’d rather not leave Cass there longer than necessary, but I’m exhausted.”

“Milo, help me make up the beds. We can look at everything with fresh eyes tomorrow, but I don’t think I can look at things rationally now.” Emmett took my glass and his to the sink and pulled the empty futon in the center of the floor. “Stand up.”

Everyone stood, Milo helped to push the three futons together. Jules grabbed pillows out of a chest, and I picked up the blankets from around the room. We worked together as if we were a well-oiled machine, even though I’d only been added to the group a month ago. I didn’t want to lose this.

The heart pincher was, it seemed fleeting, like this could be one of the last times I had to experience this with them.

“Bathroom?” I could finally worry about the bathroom without feeling like I was losing the plot.

Jules motioned for me to follow him as he led me through a small door on the side. He flipped the switch on the wall, and a dim light illuminated a small room with a wooden staircase to the top, and another small door. When he opened that, a fairly luxurious bathroom came into sight. Something far too nice for this place.

“Thanks.” I tried to slide by him, but he followed me into the bathroom and leaned against the closed door.

There wasn’t any fear that he would hurt me this time, but I wasn’t sure what he wanted to say that needed the privacy. I watched him, and waited.

He must not have known what he wanted either, because he didn’t make any moves to sign, or type out a message.

“Toothbrush?”

He pointed under the sink, and when I bent down to check it out, I found an entire Costco sized package of new toothbrushes. Toothpaste was already on the sink.

In the mirror, he watched as I brushed my teeth, then used a clean washcloth to remove the makeup from my face. God, he was handsome. His mom or dad, or both, had to be from somewhere tropical. I thought Milo made a comment at some point about his mom being from Hawaii.

He was distrustful at the best of times, but now, there was something about him that seemed almost broken. And I had to live with the fact that I did that. I broke his trust, even if I had to, and wouldn’t do it differently if I was given the chance.

When I was done, I turned around. “I have to pee, are you going to watch?”

He shook his head, but moved forward, caging me into the sink. I had to lean back to see his face because he was so much taller than me. His exotic, olive toned skin made his jade green eyes so intense, I wanted to look away. Such a lethal combination. His warmth seeped into my stomach and thighs where we touched, and an involuntary shiver rolled up my spine.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he furiously typed with one hand before flashing the screen at me.

I want to believe you. I want to believe you wouldn’t actually betray us, and you want me just as much as I want you. But how can we?

That was the million-dollar question. How was I supposed to trust they wouldn’t leave me in a ditch somewhere if it seemed like I was more of a problem than a hindrance? They weren’t bad men, just a little tarnished, but I didn’t doubt for a minute they wouldn’t kill to keep each other safe.

“You know me, Jules. Maybe not where I lived growing up, or who took me to prom in high school, but you know me. We’ve spent so much time together, unless I was a screaming psychopath who didn’t feel emotions at all—and I think you’d suspect if I was—you would know if I was lying to you. Can you look in my eyes and tell me you think I could so easily hurt you? Before you three, I’ve only had two lovers, and we all know one of them didn’t count. If I wanted to turn you over to save myself, I wouldn’t have let any of you lay a single finger on me.”

He studied me with an impassiveness that at one time fit Jules, but not any longer. Eventually, he tapped his mouth with his index finger, and when my gaze focused on his plump lips, he mouthed slowly, ‘Elise, I could love you so well, but if you betray us, I will kill you.’

With deliberation, he anchored his hands on my hips, drawing me up as he lowered his head. The kiss he pressed to my lips wasn’t a love declaration, it was a promise. He could love me, but that love could just as easily turn to hate. And he was telling me it would be my fault if that happened.

Funny how we knew each other so well that so much could be communicated through a simple kiss. They just couldn’t see it.

Well, I had no intention of fucking any of us over.

* * *

For a rundown structureon top of the mountain, the heat in this room was a raging inferno. I was sweating my ass off. Of course, that could also be the three heavy blankets thrown over me. They always put me in the middle, but I had a feeling last night was for a very different reason, because neither Milo nor Emmett touched me.

No, they were probably worried I’d try to escape in the middle of the night.

I crawled off the end of our makeshift bed and padded toward the bathroom. The stone floor was freezing against my feet, and I instantly wanted to dive back under the covers.

A small sliver of worry tickled my mind, urging me to check on Cass.Was she okay?She had to be—she was even more hard-hearted than I was. But I doubted even if I had my phone, which was in the back of Milo’s Caddy, Marsten Kingston wouldn’t have let her keep hers.

After I cleaned up in the bathroom, the guys were all moving around sluggishly in the main room. The futons had already been put back and coffee was on.

Milo tossed me a breakfast bar from the cabinet. “Here’s the deal, we need to get back in cell service range, preferably within the next hour. I don’t like being out of the loop for so long. We need the quick and dirty details on everything you know about your job, and who set this up. Then I want everything you have on your sister. If we can do that here, great. If not, we need to be on the road in thirty, and we can continue this in the car.”

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