We all open our doors and get out of the car. Drake and Liam head to the trunk to get the bags. As I approach the front door, it swings open, revealing a haggard-looking Santi.
“Hey, Rora,” he says as he pulls me into his arms.
“Hi,” I murmur into his chest.
“How was the trip?”
“Horrible,” Ezra says dryly.
“It could have been worse,” I say weakly.
Santi gives me a pointed look as he pulls away. “Come on. I made you guys something to eat.”
We walk into the house and down the hall. Walking into the kitchen, I come to a stop as I stare at the ridiculous amount of food on the kitchen island.
Santi comes to a stop between Ezra and me and rubs the back of his neck. “So I might have gotten a little carried away and stress cooked.” He cringes. “And baked.”
“It looks like we’re set for a couple days,” Ezra says, making us all laugh.
“Everyone, grab a plate, and then we can sit down and talk,” Santi says as Liam and Drake join us.
Wordlessly, we move forward and take what we want. Plates filled, we sit at the table and dig in. While we eat, we make small talk, keeping everything surface level. You can feel the tension building between the five of us. The uncertainty brewing.
“Let’s get this over with.” I sigh as I push my plate away.
Slouching down into my chair, I bring my feet up and wrap my arms around my shins. “What do we know?”
The guys look at each other, but it’s Drake who speaks. “As soon as shit hit the fan this morning, I called our attorney we have on retainer. His team got to work getting the videos taken down, but at that point, it was too late.”
“The damage was done. They are trying to dig into who could have possibly taken the video and sold it,” Liam chimes in.
“Who would do this to us?” I shake my head. “I feel so fucking violated. They took something private that was meant to stay between the five of us and made it dirty.”
“I don’t know, but I promise you I’ll do everything I can to figure this out. It’s completely unacceptable,” Ezra says reassuringly.
Santi reaches across the table and holds his hand out for mine. Leaning forward, I slip my palm into his.
“I have to apologize, Aurora.”
I frown. “For what?”
Santi’s eyes are filled with unshed tears, and his voice filled with emotion. “I feel like this is all my fault. The video was taken in my home. I feel like someone I trusted betrayed me, and as a result, you became the victim.”
Before he’s even done speaking, I start shaking my head. “You can’t blame yourself. There was no way in hell you could guess someone would put up a camera in your home. Besides, you’re as much of a victim as I am, as are the rest of the guys,” I say, looking at each of them. “This isn’t on us. The only person to blame is the sick pervert who filmed us without our consent.”
Liam teases. “I guess we can’t make a sex tape now for just us for fun.”
“Liam,” Ezra scolds.
“Seriously?” Drake sighs as he pushes Liam’s shoulder.
Liam raises his hands. “Just trying to lighten the mood a little.”
We all fall silent and avoid looking at each other.
“Okay, I’ll ask,” Ezra says as he turns toward me. “There’s one thing the four of us are dying to know, love, and I need you to put us out of our misery.”
“Okay…”
