Page 32 of One Little Kiss
Ash shakes his head. “I have work to do.”
“It’ll still be there tomorrow. Besides, since you refuse to go after Macomb, you owe me.”
“It’s not that I’m refusing, Colt.” His voice gets weaker the more he speaks. A few years ago, his mission with our brother, Loki, went south. He was beaten and tortured before they were rescued. His facial scars are fading, but they’ll never go away. His voice is getting stronger, but it’ll never be the same. It’s his soul that seems to be irreparable, and that kills me.
“No. You’re waiting for Pacen to magically appear and do it for you.” I shrug my shoulders and head to his kitchen.
But not before I hear his whispered words. “She needs to do it for herself.”
I don’t push him on it because whatever happened between him and Pacen needs to be worked out in his own time. I just hope time doesn’t bite us all in the ass while he figures it out. The beer makes a clinking sound as I set it on the counter, and just like I knew he would, Ash begrudgingly joins me a few minutes later.
I hand him a local IPA as my phone makes a series of dings that have me shaking with laughter before I even open the messages.Perfect timing. I need a fucking laugh. Entering my passcode, I open the texting app.
Lochlan: Dick. Did you send a bloody glitter bomb to my office?
Colton: Not just a glitter bomb. There were edible panties too!
Lochlan: I can’t get rid of this shite, mate.
Lochlan: I just held a staff meeting looking like I came straight from a stripper pole.
I roar with laughter and show Ash my phone. He doesn’t find it as funny as I do, but I see the smirk sneak onto his face.
Colton: You’ve been in such a bad mood lately. I thought you could use some brightening up.
Lochlan: This is war. You realize this, yes?
Colton: I look forward to it.
Colton: Send a selfie.
Lochlan: Not on your life.
Colton: You know I’ll sweet talk your assistant into sending one. Why not cut out the middleman?
I can hear him grumbling about his incompetent assistant all the way from New York.
Lochlan: (Picture sent)
Ashton’s peering over my shoulder as the picture of Lochlan scowling at his desk, sparkling like a fairy princess, loads. This time, it’s both our laughter that fills the room. Which is exactly what I needed.
CHAPTER9
COLTON
Present Day
“Wha-wha, wha-wha-wha-wha.”
It’s never a good sign to be woken up by your oldest brother sounding like Charlie Brown’s teacher.
I turn my head toward the sound, only mildly alarmed that I’m unable to open my eyes. Lifting my hands feels like a herculean effort, but I do it and stab numb fingers at my face until my fingertips land on my eyelids. Prying them open with both index fingers, I wince.
“Who blew sawdust into my eyeballs?” my voice croaks, followed by a groan.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Something hard sails past my face, landing less than an inch away from my head. Rolling my neck to the left, I find an iPad.
