Page 25 of Wicked Deceit
“Are you in any pain?” Chase asks, stroking his fingers up and down my back.
“Yeah,” I murmur, nodding as a slight twinge from my neck makes me wince.
“Let me get breakfast. I’ll bring you some in bed. I’ll get your meds, and we can just lie here all day. Just the two of us,” he whispers, kissing my temple.
“Okay,” I say through a happy sigh as butterflies take flight in my belly.
Chase gets out of bed but leans back down, pulling the comforter to my chin. He kisses me again and walks out of the room. The sound of pots and pans echoes through the house, and I raise a brow at what he’s doing. The only thing Seger keeps in the fridge is friggin’ beer, so I have no idea what Chase is about to make me.
“Bye, Baby Girl,” Zepp says as he strolls into the bedroom fully clothed for school. “Be a good girl,” he says with a smirk, smoothing out his shirt. “We’ll be back for lunch.”
I snort. “Aye, aye, Captain! Have a good day,” I say, pushing my lips into his and humming when he thrusts his controlling tongue into my mouth.
“Now I want to stay,” he breathes but pulls away.
“No fucking, asshole!” Chase grunts from the kitchen in a warning.
“No fucking,” Zepp says, raising a brow at me.
“Yeah, yeah. She gets it. Shit,” Chase yells back, poking his head into the room with a frown. “Now, go away.” He waves a hand, and I snort when Zepp adjusts himself in his pants and walks out the door, slapping Chase on the shoulder.
Before I know it, Chase comes in with two plates piled high with bacon and eggs, and I nearly spit out the water in my mouth. He smirks at me but doesn’t say a damn thing when we eat his delicious food. The moment it hits my tongue, I have a mouthgasm. Who knew my man could cook so well? And why has he been holding out on me? What the hell?
After I’m full and he’s removed the dishes, I take my pain meds and doze through the day with Chase happily cuddled against me. The twins come back for lunch, and Chase makes us all something, much to the boys' surprise, and they go back to school with full stomachs and smiles.
Chase and I cuddle on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. The TV plays some random show Chase turned on, but my eyes stay shut. The light peeking in through the windows and the light from the TV makes my head pound. Chase’s fingers lightly drift over my good arm, puckering goosebumps along my skin. I sigh in relief when he rubs my temples and plays with my hair. I swear I could stay cocooned like this all day and let him treat me like a queen.
When a knock comes from the front door, my body jolts, and I look back at Chase.
“Expecting someone?” I whisper, and he shakes his head.
He shrugs, unwrapping himself from the confines of our comfy love nest. With caution, he walks to the door and looks out the peephole. On silent feet, I follow him. Even when a dizzy spell hits me with my first step away from the couch and the entire house swims in a blur, I stay behind him.
“Piper,” Chase says in a confused voice, looking at me when I shrug.
“Open it, I guess,” I whisper, gesturing for him to open the door. The quicker we see what she wants, the faster we can make her leave.
With a slight hesitation, Chase opens the door, revealing a grim-looking Piper, puckering her lips. Heavy emotions run through her blue eyes as tears fall, and she holds up my books. She sniffles, wiping her nose with her wrist.
“Poultry, pickles, and popcorn, Kaycee,” she whispers, as her voice cracks from the emotions. Tears spring into her eyes as she takes me in, eyeing my injuries and cataloging them. “Oh, tater on my tots! I heard about your car accident, and I am so, so, so–oh, slimy sauerkraut.” She hiccups, brings her fist to her mouth and lets out a demon shriek as more tears fall down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry someone left you on the side of the road!” She shrieks again with a trembling body, clinging to the side of the house until her knuckles turn white.
“It’s okay. I’m okay.” Which is the biggest lie I’ve told yet.
Am I okay? Hell no. Someone purposely broke my arm and smashed my face while hiding behind masks. Was it the Apocalypse? Hell yes, it was. But which ones? Was it the mysterious fourth member we’ve yet to figure out? And who the hell is Alpha? Is she staring me in the face right now? Or is it Hadley? Oscar? Zoe? Is it Trent? Any one of them could be the Alpha who gives out the horrendous orders to take me down.
Piper’s water-filled eyes meet mine before she wipes her sniffling nose across her wrist again. With one last hiccup, she flicks the tears from her cheeks and straightens her spine. Chills spiral down my spine when she cocks her head, giving me the warmest smile she can muster. But it does anything but give me the warm and fuzzies, it makes me want to turn in the opposite direction and run away. How friggin’ strange.
“Mr. Shaw asked me to bring you your homework assignments for the rest of the week.” She swallows a lump in her throat, thrusting several heavy books in my direction. Dramatically, she looks away with another sad huff, erasing the creepy smile from her face. I remember when I first met her, I thought she was on some sort of drug, and every interaction I have with her seems to confirm my theory. I cock my head and wince, my injuries reminding me I shouldn’t move too quickly or I’ll give myself whiplash. Ugh.
“I went by your apartment, but I assumed the boys had locked you up when you weren't there.” Her lips tremble as she gives me and Chase’s protective hand in mine a tiny smile, and a knowing glint sparks to life in the depths of her crazy eyes. Goosebumps spread across my flesh when she looks me up and down, accessing me again.
I snort, wincing when the vibrations prickle my nose. “Yeah, sorry you went all the way over there. I’m here for a short time,” I say with a sharp nod, instantly regretting the tiny detail I gave her.
Stupid, stupid, Kaycee! I mentally facepalm, sinking my teeth into my tongue. Maybe if I hold it down and suffer through the pain, it won’t let anything else dumb slip through. I’m too exhausted, mentally and physically, to deal with Piper’s crazy shenanigans. She could sit me down on the couch, engage in normal conversation, and I’d spill everything I know without meaning to. Fuck. I need to get out of this conversation asap. I wonder if I feigned near death, if she would walk away and leave us alone. All I want to do is snuggle into Chase’s chest and sleep for the rest of the day.
Piper says a few more odd, food inspired words, and offers her prayers before wrapping an arm around me, and hugging the life out of me. I squeak from the pain, but she seems to hold me tighter, until I’m fighting for air. Seriously, what are her arms made of? Steel? Fuck, she’s crushing my already crushed lungs, and I think this is how I’ll die. Never mind the invisible ants crawling up my legs, begging me to scratch them away. She squeezes me another time, until Chase is peeling her damn arms away from me, and I land back on my feet with an umph. I blow out a breath when she waves her goodbye, skipping through the maze while singing a song. Her blonde hair swishes with every joyous step, until she completely disappears into the maze.
Chase and I exchange a look when he shuts the front door and locks it. Shaking my head, I put my books on the kitchen table and give them a dirty look. No matter how much I want to dive into my school work and catch up, I don’t even want to think about it. Chase’s warm hands knead at my shoulders, relaxing every inch of me into his touch. I sigh when he leads me back to the couch and cocoons us in a blanket, once again.
