Page 242 of Entangled

And again.

“Oh look. Two submissives on their knees, Jasper. Is it everything you imagined?” Heather teases, though there’s none of the snarky undertone that usually comes with her jibes.

Despite the gravity of the situation—or maybe because of it—I find myself biting back a snort at Jasper’s heavy sigh.

“Dear baby Jesus, how much did you drink?” I grimace as Eden gags again, and I’m about to go help her when Jasper turns and kneels beside her. He holds her hair back gently, his expression softening into open tenderness.

Well, I’ll be.

She really is quietly lassoing all of us right to her.

“Nowhere near as much as me,” Lucky groans, slumped against the vanity, a dramatic hand against his clammy forehead. “Eden, I love you, but you need to move. I have dibs on the toilet.”

Dom turns away from them to face Jayk, none of the brief levity touching him. He’s too in the problem, in the puzzle of a solution, and he won’t come out until he’s found it.

“Let’s start on what we can handle,” he says. Dom fills Jayk in quickly, then, pausing, he glances at Jasper. After a long moment, he drags his gaze over all of us. “Does anyone have any opinions? Ideas?”

He could have declared a cow-tipping expedition and it would have surprised me less.

Dom orders—he doesn’t consult.

“I can handle the head count and sweep of the forest,” Heather offers with a nod. “I’ll make sure she’s the only one missing and that she hasn’t left any other delightful surprises for us.”

“Are you sober?” Dom asks with a frown.

Heather shrugs one shoulder. “Sober enough.”

Jayk is staring at Dom like he might be able to identify a sudden personality-altering brain tumor just by looking at him.

Apparently not able to spot one, he just leans back against the wall and flicks out his pocketknife. “I can help with the sweep.”

Dom nods and glances back at Jasper, who’s helping Eden over to sit in the shower. “You stay and take care of these two. Beau and I will call Bentley and meet back here.”

I don’t argue. Everyone disperses, and I walk beside Dom as we make our way to Jasper’s study. He’s dark and brooding, his mind clearly tackling the world.

“If you need to talk it through... we can talk,” I say in an undertone.

Dom glances at me, then blows a disbelieving breath out his nose. “Nowyou’ll talk? That’s great, Beau, but the world didn’t stop this week while you were sulking. I could have used it then.”

I follow him into the library, hard on his heels. “I didn’t realize things were this bad. I’ve had plenty enough on my own plate to think about.”

“Right. Sharing a bed with Eden every night was an ordeal, I’m sure,” he deadpans.

“Don’t bring her into this,” I growl, my boots muddying Jasper’s stately rug. “You could have been there too. It could have been all three of us dealing with all of it together—you were the one who couldn’t make up your mind. Clearly, that’s worked out a treat for you. Now I’m graciously offering to help you anyway, because whatever you think, you can’t do this by yourself.”

We pause outside the enormous bookcase that hides the secret passage, and Dom flicks the hidden latch.

He looks over at me with hard eyes. “Fuck you, and fuck your ultimatum, Beau.”

He yanks the bookcase open and stalks through like a raging bull. Grinding my teeth, I push after him, pulling the bookcase closed behind us.

He’s already punching in the door code and entering the surveillance room when I reach him.

Aniyah swings around to look at us, her brown eyes curious but unsurprised. Behind her, the display screens show forest scene after forest scene, while the small laptop on the desk shows the feed from the camera in the hall. She saw us coming.

“Heather’s doing a headcount on the lawn. Akira’s missing,” Dom tells her, then he lifts his chin at the screens. “Did you see anything?”

Aniyah stands, her brows lifting in surprise. “No, nothing.”

---