Ryker
Two days later at five in the morning, my phone buzzed on the table while I was sucking blood from my finger.
“Yeah?” It was Royal. “Make it quick, I have a hundred more cutouts to do.”
"She's got you doing arts and crafts? She's better than I thought."
His voice crackled through the phone speaker. I tucked it between my shoulder and ear while I pressed a Band-Aid to my finger. Cardstock and glitter covered the kitchen table, remnants of helping Lily with school projects.
"She knows I'm here," I said, pulling the phone closer, "so I figured I'd make myself useful."
"Useful? Sounds like she's already pulled you into her web of construction paper and fingerpaints."
I bit back a retort, looking over at the sleeping form on the couch. She’d insisted I stay the night again, though I hadn’targued too hard. "If she didn't want me here, she would have kicked me out."
"And the boyfriend gig you're running?"
I paused, glancing at the pile of cut-out letters on the table. She’d teased me last night for organizing them alphabetically. "I slept on the floor last night."
"You better have."
"Fuck off," I said, keeping my voice low.
Royal laughed. "Still the same old Ryker. Listen, I've got something for you. Declan might have another job lined up. High profile. Big payoff. As soon as you're done playing house, he'll want us back."
I didn't answer right away. The thought of leaving Lily was like a fist punch to the gut.
"Ryker?"
"Yeah. I'll keep you posted."
"Good. And hey—watch your ass out there. I was talking to Rory, and if what he tells me is right, things could get messy, real quick."
“What was he telling you?”
“Just that it’s best to keep extra close to Lily because some guy named Matheson has his eye on her.”
My brows snapped together. “What the hell does that even mean?”
“No clue. It’s a good thing you’re staying close, though.”
He hung up before I could ask anything more. I set the phone down, frowning at the trail of glitter on the screen. Next to it sat Lily’s kitchen timer, counting down the minutes before her alarm went off.
I stayed at the table, cutting out letters and shapes, filling her apartment with pinks and yellows and blues. When the timer buzzed, I shut it off before it could wake her. She stirred on the couch, blinking at me with sleepy eyes.
"Morning," she mumbled, pushing tangled hair out of her face.
"Morning," I said. "Coffee?"
She nodded, wrapping the unicorn blanket around her shoulders. "I have a busy day," she said, her voice still soft from sleep. "Field trip to the aquarium. Want to come? I could always use an extra volunteer."
I poured two mugs and carried them over. "Sure, how bad can it be?”
Chapter 5
Ryker
The smirk that crossed Lily's face should have been my first warning.
