Truce or Dare (Sweet Fortuity Book 1) (17 page)

“You’re–You’re not leaving?” I couldn’t hide the surprise in my voice.

“I thought I made myself clear earlier, but clearly, I hadn’t,” he said, looking at me like I’d spoken a different language altogether. “You can come to my place, to Haley’s or whoever, or I can stay here with you. Either way, you’re not going through this alone.”

Wow.

I didn’t feel all that comfortable here at the moment. In the end, after some pretty determined persuasion, he got me to go to his place, and that was that.

* * *

T
he TV was on
, and it was playing some cooking show. He only had one couch, but it was velvety and I loved it. It was one of those couches that folded up to extend so you could rest your feet. So I grabbed two pillows and stacked them on the armrest, scooting over to the other end. Then I rested my head on the pillow.

“Can’t sleep?”

I wanted the company. I craved it. But I didn’t tell him that.

“Chase,” I called his name as a yawn escaped me.

“Hmm?”

“Talk to me,” I mumbled.

My eyes were drooping shut, but I liked hearing his voice.

Mmm. I settled over something toasty warm, like a giant blanket.

I drifted off.

* * *

I
was curled
up in a boat. The sun was shining brightly, and then the boat rocked harder. I frowned and tried to turn, so I could maybe grab onto– a hard chest?

As my eyes shuttered open, I realized several things.

First, Chase was still soundly asleep, and he’d probably shifted in his sleep just as I was shaking off the dredges of sleep.

Second, his arm was around me, his hand resting just above my butt.

Third, his legs were tangled with mine.

Fourth, his legs were tangled with mine.

Fifth, did I just say his legs were tangled with mine?

Like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like we’d never been apart.

This was the second time he’d slept with me, if only to make me feel safe.

He blinked, his lashes looking long up close. He gave me a slow, lazy smile. “Morning.”

“Hey,” I said, a little distracted by the effect that one smile did to his face. “Morning.”

A yawn escaped his lips, and we just stayed there, savoring the moment. It was as if we were afraid one move would break that brief moment in time, where nothing else existed.

“Scared?” he asked after a while, his grip tightening a little on me. I didn’t need to ask him to know what he’d meant.

“A little…” He gave me a look that told me he didn’t believe me. I rolled my eyes. “A lot.”

He rolled off me, but not before he brushed his lips over my cheek.

I was still a little dazed when I walked to the kitchen. I was looking at the cabinet, deciding whether or not to use the skillet when I heard footsteps. Chase had a towel slung over his neck as he swung the fridge door open.

“I– I was thinking of making breakfast. It okay if I can I use the–”

He took a green apple from the fridge and bit. “Treat anything in my place as yours.”

The gravity of the statement hit me. Eyes widened, I struggled to find words to tell him how crazy that statement was. “Chase, isn’t that a little–”

“No.” Another bite.

I watched as his throat swallowed, and I wrenched my gaze away, trying to focus.“I haven’t finished!”

“A little too much, a little too fast, a little too sudden. Any of those three? Because I can tell you now, no. It’s fucking not. Two years and nothing from you, nothing
for
you. Now you’re here. I intend to keep you here. And if that means giving you access to what I have, then it’s yours.”

My temper fizzled almost as soon as it came.

Damn it. He was stubborn, but at the same time, I admired that about him. When he put it like that, it was hard to stay mad at him.

But then we came from us seeing each other a lot, usually in the company of other people, and that one night, to… Oh my God. To staying together.

This wasn’t a jump; it was a leap.

“How are you so sure?” I whispered. “You know what happened.”

His gaze, piercing, saw right through me.“Waiting hadn’t changed a damn thing, Sherr. I think it only made me want you more.”

Okay. Wow.

How did he know exactly what to say? How did he know exactly what I needed?

He was right. Time hadn’t really changed anything.

I ended up making french toast. I never got to finish mine, because when he got out of the shower, I couldn’t help but look. He indulged me and that led to other things, namely, making out as I sat on the counter.

Just before leaving, again, he kissed me, hot and hard. I was still recovering my breath when he pressed his lips to my forehead.

“Lock the doors. Call me if you need anything.”

I only managed to nod, still a little light-headed from the kiss.

Every time. Every time he kissed me, it was the same response. And every time, there was that sensation, like I was falling just a little bit deeper.

B
efore I knew it
, the day passed by without incident.

