Page 53 of Scandalous

“Come,” he demands. Turning back to the car, he opens the back door.

Liam walks forward and snags my hand, pulling me in behind him and directing me to the backward-facing seats. As soon as my butt hits the seat, Drake slides in next to me. Santi and Ezra get in next, choosing the seats across from us and shut the door.

“How did you manage to find a car with enough room for all of us?” I ask no one in particular.

“Anything is possible with a little money and a few phone calls,” Ezra says, his eyes glued to his phone.

My eyes drift over to Santi and find him already looking at me. “When did you get in?”

“After you already went to work. Our initial flight was delayed, otherwise we would have been here sooner.” He winks at me.

“Apparently those photos I posted made them decide to join us,” Liam quips.

“You know, I finally looked at them on my short break,” I say as I turn, raising a brow at Liam. “How did I miss you taking most of them? I only remember you taking the group photos.”

“Oh honey, there’s more where that came from.” He smirks, making my face heat.

“You know…” Ezra cuts in, getting my attention. “While I was burning time earlier, waiting for you to get off work and for everyone to wake up from their naps, I did some research.”

“On?”

“I looked into the neighborhood you work in. I must say, it’s abnormally safe for the city.” The words almost sound like praise, but his facial expression and tone hint otherwise.

“I got lucky,” I defend. “When I moved to the city for school, I knew no one. NYU paired me with Holland. During our second semester, some shit went down and her parents didn’t want her living on campus anymore, so they bought her an apartment over here. Holland wouldn’t leave the dorms without me. It was a no-brainer really. Yeah, the commute sucks sometimes, but it’s not that bad.”

“What happened?” Drake asks, frowning.

“Not my story to tell,” I say softly, squeezing his hand. “So…” I say, looking between all four of them. “I have the next two days off. What’s the plan?”

“How about you let me handle it?” Liam rubs his hands together, making Santi groan.

“Say no, Aurora. That look screams trouble,” Santi all but demands.

“I think we should let the most responsible one of the group make the plans,” Ezra adds.

Hating the indifference he’s showing me, I throw caution to the wind.

“Go for it,” I tell Liam. “But if we’re going to stay overnight anywhere, I’m going to have to go home and grab more clothes. I only brought enough for tonight and tomorrow.”

“Who says you’ll need clothes?” Liam teases, making the others groan.

“You’re right.” I nod, deadpanning. “I could totally walk around the city naked. No one would care.”

“Like bloody hell you will.” Ezra sneers. “Whether I like it or not, you are being seen with us. That means you follow the same rules we impose on ourselves. Public nudity is in the top ten.”

My hackles are raised now. He’s not going to demand anything of me. I didn’t ask for his friends to show up on my doorstep. Nor did I ask him to follow them.

“Who do you think you are to think you can impose rules on me? Last I checked, I’m a grown adult who can make her own decisions.” I lean forward, away from Liam, staring at Ezra.

“Come on, guys,” Drake starts, but Ezra sets his phone down, causing the entire car to go silent.

“Let me explain something to you, Princess. You might think you are hot shit over here with your couple million followers, but you aren’t on our level and likely never will be. For whatever reason, my brothers here are enamored by you. I’ll allow them that because, as you said, they are grown adults. However, when it comes to our business, we have all agreed to do what is best for the group as a whole. You weren’t there for that, but if you are going to be seen with us, it means whatever you do reflects on us. Now if you want to go streaking through New York City, be my guest, but you won’t be doing so in our company.” Ezra leans forward, staring me right in the eyes.

“I didn’t ask you to be here. Why are you being such an asshole?” I manage through gritted teeth.

He smiles, but it’s not a friendly one.

“Didn’t you know? If you take one of us, you get us all. Even the asshole. If you can’t handle it, we can take you home. What do you say, boys? Ready to head back to London?” He leans back, looking at the other men in the car.

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