“You should’ve just taken the freebie and not do a favor for Blaise today,” Rhyland remarks after Blaise leaves the kitchen. “Most people would’ve.”

“Most people don’t mind getting favors,” I say, adjusting the handle of my bag. “But in my experience, when someone does you a favor, it usually means they want a favor in return, so it wouldn’t even be a freebie because I’ll owe him.”

“Yeah, I get your point, I guess.” He tears open a granola bar and takes a bite. “But sometimes people do favors just to be nice and don’t expect anything in return.”

“And you can honestly say that’s what your brother was doing?”

He nods without hesitation. “Blaise is a nice guy, Hadley.” He breaks a chunk of the granola bar off and pops it into his mouth. “And I think if you’d look past his bad flirting skills and stupid need to protect his brothers all the time, you’d realize that.” He offers me a smile then heads toward the stairway. “Cut Blaise some slack, okay? I promise you won’t regret it.”

“And what if I do and regret it?” I challenge. “Then what?”

He spins back around, tilting his head to the side musingly. “I’ll tell you what. If you cut Blaise some slack and get to know him and end up regretting it, then you can kick me in the balls. You like doing that sort of stuff, right?”

“Maybe.” I chew on my bottom lip. “You know, gambling the wellbeing of your man goodies on whether or not me and your brother are going to get along seems like a big risk on your part.”

“I don’t think it’s that big of a gamble.”

“Are you sure about that? Because every time Blaise and I around each other, we argue.”

He grins. “Yeah, that’s not arguing, sweetheart.”

“Hey, watch it with that name,” I warn, pointing at him.

He surrenders his hands in front of him with an innocent smile. “Sorry, my bad. I completely forgot you hated it.”

“Sure, you did.” I scowl at him, but the corners of my lips twitch. “But seriously, Blaise and I argue, and if you had functioning eyes and ears, you’d know that.”

“You can call it arguing if it makes you feel better. But everyone who has functioning eyes and ears knows your little,” he makes air quotes, “ ‘arguments’ are your guys fucked up way of flirting.”

I glare at him. “That is so not true…” I trail off as he dazzles me with a smirk then bolts up the stairs. “Deal on, dude!” I shout after him. “So prepare your balls for some pain!”

Rhyland’s arrogant laughter is my only answer. Well, that and Alex saying, “What fucking kind of kinky shit are you guys doing?”

I consider chasing after Rhyland, but I’m not sure what I’d do when I caught him. Maybe put him in a headlock and make him retract his statement about Blaise and me flirting with each other.

Yeah, a headlock definitely seems like a deserving punishment.

“So, I have some good news and bad news,” Blaise announces as he wanders back into the kitchen.

I turn away from the stairs, making a mental note to somehow pay Rhyland back for his accusation. “What’s the bad news?”

He shoves his phone into the back pocket of his jeans. “Are you sure you don’t want to hear the good news first?”

“I always like to get the bad stuff out of the way. That way, I can focus on the good stuff.”

“Yeah, me too. Most people like it the other way around, though.”

“I know. Londyn, Bailey, and Payton are all totally that way.”

“Rhyland and Jaxon are too.” He slides his hands into his pocket. “Alex isn’t, though.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” I say. Then remembering the wager I made with Rhyland, I decide to be nice and add, “I don’t mean that like in a rude way or anything. He just seems like a let’s cut straight to the bullshit sort of dude.”

“You’re trying not to be rude to a Porterson, huh?” Blaise rubs his jawline. “What brought that on?”

“Why I’m so glad you asked.” Feeling pretty pleased with myself, I lean against the counter. “While you were on the phone, Rhyland and I made a little wager.”

Wariness floods his expression. “Really?”

“Yep, we sure did.”

He grows silent, his wariness doubling.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what it is?”

“I’m a little afraid to,” he admits reluctantly.

“Don’t worry, it’s not that bad. Well, it will be for Rhyland if he loses, but not for you or me.”