No news about the person who broke in, although I had answered a few calls, mostly reassuring people that I was safe and that I was going to be okay.

“You’re staying at his place?” Haley’s echoed when I told her, her voice struck with awe. “Wow, he moves fast.”

“I– I wasn’t thinking straight. He convinced me it would be a good idea to stay here.”

“Yeah, he moves fast. You could’ve stayed with us for a little bit, or Kate.” I could imagine her rolling her eyes.

After the call, I worked on my book for a couple of hours until I passed out. I woke up when I realized I was being shifted into someone’s arms. Chase.

“Getting you to a bed,” he said, his voice deep. I wound my arms around his neck. Mmm. He smelled nice.

“M’kay.”

He set me down carefully, and I watched as his eyes darkened as he looked down at me. My eyes flickered shut as I curled up on the bed. I felt a hand stroke my hair.

“Night, baby,” he said, his voice low.

“Night,” I mumbled.

A warm blanket was draped over me, and I sighed in contentment.

And if the mattress sank down next to me an hour later, I couldn’t say, because I was fast asleep.

* * *

O
h my God
.

I tried not to panic, and failed miserably. I was in his
room
.

Why on earth would he bring me to his room? He had another spare room. Instead, he put me on his bed.

Although I woke up alone, the right side of the bed was warm, the pillows disturbed. I realized then that there was a pillow at my feet, just beneath the covers so it didn’t move. Huge, plush, and unbelievably soft.

I struggled to process the fact that he slept next to me.

That made it the third night, including that night when the storm hit, that he slept with me, and he hadn’t tried anything.

And yet, he put me here because he wanted me here. I didn’t get him at all.

It came to me, as I was tying my hair up, that I hadn’t even realized he’d left. He’d always moved around a lot in the mornings, so when he left, I was usually aware of it.

That meant he made an effort to be quieter. He listened, and more than listening, he remembered what I told him on the movie night nearly a week ago.

Every single thing.

I sat there for a while, taking it all in.

Things were happening really fast.

Because I was hungry and thinking was only going to confuse me more, I decided to deal with it and talk to him about it when he came home later.

* * *

I
was
in the middle of making breakfast when I heard my phone vibrate on the counter.

I’d untwisted the plastic of sliced bread and placed both in the toaster, tapping a foot to Paramore.

“Hey," Sierra greeted exuberantly.

“Hey. What’s up?” I yawned, and took the carton of eggs from the fridge.

“Oh you know, same old, same old…” I could tell she wanted to say more.

I expertly cracked open two eggs consecutively when my toast popped up.

“Is your honey-bunch with you?”

“What?”

“You know, your goo goo eyes lover.”

I nearly choked on my toast. I slapped a palm over my forehead, praying for patience. “I’m alone.”

“Okay, good. So you see, I asked Kate, who asked Haley, and now I’m asking you.” A pause, then, “Have you noticed Eva lately?”

It was hard not to. For some reason, she’d spoken very little, and her usually cheery demeanor was a little more subdued, as if something troubling was occupying her thoughts.

“Yeah, she’s been a bit quiet. A little more… reserved.”

"I think she's in trouble," she whispered conspiratorially. “She’s not the kind that just keeps things quiet, so I’m getting worried.”

That was odd. I always thought Eva was a breath of fresh air. She was always very open about what was on her mind, and that honesty was refreshing, because she wasn’t afraid that we’d judge her. It made it easy to talk to her.

“She hasn’t said anything? There has to be a reason.”

I blew a breath. I grabbed the iodized salt, then looked down.

“Oh my God.”

“What?”

“I burned my eggs!”

“Huh?”

Knowing Sierra, her mind had gone there.

“I was frying them,” I explained, looking down at them longingly. It had been a waste.

“And I’m supposed to be the bad cook,” she cackled, amused.

“I was kind of distracted, and I haven’t even had coffee yet. Eva?”

“Sorry, sorry. She just shrugged off my questions, like it was nothing. But it’s bothering her,” she said, sounding defeated. “So I have a plan.”

“A plan? What kind of plan?” It made me weary if she was making plans.

“We ambush her. I have a feeling I know what it’s about. I just don’t think it would be very legal.”

What? That didn’t sound good. “What the heck are you talking about?”

“You’ll see.”

Uh-oh. If Sierra had plans… Likely, it would blow up in our faces. I should probably discourage her, before it could get worse.“Sierra, maybe we should–”

“See you in thirty minutes at my place!” she said hurriedly, before she hung up on me.

