Page 162 of On the Double

“Harper!”

I spun and ran to the base of the stairs at Edu’s frantic calls. I was about to run upstairs when he appeared at the top and looked down atme in relief. He was in front of me in seconds, grabbing me and holding me to him.

“I thought you were gone.”

“Why would I leave my own house?”

“Fucking swear to me you won’t leave.”

I wasn’t sure I could swear that. I wanted him more than anything, but I was serious last night when I said I would leave if he ever spoke to me like that again. There was no going back to the way I felt that night.

But the way he looked at me, the pleading in his eyes, was my undoing. “I promise.”

“That’s fucking beautiful,” IKE said. “Can we get breakfast now?”

“What the fuck is he doing here?”

“He’s here for my neighbor. Rae sent him.”

“What?”

“My neighbor is being abused. Her husband is?—”

“Your neighbor? Christ, Harper. You should have called for someone to get you. What if you got wrapped up in that shit? What if you were hurt?”

I covered his mouth with my hand, my eyebrows shooting up as he glared at me. “You need to stop right now. I called Rae. What more did you want from me?”

His jaw clenched hard, but he didn’t say anything else. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“Much later,” IKE muttered. “Some of us are hungry.”

“Go get dressed,” I grinned. “We have to feed our tagalongs.”

“I could just take you upstairs and eat you. That would be more than satisfying.”

A gagging noise came from behind us. Dash was bent over, dry-heaving and coughing. “Fuck, would you point that dirty talk somewhere else? I was eating!”

“You’re married,” Edu said incredulously.

“Yes, and I can talk to my wife that way, but I don’t say it in front of others,” he pointed out. “Hell, I’m gonna need therapy to wipe that shit from my ears.”

“Food, people,” IKE snapped. “Some of us drove all night to get here and need food.”

We didn’t keep him waiting any longer, quickly dressing and stopping to kiss only a few times. By the time we made it downstairs, IKE was even more worked up than before. I was curious about the man in my house, but got the distinct impression that questions were not permitted and would most likely put me on his shit list. I wasn’t sure he even worked at OPS, but everyone else seemed to know him well enough.

The moment we stepped outside, he lit a cigarette as his gaze wandered around the neighborhood.

“That’s their house,” I pointed across the street diagonally.

“I’m aware.”

Geesh, I was just trying to help. I took Edu’s proffered hand and walked down the steps to the minivan. But before we could get inside, screams filled the neighborhood. My heart jumped in my throat as I realized they were coming from Willow’s house. But I didn’t have to even ask for the guys to help. They were running across the street with only Edu sticking by my side. I watched as IKE kicked in the door.

Shouting and glass breaking had me tightening my grip on Edu’s hand. I was pretty sure the guys were fine, but I was worried for my friend and her little boy. I shouldn’t have been. Five minutes later, FNG and Dash walked out whistling and joking with each other.

“What happened?” I asked, running over to them.

“He won’t be bothering her anymore. IKE is taking care of it.”