Page 25 of Love at Second Down

“And just what do you thinkIcan do to help?”

“I can’t drive like this, bro. You think I can drive with a broken dick? I’m not fucking Superman. I gotta cradle this shit the whole way in, whisper him words of encouragement, give him soft pets, and keep him calm.”

“Why is this my life?” I mutter as I glance up at the ceiling.

“So, you’ll come?” he asks, sounding a little too excited about it.

“Fine.” I sigh, the weary sound of a man who’s accepted his fate. “I’ll be there. But I swear to God if this is some kind of ruse to lure me there for any reason other than a mangled penis, I’ll break your dick for real.”

“So violent. See you in five,” Chris says, and then he hangs up.

Five minutes later, I knock on Chris’s door and wait, cradling the bag of frozen peas in my arms like it’s a child.

“It’s unlocked!” his voice calls out, muffled behind the door.

With a deep inhale for fortitude, I push inside to find the apartment seemingly empty. “Where are you?” I call out, slowly making my way through the living room with no sign of him or Jace.

Shit, maybe Chriswastelling the truth.

“In here!” Chris shouts. “My bedroom.”

I frown, because I swear his voice wasn’t coming from the direction of his bedroom when he first answered me through the door, but I head toward it anyway, grumbling as I go.

When I swing open his bedroom door and take a couple steps inside, my gaze immediately falls to the empty bed. Movement to my right catches my eye, and I turn. “I brought you some?” The words die in my throat at the sight of her?Avery?standing across from me with a deer-in-headlights expression.

I barely have time to process what’s happening around me when Chris’s door slams shut behind me. I jump, startled at the sound when I turn, my gaze falling to the doorknob as I process the familiar click of a lock too late.

Dropping the peas, I lunge for the door and futilely try the knob, but it doesn’t budge, and I can’t unlock it. The asshole turned the fucking doorknob around, so the lock is on the outside.

Anger bursts inside my chest, a kaleidoscope of color as I pound a closed fist on the door. “What the hell, Chris? I swear, if you don’t let me out?”

“This is for your own good,” Chris yells from the other side of the door, sounding perfectly healthy.

So much for a broken dick.

“Yeah? Will it be for your own good when I get out of here and really do break your dick?”

A beat of silence follows before he mutters, “I’m not scared of you.”

I huff, placing my hands on my hips as I stare at the closed door, my expression thunderous.

He fucking should be scared of me, because at this very moment, I want to fucking kill him.

“Listen,” Jace’s voice croons through the door, “we’re only doing this because we care.”

My brows rise, along with my temper.I knew I heard someone else on the phone!“You’re in on this, too?” I practically hiss.

“We need you, man,” Brandon says, and I want to scream.

I nod to myself, processing this information.Chris, Jace, and Brandon.“Is West here, too?”

“I’m here,” his deep baritone calls out.

“Great. Lovely.” I nod quickly as if trying to absorb the gravity of the situation. “Just getting a headcount on how many asses I need to kick.”

“This is for your own good, Damon,” Chris says again, though the wobble in his voice tells me he’s not entirely certain. Or maybe he’s a little scared.

Good, he should be.

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