Crap. I was starting to feel a headache coming on.

* * *

I
felt much better
after I had coffee. A little more equipped to handle Sierra anyway.

When I arrived at her place, I saw them all sitting around the round table in her living room.

“What is this, some round-table conference? Any deaths being plotted today?” I asked dryly.

“God, I hope not,” Sierra shuddered.

The funny thing is, she didn’t even sound like she was joking.

“What’s going on, Sierra? Is Eva coming?”

“She will soon. She thinks it’s just me. So when she comes in, someone lunge for the door. Someone needs to hold her hands behind her back. She might be small but she can kick ass, so maybe two people. Any volunteers?”

I paled. “What are we doing, kidnapping her?”

“No, silly. It’s an ambush. We just need a confession,” she said, rubbing her hands in glee.

She was starting to scare me a little. I could imagine her having an angel and a demon on both shoulders, the angel arguing valiantly, and losing. “She has no choice but to say it,” she said simply.

When it was finally decided who you was doing what, I could almost swear she was skipping on the way to grab a glass of water.

“Sierra, you’re unusually bubbly today,” I observed.

She stopped, looking horrified. “Oh my God. She’s rubbing off on me. You don’t think I’ll start waking up at seven, do you?”

I snorted. “I don’t think anything, or anyone, can tame your ways.”

“If she’s rubbing off on you, I’d say good job, maybe now you can finally cook,” Kate said, giving her a thumbs-up.

“Would like me to test that for you?” she said innocently.

Kate shuddered. “It’s okay. I think I’d like to keep my breakfast.”

Seconds later, we heard footsteps approach the door.

I had a feeling this wasn’t going to end well.

* * *

I
shut
the door so there was no escape, and leaned on it. Eva yelped in surprise, and struggled to escape from their hold.

“What the hell?” she exclaimed, her cheeks tinged with red. She gave us a threatening glare.

“Sorry,” I replied, rubbing my neck. “Wasn’t my idea.”

“Sorry, not sorry,” Sierra said firmly. “What’s up with you? Don’t say it’s nothing.” Her brown eyes were deeply concerned.

"Well,” she began hesitantly, and her eyes went to the floor. She looked torn, as if she didn’t know what to say. She broke free from Haley and Kate, then she began to pace. "My brother's missing.”

"Missing? What do you mean?" I asked.

“I knew it!” Sierra cried. “Damn, this isn’t good.”

"He's gone,” Eva said, and there was unmistakable grief her voice. “I don’t know where the heck he is.”

“What did the police say? And your parents?”

“Nothing.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “Before he left, he told me not to look for him. He also specifically stated not to tell the police. My parents don’t know. They don’t really know much when it comes to him.”

“Oh no. You think he’s done something illegal?”

She looked conflicted. “You– You can’t tell anyone.”

I could hear the desperation in her voice. I’ve never seen her look so devastated.

We all exchanged a glance as Eva faced the window, her head down, her fingers digging into her palms. I let out a sigh.

“Promise,” I said softly. Everyone echoed the same response.

Eva bit her lip. “I found him hiding a bag of coke in his room as I was cleaning it last week. I freaked out and asked him about it. The next day, the coke was gone… and so was he.” She paused, and when she looked up, determination filled her eyes. “I want to find him,” she declared.

Shit. If her brother was taking or dealing drugs, or both, then following him couldn’t lead to anywhere good.

“Eva,” Kate said carefully, “Don’t you think if he left, it means he didn’t want you to get involved? This is your little brother. He loves you.”

Looking a little dazed, Haley added, “Apart from it leading to trouble… Do you even know where to start? How do you find someone who doesn’t want to be found?”

“I can,” Eva replied without any hesitation. “He won’t want to hide from me. He won’t need to. When I find him… We can fix this. I know we can. It’s not too late.” She uttered the last word in a whisper.

Even Sierra, who seemed like she was up for anything didn’t think this was a good idea.

She walked up to Eva, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Evie– I love you and you know that, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, but… are you crazy? How can you even find him? He must be far away by now.”

“No one knows him better than I do,” Eva replied, looking resolved.

“Then we’re going with you,” Sierra stated. “But don’t do this alone.”

What?

“No, you’re not,” Eva shot back. “And Sherr has a crazy person after her.”