Page 82 of Party Girl: How a Naughty Omega Finds Love
I shoot my gaze down the hallway, straining to hear anything. They still haven’t come out. My heart falls a little, but I shove away all of my emotions. Avi needs them. I’m the reason this happened. I grab a towel and get it wet, wiping down the counters, table, and windowsill. Once that’s done, I search the front of the house for a vacuum. The closet by the front door is filled with coats. I close it and head to the one in the hall. Bingo.
Trev and Maddy emerge from his room as I start to roll the vacuum out.
Trev furrows his brow. “What are you doing?”
“Cleaning.”
“Oh,” he says, face smoothing. “I’ll do that. You should rest.” He reaches for the machine, but I pull it out of reach.
“It’s not a big deal.”
He squints at me and steps closer. “Give me the vacuum.”
“No.” I scowl at him. “I need to do this.”
“Whitney,” he warns, but my growl shuts him up. His eyebrows jump to his hairline. “Fine. Clean if you must.”
“I must,” I say with attitude.
Maddy chuckles, and both of us glance at her. I’d forgotten she was in the room.
“Trev is right, you know. You should rest, but I get it if you need a distraction. Don’t work too hard, okay?”
I nod, and she smiles at me.
“I’ll see you soon.”
My mouth is half open to retort don’t count on it, but the last time she told me she’d see me again, she was right. She says bye to Trev and leaves the house.
Trev’s fingers brush over my knuckles. “I’m sorry.”
I soften to the regret filling his voice. “It’s okay. I just have to do something.”
“Let me help you.”
“It’s your house.” I shrug.
He nods and watches me push the vacuum into the living room. I uncoil the cord, shooting secretive glances in his direction when he starts to clean the counters. I don’t tell him I already did that. He’s determined to be useful. Asher stays in the back with Avi. I want to go to him, but I don’t know if he’s ready for me to bombard him. I stay and clean. Hayden arrives a little while later, carrying in a few pieces of plywood.
“The neighbors are asking questions,” he tells Trev as he leans the plywood against the back of the couch.
“Fuck.” Trev slides his gaze in my direction. “We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“I’ll be okay.”
Making a face like he isn’t so sure about that, he rubs his forehead. After a few seconds, he nods. “Let’s get this over with.”
Watching from the safety of the kitchen, I make sure the guys are safe while they talk to the neighbors about what happened. There are frantic hand gestures, but after about ten minutes the guys manage to calm people down and everyone heads back to their homes.
Hayden comes over to me once he’s inside, checking me over once more. “We have to fix the windows.”
“Do what you have to do. I’ll keep cleaning.”
He and Trev head to the garage—which doubles as their shop—and they cut sections to cover the holes in the windows. They’ll have to call someone to fix the walls and door, but for now they rig it so it shuts and locks, reinforcing the broken section with plywood too.
When they’re done, they step back and study their handiwork, while I finish digging bullets out of the couch. My hands tremble as I hold the small handful of metal, and my chest starts to tighten. Had we not noticed Curtis and his men arrive, we’d be as good as dead.
The thought is jarring, so I clear my throat, holding out my hand. “Do you need these?”