“Okay.” He sinks into silence again.

“Oh, come on.” I stomp my foot. “Ask me what it is, or it’ll ruin my fun, dude.”

He smashes his lips together, his face red with silent laughter. “All right, stubborn girl, what deal did you make with my brother?”

And there he goes with that stubborn girl bullshit again, but I decide to let it slide this time.

Grinning, I hoist myself onto the counter and let my legs dangle over the edge. “Well, he suggested that if I cut you some slack and got to know you a bit better that I won’t regret.” I press my hand to my chest. “I, however, am a bit skeptical. No offense or anything, but we sort of clash.”

“Do we?” He gives me that really intense look that always makes me feel way out of my comfort zone, the one that makes me feel as if he knows all of my secrets.

But refusing to let that look ruin my fun, I keep on grinning. “Yeah, we really do.”

“Okay,” he agrees, but the way he says feels like he’s only tolerating me. “So what happens if Rhyland is right and we do end up getting along?”

I shrug. “Then I get the awesome reward of not having to hand you your ass every time we’re around each other.”

“You say that like you don’t actually like handing me my ass.”

Shit, he has me there.

“Okay, maybe I do, but at least we can get along while I hand you your ass.”

A grin takes over his face, and I hate that I notice how stupidly pretty it is. “You know, you seem really obsessed with my ass.”

“Not your actual ass,” I clarify. “Just your assy attitude.”

“Is assy even a word?”

I give him a toothy smile. “It is in Hadley’s Awesome Dictionary of Made up Fan-freakin’-tastical Words, which is the only dictionary to live by. If you’re smart anyway.”

He presses his lips together so forcefully the skin around his mouth turns white.

“What? No comeback for that?” I tease. “That must mean that you completely agree with me and that you’ll be wanting a copy of my dictionary so you memorize and worship it.”

He lowers his head as his shoulders start to shake. I think he might be laughing at me, but trying to hide it.

“So odd,” he mutters before lifting his head. His eyes are a bit watery, his face flushed with laughter.

“You were laughing at me,” I accuse. “That’s not cool, man.”

“I was a little bit,” he admits. “But only because you’re so damn amusing.”

“So I’m damn amusing and odd. Gee, thanks.”

“Those are both good things.” He reaches out to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear.

It’s the second time he’s touched my hair this morning. I don’t know why he’s so fascinated with it, especially when I haven’t washed it in a couple of days. Maybe that’s why. Perhaps he has a fetish for dirty hair. Whatever. To each their own, I guess. Where the real problem lies is how my heart reacts every time his fingers brush across my dirty strands of hair. The idiot must be broken or something, getting all fluttery over pretty boy’s fingers tugging and playing with my greasy hair. It’s stupid. I’m stupid. And I shouldn’t be getting fluttery at all right now.

I lean back and put myself out of arm’s reach from him. “So, what’s the bad news?”

He blinks confusedly, probably from my abrupt subject change. “Um … Oh yeah, the bad news.” He steps back from me, massaging the back of his neck. “So, I talked to my old social worker and she said that more than likely, your sisters were taken to Sunnyvale County because of the dispute with your dad. And if that’s the case, they won’t be in the same school district.”

“Fuck.” I let my head fall back and it bangs against the cupboard behind me.

“Easy with your head,” he warns. “If you did get a concussion last night, the last thing you want to do is bang your head against stuff.”

“Yeah, probably.” I rub my forehead as my temples throb. “I just really want to see my sisters. They’re my whole world, and so my world is gone right now.”

His expression softens. “I know, but we’re going to get them back. It might take some time, but I promise we will.”

I sigh. “Do you always make such big promises to girls you barely know?”

“No. The only people I usually make promises to are my brothers … and Scarlett, when she’s around.” He starts to reach for me again, I think to touch my hair, but then he pulls back and stuffs his hands into his pockets. “And I always do everything I can to follow through with my promises.”

