other day?” I asked, trying to sound casual.
Logan’s jaw twitched, and he nodded. “Yeah. We’ve been hanging out.”
Chase buried his nose deeper into his cards, and Brad eyed me carefully.
“You know to be careful with her, right?”
A grin stretched across Logan’s face. “Oh, I’ll be careful all right.”
I rolled my eyes with a half-snort, half-laugh. “What the hell does that even mean?” I shook my head as Logan upped the bet with another chip. “I’m serious, though. She cares more about your trust fund than you.”
“That’s A-okay by me.” Well, at least I tried. When she poked holes in his condoms and trapped him into a marriage, he couldn’t say I didn’t warn him.
“Dude.” Brad rapped my elbow with his knuckle. “I raised.”
Swiping a hand down my face, I threw my cards onto the table. “I’m out.” I had nothing. I grunted, pushing back from the table, standing. Bottles clanked against the fridge door as I grabbed another beer. No big deal. The sooner I lost this game, the sooner I could kick these assholes out and see Shelby.
Chase scooped the cards together as Brad stretched back in his chair.
“You see that clip I sent y’all?” Logan asked, southern drawl dripping from his deep voice.
I shook my head, bottle to my lips, mid sip.
“Logan, don’t pull that shit up. I’m a porn connoisseur, and that shit doesn’t deserve the light of day,” Brad grumbled and finished the rest of his beer quickly.
Chase laughed. “It’s bad if even Brad won’t watch it.”
Logan hopped up, grabbing my laptop from the coffee table and opening it so that we could all see it. “Don’t be a pussy. This shit is crazy.”
Brad shot me a glare, and his chair scraped the floor as he jumped to his feet, storming into the kitchen.
Unease burrowed in my belly. Damn, Brad was a pretty hardened dude. Watched a lot of shit. I knew Chase was joking, but there might be some truth to that statement. If he thought this clip was too much, maybe we shouldn’t be watching it. “Isn’t watching porn together gay or something?” I joked in an effort to lighten the mood.
But Logan kept typing an address into the browser and then slid the laptop to Chase and me, presenting it as though we were about to see some fine piece of cinema or something. “And here we go,” he said quietly, hitting play.
My heart dropped to my stomach as I processed the clip. A girl was tied to the bed—hands and feet bound, one on each bedpost. She was completely naked, legs spread wide, and blindfolded. Okay, that in itself was kind of hot. Only, the man was rough—really rough. And her screams didn’t sound like cries of passion. I gulped, and my chest felt hollow as I continued watching. I slid a glance at Chase, who seemed just as horrified as me. As she screamed no another guy came onto the set and shoved his dick into her open mouth.
The laptop clapped as I slammed it shut. “That’s enough,” I grunted, my voice hoarse.
Brad leaned against the kitchen counter with his back to us, shaking his head.
“Intense, right?” Logan’s eyes sparked with desire. Chills ran the length of my spine, and I shook them off. I didn’t like this side of Logan. At all. A moment of concern for Katie tightened in my stomach. And fuck if I’d ever let this guy anywhere near Shelby.
“Are we going to play fucking poker, or are we going to watch porn together like a bunch of pussies?” Chase said, shuffling the deck. He had already taken his seat back over near the table, his skin, oddly sallow.
“Actually, guys, I think I might call it a night.” I cleared my throat, tossing the empty bottles into the recycling.
Chase gestured to my clock. “It’s only eleven-thirty.”
I shrugged. “It’s been a long week.”
“We gotta settle up,” he said, clearing his throat. “Where you hiding your dough, Michaelson?” Brad pushed off the counter, grabbing his wallet, and a look passed between us. I nodded at him. We’d been friends long enough to understand each other without using words, and he didn’t like that video any more than I did.
I nodded toward my backpack as I picked up the remaining empty bottles, cleaning up. “In the front pouch, I think. I owe seventy-five bucks, if you wanna grab it.” When I looked up again, Logan had my laptop open again. “I’m serious, Logan. Don’t use my computer to look at