Page 65 of Never Dance with the Devils
He clenches his jaw, grinding his teeth together. “Yeah, I’m going to have to go a little deeper, but you’re gonna have to trust her enough to let her into that fortress you call a heart.”
I snort out a humorless laugh. “Man, she’s there. Terrifyingly so. Like I might legit have a breakdown about it if you fuck this up for me. So of the two of us, I’m not the holdout.”
He stares at me silently for a moment before thumping his head back against the headboard, looking up at the ceiling. “Fuck.”
His echo of my earlier sentiments says he’s finally catching on to how deep we’re in this thing. With a grin, I say, “Welcome to the club.”
He flips me off with an annoyed huff, still looking upward.
Okay, so we’re on the same page. Basically, without the words, we’re both admitting that we’re in love with Kayla. This is major for both of us. But on to the other issue at hand. “Do you really think she’s panicking? Or is that some misplaced psychobabble shit from our own insecurities?”
“Both?” he answers uncertainly. “It doesn’t feel right. My Spidey senses are going off.” He waves the piece of paper around.
“Have you called her yet?” It’s a completely reasonablequestion considering Kayla even mentions it in the note, but Maddox shakes his head.
“Wanted to see what you thought first.”
“Fucking call her,” I order, “and put it on speakerphone.”
The line rings three times before Kayla answers, sounding breathless. “Hey. You’re up early.”
“Yeah, saw your note.” Maddox is tip-toeing around what he really wants to say, which is ‘are you running out on us again?’. It’s a good move so that we don’t look like the desperate scaredy-cats we actually are.
“Have you been online yet?” she asks, surprising me a bit. That’s not what I expected at all.
To Maddox too, given his brows slam together. “Not since last night. Is Brent doing damage control?”
“I wish. No, I’m the one going up in flames currently. There’s video of usoutsidethe restaurant. I’m no longer Kayla Harrington, heir apparent to Blue Lake Assets and Vice President of Acquisitions. Nope, I’m just the latest and greatest in a line of Mad-Tricks.”
“Son of a bitch,” I hiss out. I’ve got my phone out, my search starting as soon as she said ‘online’, and I’m seeing exactly what she’s talking about. “There are headlines on sports pages, still images from the video, and… fuck, the Reddit boards are lit up.”
I lean over the bed, holding my phone closer to Maddox so he can see the absolute shitstorm brewing, and ask, “What can we do?”
“Nothing. Just lay low,” she says, sounding all business. “It won’t help matters if you’re seen leaving my condo, doing the walk of shame in last night’s clothes.”
I’m not ashamed. I’m damn proud to love this woman.
“Kayla,” I say warningly.
“Look,” she starts, “this is probably no big deal to you. It won’t hurt your career or cause anything worse than a few side-eyes. But for me, this is big. Professionally, personally, with my family.” She’s quiet for a second, like she’s considering all the ways this could fuck her over, then she bites out, “Fuck, I’ve got to talk to Mom and Dad before they find out. Some garden club bitch would be all too happy to drop this bomb on my unsuspecting mother. That’s how they work.”
I have no concept of how garden clubs work, but I understand bitchy women who take perverse delight in others’ discomfort. Which means I need to call my parents too. If this is as big as Kayla says, it will reach people back home, and I want Mom and Dad to hear my version—the truth, not some overly sensationalized bullshit gossip.
“Let us help,” Maddox says. “We’re in this together. We’re in this with you.”
Even though she can’t see me, I nod along, agreeing whole-heartedly.
“I know,” she says, a little more warmly, sounding like the Kayla we’re both in love with. “And I appreciate it. But I need to do this myself. It’s my reputation. Just… give me the day, okay? Can you do that?”
I meet Maddox’s eyes, both of us silently screaming that no, we cannot do that. But what he says is, “Yeah, we can do that. As long as you promise to let us know if there’s anything we can do. You’re not alone, Kayla.”
She lets out a shaky breath, and I can hear the smile on her face when she says, “I think I needed to hear that.”
“You’re not alone,” I echo. “You’re never gonna be alone again.”
“Yeah, you’re gonna wish for a moment of solitude, but nope, here we are,” Maddox jokes, but his voice is tight. He’s forcing the levity out of habit. He’s scared she’s gonna decide this isn’t worth the drama. I’m scared she’s going to decide I’m not worth it.
We say our goodbyes, with us promising to stay put until she calls and her promising to call if she needs us, and when Maddox hangs up the phone, we lock eyes.