I still don’t understand why he’s helping me. He barely knows me. We’re not even friends. From my experience, that’s not how people generally work. Like my dad. He never helped me even during the darkest times when I felt like I was going to sink underneath the murky water. Then again, he was drunk all the time and rarely home and there were times I often wondered if he forgot he had daughters he was supposed to be taking care of.

“I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I still don’t understand,” I say quietly. “I mean, why are you even promising me anything? I’m just some girl who lives next door to you. A girl who also told you to go fuck yourself the first time you met her.”

“Are you trying to talk me out of helping you?” His lips tug up to a teasing grin.

I shake my head. “No. I’d never do that—not with this anyway. I just …” I shrug. “I don’t understand.”

“I kind of don’t either.” He offers me a confused smile. “I usually don’t get involved in other people’s problems—I have way too much of my own. But … I don’t know, I just …” He shrugs. “I understand what you’re going through.”

“And that makes you want to help me?” I question, still ever the skeptic.

Another shrug. “I guess so.”

I’m not buying into his reasoning, but I guess it doesn’t really matter. What does is getting my sisters back.

“All right, well, I guess I’ll let you help me then.”

“Let me, huh?”

I nod, totally joking, but manage to keep a straight face. “Yep. And it’s a pretty awesome privilege.”

He carries my gaze. “I guess I should consider myself lucky then.”

His gaze makes me feel all squirrelly and restless, but I refuse to look away. “You definitely should.”

He chuckles, shaking his head and I can’t help smiling too. It feels good and strange, to be laughing and smiling after the shitfest that was last night. Part of me feels guilty about it, that I’m here, living my normal life, laughing with the pretty boy neighbor while my sisters are who knows where.

Tears burn my eyes, but I rapidly suck them back and lock them away. I may have allowed myself a five-minute meltdown last night, but not today. Today I’m Hadley motherfucking Harlyton, the girl who can handle anything, the girl who has handled almost anything.

When Blaise notes my expression, his laughter fizzles. “Do you want to hear the good news now?”

I bob my head up and down. “Yes, please.”

“Well, Darla—that’s my old social worker—also said that she’s going to call up a friend of hers who still works for Social Services and see what sort of information she can get about your sisters. And she’s going to see if she can arrange for you to get a sooner visit than what’s normally allowed, maybe even by tomorrow.”

I perk up at that. “Are you serious?”

He nods. “More than likely she’ll come through too. Darla’s pretty good at making things happen.”

Holy freakin’ motherload of all reliefs.

I’m so excited that my heart starts to race inside my chest, pumping adrenaline through my veins. Before I can even fully comprehend what I’m doing, I jump off the counter and throw my arms around Blaise.

“Thank you,” I say, hugging him.

He slips an arm around my waist. “You’re welcome.”

He seems a little shaky.

I feel a little shaky.

I think my heart might be shaky. But that’s got to be from the excitement.

Yeah, that’s it. And it’s why I’m hugging him right now. Because I’m so excited, I’m not thinking clearly.

Clearing my throat, I step back, my cheeks feeling stupidly warm. “I’m going to head to school before I end up late.” I back toward the door. “But seriously, thank you again. It’s really cool you did that. And that you let me sleep in your bed.” And I’m rambling now.

Yeah, it’s definitely time to go.

But as I turn to open the door, he snags the hem of my shirt.

“Wait. There’s one more thing I need to tell you.” Worry laces his tone.

I twist around and, sure enough, the same worry has taken over his face. “What’s wrong?”

His gaze darts over my shoulder then lands back on me. “It’s about your dad and some trouble I think he might’ve gotten himself into.”

I grimace. “What’d he do now?”

He glances over my shoulder again then folds his fingers around my wrist and he steers me back toward the middle of the kitchen. “I’m not sure yet, but I think he might’ve been working for this guy named Axel who’s also my dad’s rival.”

