Page 64 of Vendetta

“Landry, look at me.”

His calloused hand grabbed my chin, tilting it up to meet his eyes.

“You’re welcome to stay here, if you want.”

He paused.

“I would like it if you stayed here. Please, stay here.”

“No,” I immediately responded, shaking my head out of his grasp. He had said he couldn’t even look at my face. And now it was my turn to push him away, because I couldn’t face him. Not after everything that had happened. I didn’t have any fight left in me. I didn’t want him to see me like this. I didn’t want anybody to see me like this. I just wanted to get away from here, to be by myself for a while, to hurt alone.

Brushing past him, I raced out of the room, finding my way back to the grand staircase and through the house until I found Olivia on her phone in the living room.

“What do you mean, cockroaches? There’s literally no way,” she spoke with the person on the other line, her phone pressed tightly to her ear as she faced away from me.

“Oh my gosh. Are you serious?!” she practically screamed. A few beats passed as she listened to whoever she was speaking with. “Three days? Please tell me this is a joke. What are we supposed to do for three days?”

Spinning around, she noticed me standing there before looking over my shoulder as Cashton entered the room, crossing his arms and leaning against the massive fireplace. He exchanged a smirk with Zayn across the living room, something unspoken passing between them.

“Ugghh, this is ridiculous. Can we at least come grab some of our stuff?” She turned back around, looking through the floor to ceiling windows leading to the backyard.

“Okay, I’ll text him what to grab. Bye.”

Hitting the end button, she turned around to face us.

“We have a cockroach infestation at the house. Our head of staff just called—He said that hundreds of them somehow appeared out of the blue this morning. How does that even happen!”

Cashton remained silent, though I could have sworn I noticed a playful glint in his eyes. I stepped forward, arms still hugging my chest as I wondered what this meant for our living situation.

“What did he say?” I asked.

“That they basically need to bomb the entire place.”

“Bomb?” I asked, my eyes bugging out of my head.

“Like a bug bomb. Basically, fog them out for a day or two and then go back and deep clean everything in the house. But nobody can be in the house while they do that, so we all need to find a place to stay.”

“Well, good thing we have a vast array of bedrooms to choose from,” Cashton spoke from behind me.

“Oh my gosh, really?” she sweetly asked before running up and embracing him. “I’m glad you offered because Nate and TJ are already headed this way with all of our stuff. Thanks Cash!”

CHAPTER 34

CASHTON

Yes, I had gotten someone to infest their house with cockroaches. No, I did not feel bad about it, nor was I sorry. I wanted Landry to stay here under my roof. The last few weeks without seeing her had been hell, and now that I had her here with me, I wasn’t letting her go.

She had gone back to bed for the rest of the afternoon. I came to check on her, seeing that the dinner Angelina had made for her sat untouched on her nightstand. She wasn’t sleeping, just gazing off into nothing, as if lost in thought. Those beautiful eyes of hers looked so empty.

Quietly making my way around the bed, I pulled back the covers and slid in beside her. I contemplated if I should try to offer comfort or just leave her be, but I couldn’t stop myself from wrapping my arms around her. I needed to feel her, to hold her to me and do everything I could to protect her. Even if thatmeant protecting her from whatever thoughts seemed to plague her.

She didn’t fight back, letting me pull her in as she nestled into me, her body curling into mine.

“Landry, look—I just need you to know that you’re not responsible for what happened to Emory. Or your mother. None of it was your fault. Please know that.”

She ignored me completely, still lost in that head of hers, as she continued to stare aimlessly across the room.

“Will you please talk to me?” I tried again, needing to pull her out of this trance.

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