Light filtered in through the curtains. We hadn’t gotten around to pulling the blackouts before we fell asleep the night before, tangled around each other.

The light wasn’t what woke me though.

It was the incessant, annoying chimes from my phone.

Only one person would be that persistent.

I groaned, throwing my forearm over my eyes. If I grabbed a pillow, buried my face in it, and tried really hard, I might be able to block her out.

A grunt next to me made me realize that wasn’t going to happen. Astra wasn’t just being a nuisance to me. She was annoying Kaleb too.

Sighing, I grabbed the phone and squinted at it, my eyes struggling to adjust to the light. It was too early for conversations.

It didn’t matter that it was ten o’clock back home and my body was still on that time. My body wanted it to be midnight, making it totally acceptable to still be asleep.

But logic and want never seemed to align.

Swiping a finger across the phone, I muted the notifications, then went into my messages. I did it just as the next one came in. Without bothering to read any of them, I sent her a quick greeting.

You are such a pest sometimes. I was sleeping!

Her answer was a smiley face and LOL.

Yeah, she could laugh.

Scrolling back up, I read her messages.

With a grimace, I propped myself up. Somebody had told her that my parents had been to the loft.

Yeah, it wasn’t fun. Kaleb told them about his sister. You’d think he’d confessed to being a serial killer.

Astra texted back with another emoticon, but this was a sad face, followed by an angry one.

That pretty much sums up how I feel. I didn’t want to deal with their drama so we just came back out to Vegas. We have to figure out how to help her anyway.

I eyed Kaleb next to me and then slid out of bed.

Astra texted me twice, but I ignored them as I slid into the bathroom and took care of some necessary business. Once that was done, I moved into the main area of the suite and curled up on the couch, reading her texts.

She wanted to know why and how things had changed with Kaleb. It was too long to go into detail about that on the phone, so I summarized.

My parents lied. They had Stuart pay Kaleb off so he would leave – he didn’t go to them. They went to him. It still sucks that he just disappeared, but he was feeling desperate. His sister is in serious trouble.

As I waited for her to receive and read, I stared at the door.

Her answer took a few moments, and when I read it, I saw why.

It was…long.

So let me get this straight…your parents had their dipshit lawyer claim he’d blackmailed them. Am I right there? And you’ve spent the past few weeks feeling like a piece of shit because you put them in that position. Or that’s how you felt. But it turns out that THEY set the whole thing up and were the ones who went to him? What sort of shit were they smoking?

I started to laugh, muffling the sound behind my hand. But just as I went to respond, another text popped up.

And why the hell didn’t he get in touch with you and talk to you sooner? I don’t want to hear this shit that he felt like he shouldn’t. You were busting your ass to help him. Doesn’t he know that?

He didn’t though. I texted her back.

He doesn’t have what we have, A. I’ve always had you. You’ve always had me. Ever since his parents died, it’s just been him and his sister. She was a kid, always relying on him. I don’t think he knows how to rely on somebody.

This time, the little emoticon she chose to represent her mood was one sticking out his tongue. I could almost hear the raspberry.

I stuck my tongue out at the phone.

“Astra?” a deep voice bellowed.

Startled, I almost dropped the device.

Jerking my head up, I eyed Kaleb, who was standing in the doorway, wearing a pair of low-slung jeans, and looking sleepy-eyed and completely beautiful. “Yeah. She…um…she spent the night with a friend last night. Got my note, wanted to see what was going on.”

My gaze strayed to his chest, then back to his eyes only to find him grinning at me.

“We’ve got things to do today.” My mouth was dry, but I knew if I wasn’t careful, the two of us would end up naked and all over each other, so my gaze went back to the phone – and the message that had just come through.

He seems to know how to rely – or at least TRUST you. So whatever you’re doing, keep it up. And keep me posted. Later, PS!

I texted bye to her and then tucked my phone into my lap, watching as Kaleb made his way over to the coffee pot, a giant yawn cracking his jaw.

“What do you need to do today?” I asked softly.

He shrugged restlessly. “I’ve texted Camry again. I texted her last night when we got in, but I didn’t hear back from her. Who knows if I even will.”

