Call You Mine (The Baker’s Creek Billionaire Brothers #4) - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,25

my home. In fact, last night before I left the main house, I made sure to lock it and set the alarms. There’s no way in hell that they can open it until I unlock this place.

“This is my private residence,” I say, or maybe I think about it.

He shakes his head and starts picking up the bottles and placing them in the trash can. “Let’s go back home.”

“I’m celebrating the New Year.”

He shows me one of the empty bottles of Macallan. “By killing your liver?”

“You’re not a doctor,” I argue.

“No, the doctor went to his office to pick up some bags of saline solution to hydrate you.”

I glare at him, clench my jaw, and warn him. “Leave me the fuck alone or you’ll regret it.”

He narrows his gaze and grins. “Kid, I’m not afraid of you. We let this isolation go for three days too long. Time to come home.”

“I dare you to move me.”

These assholes have no idea who I really am, and today I feel like inflicting some pain.

Before I can say more, Grace saunters into the living room, giving me a glare.

Pierce chuckles and points to G. “I am afraid of this one, though.”

“Three days, Beacon?” Her voice feels like cats scratching metal. “I’ve been texting and calling you, and you’ve been ignoring me.”

“Go home, G.”

She glares at me and whistles. I hold my head, squeezing my eyes. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“No, you’d be dead if those were my intentions.”

“Come on, boys, you know what to do,” she says, and that’s when I realize she brought the band with her.

Lang, Sanford, Manelik and Fisher pick me up from the couch and throw me into the bathtub—clothed. Grace turns on the cold water.

“I swear, you’re going to pay for this,” I threaten them.

They stare at me, amused. When the fog begins to clear, I’m finally able to stand up and switch the water to a warmer setting.

Grace and the guys leave as I begin to strip from the soaking wet clothes. I stay under the stream of water for a while. I’m trying to recall why I stayed longer than usual. It must have been that there wasn’t enough alcohol to numb the pain. It wasn’t just about my grandparents, but also about Grace. I’m losing her. I can’t fathom life without her.

Once I feel like myself, I turn off the water, pull a towel, and wrap it around my waist. When I walk into my room, Hayes waits for me with an IV fluid bag in one hand.

“I’m fine,” I claim, pulling out a shirt from my drawer and a pair of jeans from the other.

I won’t lie, it’s hard to get dressed, but I do it. If he realizes I’m still drunk, he’s going to take me to his practice, and who the fuck knows what he’s going to do to sober me up.

“Leave me alone,” I order

“Humor me,” Hayes insists.

“No. Look, I can stand up on one foot,” I argue, and when I try to do it, I fall to the ground.

Okay, maybe I’m not sober yet. As a matter of fact, I’m so fucking drunk that I’m seeing double—possibly triple. There are too many Aldridges in my room. Well, just the older ones: Henry, Hayes, and Pierce.

“I hope you enjoyed this one time,” Henry begins. “It’s the one and only that we let you brood on your own.”

“If you ask me, we shouldn’t have let him go for so long,” Hayes says, as he pinches me with a needle and starts the IV. “This is to hydrate you. Blaire added B12 to it.”

Pierce squats and gives me that fatherly look he’s been perfecting since…well, since he became a father a month ago. “We understand. You don’t trust us. Seven months can’t erase all the years we neglected you. But give us a chance. I had to call Grace to figure out how to get into this bunker. Not even Vance could break into this place, and he’s some secret elite force.”

I snort because I won a bet. I told Vance he’d never be able to get into my lair if I ever set up the locks.

“It’s not funny,” Henry chides me.

“Depends on how you see it,” I answer.

“We’re worried sick, Beacon. I can’t lose another brother.” Hayes sighs, running a hand through his hair.

“I needed to be by myself.”

“But you’re not alone,” Henry cuts in my explanation. “Whatever you need to deal with, you come to us. I get it. Sometimes