I shrug my shoulders even though she can’t see me. “Who knows?” I sigh, grabbing a glass and placing it down on the counter. I instantly fill it, adding just a bit more knowing Cruz will steal it and help himself, even if he isn’t thirsty.
“Beats me,” she grumbles.
“What are you doing?” I ask, just as the four guys come striding through the back door and I watch as Cruz instantly goes for my glass of OJ. “King and I sorta stole a dog last night, and now I have to spend the afternoon working out which room is going to be hers and find all the best food for her.”
“Um … what?” she laughs. “There’s so much to unpack there. First off … you stole a dog? Why the hell am I not surprised? And secondly, did you just say she’ll be getting a whole room to herself?”
“Why not?” I laugh. “I couldn’t fill all these bedrooms in a million years, so why not dedicate one just to Lady Dante? I might see if I can convince the guys to build a little doggy door so she can get in and out whenever she needs.”
“Lady Dante?” she scoffs just seconds before a howling laugh bubbles out of her. I can’t help but glance up at Carver and the way he glares back at me, suggests that he can hear exactly what’s being said through the phone. “I bet Carver had something to say about that.”
A grin tears across my face as I keep my stare on Carver. “Look, put it this way,” I tell her as King steps in behind me and curls his arms around my waist. “He wasn’t thrilled, but I think the name suits her perfectly.”
Ember laughs but it quickly fades away. “I can’t wait to see how you do being a doggy mommy. It’ll be interesting.”
“Then come over. You can help me adapt to this new crazy lifestyle.”
“Nah,” she grumbles, a hint of sadness in her tone. “I think I’m just going to chill out at home. I’m not really feeling up to it.”
“What do you mean? What’s going on?”
Ember lets out a sigh. “I still haven’t heard from Jacob. He never showed up at the party last night even though he said he was just pulling up, so I don’t know. That’s not like him. Maybe I did something wrong and this is just his way of taking space. But I swear, I’ve done everything right. Maybe something else is going on, or he’s just bored of me.”
Fuck.
“No,” I tell her, leaning heavily against King and letting him hold me up. “I’m sure it’s not that. You’re the best girlfriend any guy could want. If he’s being a dick and not talking to you, that’s on him. Don’t let it get you down.”
“Yeah, I know,” she sighs. “I’m trying not to think about it too much. He’ll call when he’s ready, but in the meantime, I think I just want to sulk about it for a while. I’ll be fine tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m just going to binge Netflix and stuff my face with popcorn, ice-cream, and chocolate.”
“Damn, that sounds so good.”
“It really is,” she tells me as a loud knock sounds at the front door.
All four of the guys freeze, their backs straightening as they glance around at one another. “How is there someone at the door?” I ask, looking straight at Grayson, knowing that when it comes to the security systems, he’s the best one to ask.
He shakes his head. “It’s not possible,” he says, looking across at Carver who discreetly reaches around to his back and pulls a gun from the waistband of his jeans, making my brows arch in surprise. “No one should have been able to get through either of the gates without us knowing. They’ve been tampered with. Someone’s been fucking with your security system, and I don’t like it.”
My eyes go wide, glancing around at the boys as my heart begins to race. “Hey, Ember, I have to go,” I murmur, hoping that this is all some misunderstanding and I’m not about to endure another attempt on my life. “I’ll call you back later.”
“Okay, but it’s probably just Sara at the door,” she says. “So, make sure you record it because she’s bound to say something stupid and I really don’t want to miss out on it.”
A forced laugh pulls from deep within me as I hope to everything above that’s holy that Ember is right. “Yeah, okay. Bye,” I say, ending the call and slipping the phone straight into my pocket.
The knock sounds again, and the boys silently work out a plan between themselves. As they creep toward the door, I fall in behind King, hating the way he pushes me right behind him so that I can’t see a damn thing that’s going down.