growls. “She had the damn thing. She gave it to you like a damn peace offering when she tried to kill you.”
“J, this is all Matthews.”
“I fucking know that, but we don’t know where her loyalties lie, do we?”
Silence falls in the kitchen and my stomach grumbles. Shit. I press a hand there then peer in to see if they heard me, but they don’t react. Thank God.
“Seriously though, what do you think?” Liam presses, watching his brother. I step in closer, pressing my ear to the door.
“I think we need to fucking get Matthews, that’s what I think,” Julian says, puffing smoke in the kitchen like he does it all the time. “But we should also be careful with puppets that can be used.”
“Yeah. But why do you think he chose her?” Cole questions, drinking his beer. Shit, I’ve wanted to know the answer to that. Why me?
“I have no fucking idea,” Julian says. “But I bet that fucking friend has everything to do with it.”
“But you do know she didn’t do it, right?” Liam questions, a sober look on his face. “You know she didn’t press that button.”
“Everything leads to her,” Cole explains, eyeing Julian and my blood freezes. “The credit card that bought the damn bomb is in her name.”
“What?” I croak out, my throat dry.
All eyes turn to look at me. I ignore Julian as I walk over to Cole and Liam who watch me approach like I just spooked the shit out of them.
“Damn, cupcake, where have you been?” Liam questions, a smile on his face but his eyes…they’re filled with worry that could’ve been laughable if I didn’t know that Liam’s actually a caring, sensitive manwhore. “Your aunt slash mother is turning the world upside down looking for you.”
I ignore their inquisitive looks. I know I look a mess. I know I’m sweating like a dog.
“And…”
“She’s sleeping. Hayley watched her today,” Julian mutters silently and I look down.
“Thanks,” I whisper but I can’t look at him. His stare bores into me. Cole and Liam look at each other but stay silent.
“Well?” Liam smirks. “Where were you?”
“Out,” I mumble then look at Cole. “What do you mean everything leads to me?”
Cole doesn’t miss a beat, the intelligent light in his eyes tells me that he’s much more aware than he lets on.
“It means just that. Fucking Sean and his brother knew what they were doing when they set you up.”
“That explains why the police are looking for you,” Liam says then gets up, but my jaw is on the floor and I don’t think I’m breathing right.
“What?” I choke out. “The police are looking for me?”
“Well, that’s the word on the street,” Cole assures, his voice soothing but I’m not soothed. I look at Julian for the first time, but he just watches me silently puffing on his joint.
“Here, eat something,” Liam says, placing a burger in front of me. I frown at him and he shrugs. “J isn’t hungry and besides, I could hear your stomach grumble way before you were ear-hustling.”
“Oh.” I stare at the cheese-burger but it feels like I swallowed sand. I just don’t have the appetite for it.
“Don’t you dare,” Liam frowns. “You’re going to eat it all.”
The next thing I know, Cole opens a Diet Coke, then adds a straw and pushes it in front of me. Then to finish it, like they coordinated the whole thing, Julian pushes a chair out for me to sit, three pairs of intense, non-judgmental eyes stare at me.
“I’m not.” I stare at the burger, then at my hand. Julian grabs the plate, then with a fork and knife, divides it up into bite sizes so I can pick it up with my good hand.
“Yes, you are,” Julian says silently in his voice that dares me to argue with him. He stares me down. With a sigh, I sit, then reach for the perfectly cut burger.
“Just one bite and you’ll wolf it down, Mia,” Cole says, then smiles softly. There’s something about him and the way he watches me and talks to me. It settles me for some reason. So, I eat.
One bite. I chew like a robot being observed in a lab. My cheeks heat up when the burger tastes so good, I almost moan. Then I reach for another piece.
Like a choir, Liam and Cole release an audible breath, but Julian just watches me like a hawk.
“Now talk,” I start after sipping the coke. “What about my credit card?”
“Well, the cops