Page 3 of Lost and Lassoed

I needed to get out of this creepy basement immediately—hot demons be damned. When I got to the closet, my jacket snagged on the doorknob, slamming the door shut behind me and leaving me in total darkness. I dropped the box of newspapers and heard a frustrated grunt.

There was someone else in the closet.

I turned back to the door, trying to unsnag my jacket and get the door open. I succeeded at untangling my jacket, but I could feel a tear where it got caught in the door. The door, on the other hand, wouldn’t budge.

“What the fuck, Theodora?” came a deep and angry voice from right behind me.

And that’s how I locked myself in a closet with Gus Ryder.

Well, shit.

Chapter 2

Gus

I had heard her fucking boots coming down the stairs. I shook my head, annoyed that I could tell it was her. No one else stomped around like they owned the place—not even Brooks, and he did own the place.

I slipped into the closet to avoid her. So imagine my surprise when she barreled into that same closet with all the grace of a goddamn tornado, dropped a heavy-ass box on my foot, and proceeded to slam the door shut behind her—leaving us in total darkness.

Peachy. Absolutely fucking peachy.

She was too close to me—way too close. Much to my annoyance, Teddy is always around—always has been, probably always will be. “Open the door, Teddy.”

I heard her jiggle the doorknob and throw her body against the door. “I’m trying,” she said. “It won’t budge.”

Christ.I didn’t have time for this. “Move,” I said as I tried to shoulder Teddy out of the way. As soon as my body touched hers, I got a jolt like I’d touched an electric fence—not a pleasant feeling, in case you were wondering.

One of the most annoying things about Teddy? She was familiar, even though I didn’t want her to be.

Don’t think about it.

But here I was seven years later still thinking about it. Here was the fucking kicker: I didn’t even like Teddy. At all.

Teddy Andersen was trouble. And loud.

“If it’s not budging for me, it’s not going to budge for you,” Teddy snapped, then muttered, “unless it’s got a thing for assholes.” I heard that.

She moved out of my way and I felt for the door, then down to the doorknob. I tried to turn it, but it was jammed.

Fuck.

“I told you.” Teddy’s voice wasn’t quite behind me but also not quite next to me—wherever she was, she was still too fucking close.

“What did you do to it?” I demanded.

I could almost hear her eyes roll. “You’re kidding me, right? This door is older than you,” she said. “So, basically, ancient”—yup, caught that dig—“and you’re blaming me?”

“You’re the one that shut it,” I said, my temper already flaring. My fuse always seemed to be a hell of a lot shorter around Teddy.

“Not on purpose. It got caught on my jacket, which now has a hole the size of your ego in it.” God, she was annoying. “This is vintage suede,” she complained.

“We’re indefinitely locked in a closet in the basement of a bar, and you’re worried about your stupid jacket?”

“It’s not a stupid jacket,” she said. “And we’re not locked in here indefinitely. Just call Emmy or Brooks.”

That was a good idea, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. Ireached into my pocket, but when I didn’t feel my phone there, I cursed under my breath. I’d left it on the front seat of my truck.

“You don’t have your phone, do you?” Even though I couldn’t see her, I knew she’d probably crossed her arms across her chest, narrowed her eyes, and tilted her head, which meant her stupid bouncy ponytail would move with her.

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