Queen of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #4) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,82

of excitement entered his eyes. He loved breaking rules, especially when they involved a little thrill.

“I mean, I would love for you to meet Dad,” he said, grabbing my hand. “If you want to?”

“Of course I fucking do,” I said with a grin. “Let’s go.”

We started running, stifling our laughter like kids as we headed downstairs into the parking lot and jumped into Saint’s car. Blake took off driving and the shutters opened as the camera read our numberplate and let us out. We turned out of the alley and sailed along the streets, winding into the heart of the weirdly quiet, glitzy city.

The moonlight glinted and sparkled on the glass buildings towering up either side of us, making it seem like we were in a fairy tale world that belonged entirely to us. Anyone who had somewhere else to go had run away from the cities months ago, and everyone else was clearly locked up tight inside their apartments, hoping to survive this pandemic.

It wasn’t long before we pulled up outside a huge, shiny building which was the tallest one on this street. Blake popped the glove compartment, taking out a handgun and stuffing it into his waistband before dropping his coat to cover it. After everything we’d faced, I wasn’t gonna question that decision even a little.

I followed him out of the car and he took my hand as he led me up to the impressive glass doors at the top of a set of grey stone steps. Blake typed in a code on a panel beside the doors and they slid silently open, allowing us into a huge atrium with silver and white tiles on the floor. The reception desk stood empty and my skin prickled at the overbearing silence as we made our way to the elevator. Inside, Blake had to type in another code on the elevator panel and we shot upwards, climbing through the building at speed.

“Is he gonna lose his shit when he sees you?” I asked and Blake shook his head.

“Nah, he’s cool. He’ll probably just be pissed I’m missing football practise even when I hand him the gold dust in my pocket.”

I chuckled and he grinned at me, seeming a little anxious as the elevator rose higher. “I’ve never brought a girl home before,” he muttered, his eyes scouring my face as his expression filled with pride.

My heart began to race. “Well, I hope he likes me.”

“Oh,” he breathed as he stared at me and I frowned.

“What?” I questioned and he shifted from one foot to the other.

“Nothing,” he muttered. “He’ll love you. I’ll make sure of it.” His complete dedication to me made my chest expand, and I hoped I wasn’t gonna blow this. I’d never been taken home to meet anyone’s parents and I really wanted to make a good impression. After all the craziness in our lives, it was weird to be doing something so normal. It had my stomach fluttering as if we were about to charge into battle. Why was this so freaking scary?

I couldn’t help but think of my own dad and how he’d never gotten to meet Blake properly or any of my other boys apart from Monroe. But he’d wanted this for me, even if it didn’t look the way he’d probably pictured. He’d hoped for me to find a man who’d dive into a sea of hellfire to protect me. It just turned out that I’d found four of them. Shit, I was lucky. If Dad was out there somewhere, I hoped he knew that.

Blake took his phone from his pocket, tapping out a message on the app Saint had installed on it. “I suppose we better let Squid know we’re alright.”

“Yeah, I suppose there’s not much he can do now anyway until we get back,” I agreed and he sent the message direct to Saint before tucking his phone away. “So is this building where you grew up?”

“Nah, it’s my dad’s apartment. He used to just use it for parties or the odd night when he had to stay in the city because a meeting with some sponsors ran late or whatever, but mostly it just sat empty. He moved in here permanently after we lost Mom. My home is a place in the country. It’s real nice, but I guess it reminds him of her too much.” He frowned sadly and I frowned back, feeling his pain.

The elevator doors slid open and we stepped into an incredible penthouse apartment which