Chaos & the Geek (Grace Grayson Security #1) - Elizabeth Stevens Page 0,42
There was nothing from inside. No exclamation of surprise she was there. No greeting. Just silence. Maybe we should have said something when we’d run into Dannie the night before, but I honestly hadn’t thought of it.
“All good?” Hawk whispered.
Amber nodded and edged her way in. “Yeah. All good.”
The four of us bustled in behind her.
“How do you want to do this?” Nico asked as Tank started unfolding the boxes.
Amber sighed and shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s a bunch of stuff just around, plus my room…”
“Why don’t a couple of us take your room?” Hawk asked. “You can direct the rest of us out here.”
“What about Rollie?” Tank asked.
“Fucker can ferry boxes when he finally shows up,” Hawk said.
“I told him the elevator sucked,” Amber said. She sighed again as she looked around. “But, yeah. Okay. Sounds like a plan.”
“Tank, help me with her room?” Hawk asked.
“You remember which one it is?” Amber looked at him.
He gave a nod. “Just put everything we find in boxes?”
“That’s the plan.”
Hawk and Tank took a couple of boxes down a corridor off the main living space. It wasn’t big, but it was homely. Far more homely than the penthouse would ever be, I was sure. There was evidence of life lived here. The best thing going for the penthouse was that Amber left all her study stuff spread around. At the very least, the penthouse was an exclusive university study hall. But I had given Amber permission to re-decorate, so who knew what it would look like soon.
“All right, tell us what to pack,” Nico said.
Amber breathed out like she was thinking. She nodded, then headed for the kitchen. “Okay.”
Tank had remembered to bring some newspaper so we could wrap up all the breakables before putting them away. Amber’s assertive streak shone as she passed us things to wrap, pointed at stuff for us to grab, or handed us something to put in a box. It was a weirdly efficient system.
When Rollie eventually arrived – not really that long after – he ran into Dannie and the dickweed in the hallway on his way back out with a box.
“Excuse me,” I heard Dannie’s voice. “Who are you and why are you in my apartment?”
Amber caught my eye and I could see she wasn’t looking forward to this confrontation. I stepped forward and Dannie’s eyes snapped to me.
“Chaos?” she said sweetly, Brent glowering behind her. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re helping Amber pack up her stuff.”
“You mean she’s moving in with you?” Brent asked, taking a step forward.
There was enough challenge in him that I was pretty sure he knew he’d royally cocked up. He’d fucked the wrong girl and he’d lost the right one. Well, Amber wasn’t his and I wasn’t giving him a chance to even try to win her back. Even if no one else in the room noticed how possessive I suddenly felt, Brent did.
“Okay,” Hawk’s voice broke obliviously through the silent tension in the room. “You’ll be super proud of me. I did not bare butt fart on Dannie…is standing right there…” he petered off.
“So kind of you to not give me pink eye, Patrick,” she said to him.
But Hawk was done being civil to this little shit – he’d never liked her. “It is the least of what you deserve after you stole Bert’s boyfriend, you slag.”
Dannie acted shocked. “I didn’t steal anyone. Brent wanted to be with me.”
I smirked as I stepped up beside Hawk. It was the two of us against the two of them. “You regretting that easy lay now, mate?” I asked him cavalierly.
“I don’t have to explain myself to men with children’s names,” Brent said haughtily.
I nodded. “You might be right there. But at least be man enough to admit you fucked up. An apology is surely not beyond a man as…mature as you.”
“You intimidated by the ex?” Brent tried.
All five Grace Grayson boys laughed. Mine had less humour in it than it should have.
“Intimidated? No, mate,” I said, taking another step towards him. “Little boys not man enough to keep an amazing young woman are nothing to me.”
“I see you’re fine hiding behind these buffoons, Amber…” Dannie said.
Amber walked forward to stand between us all. “I’m not hiding. I’m just getting on with my life. Something I think the two of you should probably do.”
Dannie looped her arm in Brent’s. “We are dating, you know.”
Amber looked them over. “How nice. You two deserve each other.” She turned on her heel and started