“Okay.” My brows dip. “Is it that big of a deal that he has two jobs?”

He wavers. “It’s sort of an understood rule that if you choose to work for Axel, then you make a silent promise to never associate with my father or the men who work for him. And vice versa. And working for both is considered betrayal to both men and you’re deemed a traitor.”

My heart rate quickens. Since he’s fingers are still wrapped around my wrist, I’m sure he can feel it. “Do they know he’s a traitor?”

He hesitates. “I think they might.”

From what I read online, Blaise’s father is a very corrupt man. And I may not know anything about this Axel guy, but if he has anything to do with why my father buried a bag of drugs and money in the backyard …

“Shit,” I mumble. “I can’t believe he fucking did this.” I quickly shake my head. “No, actually I can. That’s what’s really messed up about all of this.”

“It’s going to be okay,” Blaise tries to reassure me.

“No, I don’t think it is.” I sigh heavily. “So, what’s going to happen to him?”

“I’m not sure, but I can talk to my father and see if I can find some stuff.” Tension ripples through him.

I may not know him very well, but I’ve heard enough about his past to understand he’s not a fan of his dad. And that his dad is probably a huge fucking douchebag.

“No, I don’t want to make you do that… I’ll figure something out.”

“You’re not making me do anything,” he insists. “I’m offering.”

“No, you’ve already helped me enough. I can handle this. It’s not the first time my dad’s pissed off the wrong people.” I move to leave, my mind spinning with worry.

He tightens his hold on my wrist. “I can’t let you go out there.”

I elevate my brows at him. “Didn’t we already do this whole I’m-not-going-to-let-you-go-out-there bit? And if I’m remembering correctly, all that resulted from it was your ass falling to the floor.”

He bites back a smile. “Yeah, because you tripped and took me down with you.”

“I did that on purpose,” I lie with a cheeky smile.

“Why? So I’d land on top of you?” he challenges with a smirk.

“No, I did it so I could …” I struggle for something good, but all I can think of is lick you. “Whatever. My point is that you can’t stop me from going outside.” I try to wiggle my wrist from his grip, but he stubbornly won’t let go.

“Look, I swear I’m not trying to make you do anything.” His fingertips rest against my pulse as he grasps my wrist. “There’s a car parked in your driveway right now. It was also parked outside on the street for quite awhile last night and I’m pretty sure it was watching your house.”

I stiffen. “Do you know who the car belongs to?”

He shakes his head, strands of hair falling into his eyes. “But I’m guessing either one of Axel’s men or my father’s. Probably the first because, if it was one of my fathers, he probably would’ve tried to use our house as his own private headquarters.”

I’m trying not to freak out. I really am. But I’m kind of freaking out. “Why, though? I mean, why is anyone watching my house?”

He lifts his shoulders. “Maybe they’re looking for your dad.”

“Or maybe they’re looking for the bag of drugs and money buried in the backyard,” I mutter in frustration.

His eyes widen. “Wait. What?”

My tension skyrockets. Sure, Blaise has been really helpful the last couple of days, but he’s the son of a very corrupt man who might be after my father. It might not be a good idea to tell him about my father’s secret stash, especially when I have no damn clue who the drugs and money belong to or how my father got them to begin with.

“Hadley, you can trust me. I promise.” He must sense my reluctance. “I’m not part of my father’s world and in case you haven’t figured it out already, I don’t want to be.” He skims his thumb across my wrist. “I promise, whatever you tell me won’t leave this kitchen.

I blow out a stressed breath “There you go making promises to me again.”

While part of me doesn’t want to tell him—wants to handle this myself—the truth is I have no clue how. Should I get rid of the bag? Should I give it to the guys in the driveway? Are they going to try to hurt me? Are they going to try to hurt my dad? Do I even care about the later?

I have no answers for any of those questions, so I can either wander into this cluelessly and hope for the damn best or put my trust in a guy I barely know, but who has helped me out more than anyone has in a very long time.

