Page 60 of Sugar Coated

Mike only grunted, and Kieran simply gave him a tight-lipped smile.

Fang led us up, though he did close the alleyway door and lock it, first. He brought us upstairs and immediately offered us something to drink, the good host he was. Mike and I declined, but Kieran asked, “You got anyDr. Pepper Cherry? Or is it cherryDr. Pepper? Whatever. Either way, I find that extra bit of cherry really makes the drink stand out against its namesake.”

Mike looked like he wanted to strangle him, while Fang appeared only thoughtful as he said, “No, afraid not. I do have orange juice, though.”

A beat passed before Kieran muttered, “How is that similar at all?”

“An orange is a fruit, just like a cherry.”

It was clear he hadn’t thought of it like that. “You know what? You’re right. My bad. I can totally see why you went straight fromDr. Pepper Cherryto orange juice, but no thanks on the OJ.”

I sat on the couch, and Fang was slow to sit beside me. Mike leaned on the opposite wall, folding his arms over his chest, looking dour, while Kieran went to sit on the couch’s arm, on my other side, even though there was plenty of room for him to sit next to me on the other cushion.

“So,” I started, glancing at Kieran, “first thing is first. You should know we found out you were the target at the press conference because Mike managed to keep one of the kidnappers alive. Lola and I tortured the information out of him. He didn’t know who hired him, only that it was a woman, and that she wanted them to kill you, and when they couldn’t kill you, they were told to watch me and take me, instead. He didn’t say what the endgame was.”

With a shrug, Kieran said, “She probably wrote them off as a loss after they couldn’t even kill me right. Odds are, though, she would’ve had them kill you, so it’s a damn good thing I woke up when I did—wait. You tortured someone? With Lola?”

Fang flashed his sharp canines in a wide grin. “She did, and it was beautiful.”

On the wall, the third man groaned and rolled his eyes.

“How did you find me at the party?” I asked. It was something I’d wondered ever since discovering Kieran was my Devil. I’d visited him at the hospital damn near every day I could; he must’ve literally woken up and come straight for me somehow.

“I installed some spyware on your phone. I could track you.” Kieran ran a hand through his hair. “Speaking of which, you should set your phone down in the house and leave it alone for a while, so I can do the same with that one. You know, just in case I need to find you again.”

I chose to ignore that comment and ask, “So you woke up and your first thought was to check on me?”

“Of course it was, just like it was my first thought to get you out of harm’s way at the press conference. Didn’t know I was the target back then, but, you know, life can surprise you.” He sighed. “I woke up. It was dark. I told the doctor I wanted to leave, that they couldn’t keep me there. A nurse let me use her charger to juice up my phone, and when I saw you were on the move, I had to act fast. Got anUber, came home, saw Mike’s car still sitting there and figured you were doing something stupid.”

He wasn’t wrong, but still, I shot a frown his way.

“I turned off the cameras on the house, got in my car, and went after you. The rest, as they say, is history. Literally. We all know what happened after that.”

Mike harrumphed, “Yeah, we know what happened after that.” He didn’t go into detail, but his tone made it clear: he knew everything. He knew that Kieran had come to me and fucked me, and then ran away before I could do anything.

Kieran glanced between Mike and me. “Ah. She told you. Right. Of course she told you about everything that happened at the party. Why wouldn’t she? It wasn’t like it was aprivatemoment or anything, something that had beenyearsin the making—”

I could sense an argument boiling beneath the surface, so I decided to plow right on before any of the guys could continue down that path: “Now that we’re all on the same page, we need to talk about Tessa. She’s been quiet since the second kidnapping, but I don’t trust that she’s finally done with trying to get me out of the picture.”

With a shake of his head, Mike mumbled, “I still don’t get why it matters now. Vance is mayor. He’s still got loads of support.”

It was Kieran who said, “It’s not about the support you have now. It’s about tomorrow’s support. Cementing it in. Haven’t you ever seenAmerican Idol? You could have the best voice, butyou won’t make it far if you don’t have a sob story. Sob stories are what make people connect with you. It’s no different with politics, and from what I hear, Vance wants to set his sights higher: congressman. Senator. Maybe even a run for president in the future.”

“How can he not be aware of Tessa’s schemes?” Fang asked.

I replied, “Not everyone has a radar for darkness like you. Hell, I didn’t even suspect Tessa. I never really liked her, but that’s beside the point.”

Kieran went on, “It could be my sister, pushing Vance to reach for more. She’s always been hungry for power and money. She doesn’t like getting her own hands dirty, but she definitely doesn’t care about sending others to do her dirty work.”

“What if your father knows?” Mike asked a question that had been looming in the back of my head ever since the truth about my new stepmother had come to light.

All of the guys stared at me, waiting for me to answer, and I wrestled with that answer for a minute or two. I spent so long hating my dad, wanting to tear him and his political career down. I couldn’t say for sure whether or not he was involved at all—but if he was, the truth would come out sooner or later.

In the end, I said, “If he is, we’ll deal with it when the time comes. Right now, I’m more focused on Tessa.”

“Yes,” Fang agreed. “She seems to be the more immediate danger.”

“There’s always one way to get rid of someone like that: a long walk off a short pier,” Mike suggested.

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