Then the door slammed open like someone had deliberately shoved it, and I all but leapt away from Zed like he was electrified.
"Oh, whoops," Lucas said in the most sarcastic voice I'd heard in my life. "Was I interrupting something? My bad. Nothing worse than being cockblocked, huh, Zeddy Bear?"
A laugh bubbled up in my throat before I could clap a hand over my mouth, and Zed speared me with a pained glare.
"Sorry," I muttered. "It's pretty funny."
Zed swung his glare back to Lucas. "Call me that again and I'll shove my foot so far up your ass you'll be licking my toes. Now fuck off; we were in the middle of something."
Lucas's grin was pure evil. "Aw, snookums, no need for that level of animosity. Hayden, Cass is asking for you. He says his shoulder is aching and he can't find the pain pills."
Zed threw his hands up in exasperation, stalking away a couple of paces. "It was barely a fucking scratch; he's being a baby."
I shook my head at their antics and decided it was probably for the best. Zed and I had been rocking the friendzone for twelve years. What was a little longer?
Biting back a smile, I met Zed's heated gaze and instantly shivered. "Raincheck," I muttered before I could filter that promise. His brows hitched and a small smile tugged at his lips as he nodded.
"I'll hold you to that," he replied, and I quickly made my exit before I came up with an insane plan like inviting Lucas to stay and join us while we destroyed the friendzone once and for all.
As I headed back in the direction of the living room, I caught Lucas's voice again.
"Payback's a bitch, huh?" Then he groaned. "Ow, not cool, Zeddy Bear. Don't solve problems with violence."
I rolled my eyes, guessing what had just happened but not stopping to go back and break it up. They were both big boys; they could sort their own shit out. Besides, for the most part and despite their differences, I was getting the impression they actually liked one another.
Cass was on the living room sofa, looking kicked back and relaxed with a movie on the big-screen TV. When I walked toward him, his eyes followed me in that darkly sexual way that never failed to raise my pulse rate.
"You okay?" I asked, propping my hands on my hips. "Lucas said you needed painkillers."
Cass arched one brow. "Huh?"
I smiled and shook my head. "That's what I thought." Lucas hadn't even spoken to Cass; he was just getting Zed back for interrupting us in the kitchen. Fucking men and their jealousy... equal parts amusing and infuriating. Then again, I supposed that was something I needed to get used to, given that I had zero intention of choosing between my current lovers.
Ugh. I hated that word. Lovers. Made me feel like a damsel with a French-speaking, long-haired pirate sweeping me off my feet. But it fit a hell of a lot better than fuck buddies, so that's where we were at.
Cass reached out his hand to me, coaxing me closer, then pulled me into his lap when I tried to sit beside him. "Hey," he murmured, wrapping his arm around my waist as I cuddled into him without bumping his shoulder. "We've got this, Red."
I released a long breath, consciously forcing myself to let go of some tension that I seemed to carry with me day and night. "I know," I replied. "But it's still scaring the crap out of me. When I realized we were actually going through with that plan... when I had to shoot you..." A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed hard.
Cass pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I had total faith in you. You knew what you were doing, and it worked."
I grimaced. "As far as we know. Chase was at Club 22 after your funeral, just being a fucking nuisance."
Cass grunted. "Good. Shows he thinks he won that round; he couldn't resist rubbing it in a bit."
He was right, but I was still anxious as hell. What if he wasn't fooled. I'd gambled—and won—on the idea he would be so smug about his "victory" that he wouldn't stay and check Cass for signs of life. He hadn't, but those few minutes waiting for him to leave so I could call for discreet medical assistance were etched onto my memory in harsh, vivid detail.
"Don't ever ask me to shoot you again, Saint," I told him in a quiet voice, not even trying to hide the pain I was still feeling over that moment.
He didn't offer me empty promises, just nudged my face to his and kissed me long and slow. His kiss washed away the anxiety and fear and filled me with the warm glow of confidence once more. Filled me with love. And that made me feel damn near invincible. I wasn't fighting this war with Chase alone. I never had been, with Zed at my back. But this time I also had Cass and Lucas, and goddamn if we weren't a force to be fucking reckoned with.
"I'll have to leave in a couple of days," Cass murmured when our kisses slowed. "All the details are almost worked out."
Sadness stabbed through me. "I changed my mind; I don't want you to go."
The corners of his lips curled up, and he combed his fingers through my hair. "Cute."
I frowned. "I'm not saying that to be cute. I'm serious. We can think of something else that doesn't involve you leaving me."
His fingers tangled in the back of my hair, and he slammed his lips against mine, this time kissing me hard and aggressively, stealing the protests from my lips along with the breath from my lungs.
"I will never leave you, Red," he told me in a harsh whisper when he was done kissing me stupid. "Nothing on this entire fucking planet can make me leave you."
I swallowed heavily but nodded. I knew what he was saying because I felt exactly the same way. But still, I couldn't shake the steadily building sense of dread every time I thought about what was to come, about what we all needed to do to deal with Chase once and for all.
7
I fell asleep wrapped up in Cass's embrace after he spent half the night making goddamn sure I wouldn't forget his touch while he was gone, but when I woke up, it was to Lucas softly kissing my cheek.
"Hey you," I mumbled, rubbing at my eyes.
"You slept in," he told me with a smile. "I left you as long as I could, but visiting hours—"
"Oh fuck," I cursed, sitting up with a gasp and swiping a hand through my hair. "It's that late? How? Shit, I'm sorry. Give me five minutes; I'll—"
"Hayden, it's fine," he cut me off as he grasped my face between his hands. "Take a breath. It's not a big deal, but I spoke with my mom's nurse and he said she was really clear-headed today. Maybe it'll be a good chance to speak with her properly."
I blinked away the last of my sleep fog and pressed a quick kiss against his lips. "I'll be quick. Where's Cass?"
Lucas wrinkled his nose. "You don't want to know." He didn't look worried, so I just gave him a suspicious look until he kissed me, then released my face. "I'll wait downstairs?"
Giving him a vague nod, I watched him leave the bedroom, then hurried to grab some fresh clothes and shower away the evidence of my night with Cass. I was ready in a little over five minutes, dressing casually since we were heading to Sunshine Estate and my intention wasn't to intimidate the answers out of Sandra.