Page 50 of Burn

Tension builds up my spine, and I angle my head, cracking my neck.

“Uh oh, Colton. Adrian is angry.”

“We’re in trouble, Ronan. No one likes Adrian when he’s angry!”

I swear to God, if they wake her up…

My jaw clenches, I roll my eyes, and say, “Fucking comedians, huh? Just a couple of real goddamn clowns.”

They both dissolve into a fit of loud, booming laughter. Ronan fishes his phone from his pocket, asking, “What do you two idiots want? I’ll have coffees delivered.”

“You’re not staying,” I grumble.

This only has them laughing more.

Cally is the one to step up to me, his playful tone fading as he says, “Come on, man. We’ve been trying to get in touch with you for the last week. I heard about the fire at work, and we wanted to make sure you’re good. Is everything okay?”

Right. The fire.

“Yeah, I’m good. I’d be better if you two could lower your fucking voices, though.”

Ronan’s eyes shift from the cat on the counter to me to the closed bedroom door. A wicked grin spreads across his face. He takes a couple of steps toward the bedroom, and his tone ispure mischief when he asks, “You hiding someone in there, Liberty?”

Cally’s eyebrows shoot up, and I know he knows exactly who’s hiding in my bedroom. His tone is incredulous, thick with shock as he folds his arms across his chest, smiles and says, “No fucking way.”

I shake my head slightly. We’re not doing this right now.

Ronan is slower to the punch. He looks between Cally and me and asks, “Who?”

Cally holds my stare, and Ronan asks again who’s in my room. I ignore him, hoping he’ll give it up, when the door clicks open, slowly swinging in to reveal Lex. Her hair is pulled into a low ponytail, and her eyes are bright and alert. She still wears my work shirt. It hangs down, covering the majority of her shorts, and her arms are wound around her waist. I look back at Ronan. His eyes drop, scanning her body. Ugly jealousy flares through me.

“Don’t,” I hiss at him.

He glances at me, then immediately back to her, “What? Don’t what, Liberty?”

Before I can respond, Lex speaks. Her voice is soft and quiet. “Hi, Cally. Hi, Ronan.”

“Well, this is unexpected,” Ronan muses. “Nice to see you, Lex. You look good.”

I spin to face him, my tone is low, a warning if there’s ever been one, “I swear to fucking god, Ronan.”

Cally pushes past me, putting his hand on the side of my head and shoving me, “Ignore these two fucking cavemen. How are you doing, Lex?” I follow him as he approaches and wraps her in a hug. I don’t miss the flash of embarrassment on her face. The last time she saw Cally, she kissed him in a poorlyplanned attempt to get under my skin. It was poorly planned, yet it worked; however, the result was not what she expected.

He releases her and steps back. Her eyes shift to mine, and she holds my gaze when she replies, “It’s been a wild few weeks.” She chews on her bottom lip, and fuck, she looks so good like this. In my shirt, in my apartment, fresh from sleeping in my bed. I need these two out of here, immediately. She must recognize the shift in my energy because she tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear and says, “Excuse me, guys. I need to use the washroom. It was nice to see you both.”

As she passes, I reach out. My hand wraps around her wrist, my thumb grazing her pulse. “You feeling okay?”

She nods, but doesn’t stop, padding into the bathroom and locking the door behind her. I stare at it for a beat before returning my attention to my friends, fighting the urge to wipe the shit eating grins off their stupid fucking faces. They look ready to burst, barely containing their excitement, so I say, “Stop.”

Might as well have encouraged them because Ronan is the first to exclaim, “Oh. My. Fucking. God. Your dream girl! In your fucking apartment! Adrian Liberty, you fucking dog, you!”

I ball my hands into fists. If he doesn’t shut the fuck up, I’m going to break something, and there’s a solid chance it’ll be his face. Cally steps between us, puts his hand on Ronan’s chest, and gently pushes him back.

“You two need to calm down,” he laughs, shaking his head. “We’re all friends here.”

“Ronan is about to make friends with my fucking fist,” I growl in response.

Ronan looks at me and lifts his hands to his side as if he can’t possibly comprehendwhyI’m annoyed and I step forward, cocking my fist. This time, Cally’s hands land on my chest,holding me off, and Ronan snorts, “Grow up, Liberty. We came to remind you that we have try-outs this week, and you’re expected to attend.”

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