I sigh in defeat. “The other day, I saw my dad burying a duffel bag in the backyard, so I dug it up and found, like, a brick of cocaine and a shit ton of money inside it. I’m not sure where he got it or why he has it, but it’s part of the reason why we got into the fight yesterday. I also saw him collecting a bag from some dude while we were at that gas station yesterday. I’m pretty sure you saw that, too. You just pretended like you didn’t.”

Guilt crosses his face. “I was pretending, but only because I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“That my dad might be double-crossing some very corrupt dudes?” I ask and he nods. “Who was the guy he got the bag from? Was he one of your dad’s men of this Axel guy’s?”

He releases a deafening exhale. “I’m pretty sure it was one of Axel’s men.”

“So, you think the drugs and money buried in my backyard belong to Axel then? Maybe that’s why the car is parked in the driveway. Maybe Axel just wants his drugs and money back.” Okay, I know I’m being naïve, but I don’t want to get mixed up in this shit. I can’t, not if I want a chance at getting guardianship of my sisters.

Blaise considers something quietly, carefully. “I don’t want to frighten you, but if your dad has a bag of drugs and money buried in your backyard, he probably stole it. And considering what we saw go down in the gas station parking lot yesterday, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s not the only thing he’s stolen. If that’s the case, whoever he stole from is really pissed off at him right now.”

Blood roars in my eardrums. Goddammit, why is my dad such an asshole? “And what happens when these people get pissed off?”

His throat muscles work as he swallows hard. “I don’t know.”

“I think you do, but you don’t want to say it.” I wait for him to divulge the truth, but his lips remain fused. I press the heel of my free hand to my forehead and take a deep breath. “What do I need to do?”

With his fingers encompassing my wrist, he draws my hand away from my forehead while ducking his head to level his gaze with mine. “You don’t need to do anything right now but go to school. Then I’ll try to get ahold of my dad today and get some information on what’s going on.”

“And then what?”

“We’ll figure out the next step once we know how much trouble your dad’s in.”

We. We. We. We. We.

It’s like his favorite word.

And it just might be my least very word. Because we means together, which means reliance and dependence and trust, none of which I’m comfortable with.

Before I can work up a good protest, though, Alex, Rhyland, and Jaxon come filing down the stairs. Rhyland is the first to step into the kitchen and a knowing smile pulls at his lips. I start to crook my brow, like what’s up with the cheesy grin, dude? but then I become hyperaware that Blaise and I are standing close enough to kiss, and that he’s holding both my wrists.

I step back before the rest of the Porterson clan sees, particularly Alex who will have a mocking field day with this. But I move too slowly and both Alex and Jaxon get a good view of the semi-intimate position Blaise and I are in.

“What’s going on?” A winked glint gleams in Alex’s eyes. “No, let me guess. You,” he points to me, “were trying to make out with my brother and he had to restrain you.”

I wiggle my wrists from Blaise’s hands and take another step back. “Actually, I was just about to show your brother the proper way to put an asshole into a headlock, but since you’re here, maybe I should do the demonstration on you. It seems more fitting.”

He gives me a hardy har har look to which I return with a cocky grin.

“Well boys, this sleepover’s been super fun, but it’s time for me to say goodbye and move on to way more fun things.” I toss them all a grin and pull open the door, doing what I do best—being the epitome of calm even when I’m stuck in the middle of a raging ocean.

But Blaise captures my elbow.

I groan, my head bobbing back. “Seriously, dude, what is with you and grabbing me?”

He glances at his brothers, who are watching the scene with intrigue, then he guides me over to the side into a washroom covered in piles of dirty laundry and lowers his voice, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to drive yourself to school today.”

“I’ll be fine.” I give his arm a reassuring pat, pretending like the way his breath tickles my skin doesn’t make me want to shiver. “It’s just school. Nothing’s going to happen there.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” he mumbles. “And besides, your car’s parked in the driveway, right by the other car in question.”

