top of the graveled parking lot. “And I get it. I get that everyone has their own thing going on. Luna is taking more online college courses. Moffy has a fucking baby. And Jane is getting married. Married.” She laughs like it seems unreal. “To your brother.” She points at Banks. “And it feels like just yesterday we were all kids, piling into a canoe at the lake house. Trying not to tip it over.” Sulli exhales strongly, then stares at the ground, adjusting her backpack strap. “Maybe it’s good they’re not here. Flying higher from the nest, right? I need to do this on my own—with you two, obviously.”
Banks and I nod, trying more or less to be impartial. But with her cousins come their bodyguards. Omega. My men. Of course we’d like them here, but Sullivan is right.
It’s better it’s just the three of us.
I don’t need SFO to rib me about my relationship with Sulli right now. Not when it’s being electrocuted every ten minutes.
“So what now?” Sulli asks me and Banks.
Hey, she included me. Love those good signs.
I pass them. “I’m going to check to see if they have a room available.” I walk backwards and say, “Grab what you need. Cover her ass, Banks.”
“On it,” he says.
As I walk away, I hear Sulli ask him, “Who’s going to be in charge of your ass tonight…?” Her voice tapers off as my shoes crunch gravel.
I walk faster.
And faster.
Not wanting to hear Banks’ reply for some reason.
I blink back invasive thoughts.
Cherries.
A bed.
Her body.
I blink.
Sulli.
Thighs spread.
Virginity.
I blink and blink. Gusts of wind whip my black hair.
Sheets.
Her long brunette hair.
Greenest green eyes.
Legs that never end.
I blink.
Her arched back.
Shallow breath.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
My stomach tosses in guilt. I shouldn’t see her that way. Not even if she asked me to take her virginity. Not even if the world was burning down.
She’s like my little sister. Ryke said it himself!
He told me that. He has constantly said:
“That’s your fucking sister, you know? Protect her.”
“You’re a big brother to her.”
“Thanks for being her big brother.”
For years that’s what I heard from her dad.
It’d be so screwed up if we did something…
I run a hand through my hair, kick away those thoughts, and survey the area. For a random motel stop, a surprising number of cars are parked here.
I just hope the vacancy sign isn’t wrong.
When I enter the office services, I’m hit with an overpowering smell of lavender. Like someone lit the flower on fire and perfume-bombed the room. The scent burns my eyes as I approach the empty desk.
I tap a bell, and while I wait, my phone buzzes. Pulling out my cell, I check the text.
Let me know dates & times when she starts climbing. I’ll pack my equipment & bring Jesse out with me. – Jack
Sulli’s cousins might not be here, but Jack Highland-Oliveira is scheduled to arrive at some point—looks like his teenage brother Jesse Highland will be joining.
Jack—I didn’t really trust at first. He’s just too likable. And he has so many secrets about the families that he could spill. It always put me on edge. Being cautious is a bodyguard’s job.
But somehow, some way, we became friends. Shit, we’ve even gone on double-dates with girls he’s introduced me to. He has an endless supply of acquaintances, contacts, whoever that always show up when we’re out together, even if it’s to grab coffee on a quick pass to say hello.
I’m not even the one who invited Jack here. Sulli agreed for her free-solo climbs to be filmed for We Are Calloway, and he’s in charge of her segments for the docuseries.
A camera is going to be on Sulli while she free-solos. All I can think is that her death might be filmed for the whole world to see.
She’s won’t die.
I believed that.
When she announced her free-solo plan on her dad’s birthday, the reaction was heavily mixed. For the parents, she might as well have announced she was pregnant with the devil’s spawn.
They were horrified.
But I was in the “let her do it” camp. I’m still there. I have to be. Sulli is too determined to drag her to a halt, and I’ve always known her as the girl who goes for gold.
I send a quick text back: For sure, I’ll keep you in the loop. We’re on our way to Yellowstone Country. You won’t need to come out for a few days at least. She still has to practice the climbs with a harness & rope before free-soloing.