He turned and met my eyes, staring at me solemnly. “I don’t know how this will go, Piety. My work visa is only for a few more months and once that time comes, then what?”

Yeah. I’d worried about that myself.

Maybe Camry wasn’t worried about immigration and violating a bunch of laws, but something told me her brother was a different creature altogether.

“Fuck,” he muttered, tipping his head back and staring at the ceiling. “If it expires, and I have to go back while she’s still tangled up with Stefano, then what do I do?”

I wanted to tell him we’d figure it out. We had to. Right?

But I had other, selfish reasons for wanting to comfort him. Reasons that had to do with needing him here with me. I had to buy a test kit soon. But I bit my lip, holding everything I was thinking back. Getting up from the couch, I went over and hugged him. “We’ll work it out.”

Leaning against him, I focused on the sound of his heart beating and closed my eyes.

He loosely looped his arms around me and rested his chin on top of my head. “I’m glad you’re here, Piety.”

“I’m glad you are here.”

* * *

The sound of his phone ringing was like a death knell.

It was almost noon, and all the things I thought we needed to get done had just never quite come together.

Camry hadn’t called him.

The calls I’d put into the lawyer had yet to be returned.

But now, as his phone rang, the two of us stared at it, and I knew we both felt a strange kind of dread.

He finally answered it right before it would have kicked over to voice mail – four rings. That’s exactly how many rings it would take.

I knew from the expression on his face that the call was going to be…problematic.

I listened to his side of the conversation, mostly monosyllabic, and his voice never changed inflection even once.

When he finally disconnected, he moved over to the window and stared outside. “That was Camry,” he said softly.

“You don’t sound overly happy.”

He laughed, but it was bitter and…broken. “It was just typical Camry. I’m meeting her in a little while.”

I wanted to tell him no, tell him it wasn’t a good idea. But I didn’t think there was any point in arguing with him. He had to do what he had to do. We’d come out here for this anyway.

“Any chance she’s decided to leave Stefano and come back with you?”

“Fat fucking chance.” Kaleb gave me a grim look, then went back to staring outside. “I…ah…she asked me to come alone. I should probably get going. It’s on the other side of town, and I’ll have to take a cab.”

“I…” My throat was dry. I didn’t like the sound of this. Not at all.

Panic began to chatter and screech inside me.

I didn’t want him to see his sister. I didn’t want him leaving me period.

What if…?

My mouth went dry.

I should tell him.

It was possible – not necessarily probable – but possible that I was pregnant. He wouldn’t take off alone to deal with his sister when we had something going on here. What if something happened?

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to go alone?” I asked, uneasy at the idea.

“Yeah.” Kaleb looked away. “It will be fine.”

I really didn’t like that. Heart hammering against my ribs, I turned away and shoved my hands through my hair. “Okay.” I nodded and made myself say it again. “Okay.”

If I said it enough times, everything would be okay.

That was how it worked, right?

“Are you okay?” Kaleb sounded closer, and I spun to meet his gaze. “I’m fine. Just…on edge. I need to um…I want to meet a lawyer that Samuel suggested anyway. Do you remember Samuel?”

“Of course.” His eyes studied my face.

Searching for the lie. For the fear.

But I hid it, locked down deep. If he could do this, so could I.

“What’s this about the lawyer?” he asked. His eyes continued to study mine, probing, and I knew he’d seen my uneasiness.

Okay, so what? He knew I didn’t like the idea of him meeting up with Camry again – and the fact that she’d told him to come alone? Yeah, that was even more worrisome.

“Piety?”

“Oh. Yeah. Well, Samuel knows somebody here in Vegas who specializes in immigration, and I want to see if she can help you and Camry out.” I did need to talk to the lawyer. Samuel had recommended we all speak with Liushi Testudo while we were here and I did plan on doing that.

I offered him a smile and reached out, tugging him closer to kiss him. His mouth was warm, and I wanted to stay there forever.

Really…forever.

I couldn’t imagine him not being here anymore.

And what if I was pregnant? He couldn’t possibly leave the US now.