Dammit, he has a point, but still…

“I need to drive this morning,” I gripe. “It’s how I alleviate tension and deal with stress. If I don’t, then I’m going to be a jittery, evil bitch all day.”

I half-expect him to say something like: aren’t you already? Instead, he moves back with his face set in deep contemplation and says, “Maybe you could drive one of our cars to school then?”

As much as I love the idea of driving Rhyland’s GTO, I can’t accept Blaise’s offer. For one, Rhyland probably wouldn’t be cool with me driving his car—I wouldn’t if the roles were reversed. And secondly, I’m not sure I’d be comfortable driving Rhyland’s car the way I need to drive right now.

“Thanks for the offer, but I can’t accept it.” I inch away from him, but he keeps his hand on my elbow. “Blaise.” I fight to remain cool. “You have to let me get to school. I’ll be fine driving.”

“It’s not the driving part I’m worried about. It’s you getting your car out of the driveway,” he whispers. “Whoever’s in there is going to get out and talk to you.” He leans back, his gaze colliding with mine, his brows arched. “Are you ready to handle that?”

No. “Yes.”

“Liar.” He rubs his lips together, worry creasing his brow. “If you really need to drive your car, I’ll go get it.”

I elevate my brows. “You want to drive my car? Seriously?”

He gives me a tolerant look. “Just to my house.”

“But you’ll still be driving for like a minute. And I barely let Londyn drive my car unless it’s necessary. And she’s my sister, so …”

“Hadley.” He’s a mixture between being frustrated and amused. “You don’t want to have to deal with those guys. Trust me. So, if you’ll please trust me enough to drive your car for like fifty feet, then we can go to school, I’ll call my dad, and then we’ll figure something out.”

“You think calling your dad will get them to leave?” I question in doubt.

“If they’re his men, then yes.”

“And if it’s not?”

“Then…” he huffs out an exasperated breath, stepping back and yanking his fingers through his hair. “Look, I don’t have all the answers right now, okay? But I am trying to help you, so if you’d just let me, I’d really appreciate it.” I bite down on my lip, struggling not to smile. He totally notices and shakes his head. “You think my frustration is funny?”

“No. But it is sort of funny that you’re frustrated, yet you managed to politely ask me to let you help me. Really, it should be the other way around.”

And I’m right. And I know this is the point where I should start accepting his help gratefully and showering him with thank yous, but his kindness makes me uncomfortable. Honestly, as twisted as this is going to make me sound, I feel more at ease when we’re arguing than when we’re being nice to each other. But I guess, if I go by Rhyland’s theory, that’d mean I’m comfortable when Blaise and I are flirting.

No, I’m so not ready to go there right now.

Dropkicking that thought into the back of my mind, I decide to do something I never thought I’d ever do. I stick my hand into my pocket, fish out my car keys, and offer them to Blaise. “Just don’t wreck it.”

I turn my head away and squeeze my eyes shut as he reaches to take the keys.

“Is this really that big of a deal?” he questions, his fingers brushing my palm.

“Yes,” I reply shamelessly. “That car is almost as important to me as my sisters.” And not just because I love cars. No, the car is so much more than that. It was one of my mom’s cars. We were supposed to fix it up together. And while this may sound crazy, I feel connected to her when I drive it.

But I’m not about to divulge all of that to Blaise.

“Just be careful with it, okay?” I utter softly.

He grows quiet. Then I feel fingers brush my hair, sweeping strands behind my ear. “I promise I will.”

He walks out of the washroom, leaving me feeling worried and confused and kind of fluttery among a clusterfuck of other unwelcomed emotions. I don’t know what to make it. Don’t want to make anything of it.

Thankfully—and I never thought I’d think this—I have a buttload of other problems to distract me from whatever the hell Blaise is doing to me.