From behind me, Jax said, "Hey Jaden, slow down, will ya?"
The brother laughed. "Why?"
"Because you're scaring Cassidy."
I couldn’t help but smile. The sentiment aside, I liked the sound of my name on his lips. And I loved the feel of his arms, holding me just a little bit tighter when his brother – as if looking to make a point – hit the gas and rounded the next corner so fast, it was a wonder that all four wheels stayed on the ground.
The brother – whose name was apparently Jaden – said, "She doesn't look scared to me."
He was only half-right. I wasn't scared for my safety, although heaven knows I should've been. But Iwasscared because my inner floozy was growing more obnoxious with every block.
Even now, I could practically hear her whispering,Go on, live a little. You know you want to.
I stiffened.Shut up.
But shedidn'tshut up.And you just know that's not his cell phone pressing against your ass-cheek, right? Feels good, doesn't it?
Desperately, I looked to Jaden. "Maybe youcouldslow down a little."
"Sorry," he said, sounding anything but sincere. "But if we don't get there by nine, it'll bemyass in the hot seat."
Ass?
Hot seat?
Holy hell, don't remind me.
Seeking a distraction, I glanced at the car's digital clock. The time was 8:48. I frowned. "You mean nine o'clock? But that's only twelve minutes away. Why didn't you say something?"
"Because I'mdoingsomething," Jaden said. "Screw talking." He gave me a sideways glance. "And if you want to be dropped someplace on the way, forget it. There's no time."
I tensed and not because of his rudeness. It was because I suddenly realized that I wasn't quite sure where theycoulddrop me. Was I now homeless? I bit my lip.Oh, crap.I probably was.
Jax was saying to his brother, "Hey, I already told ya, stop being a dick."
"I'm not being a dick," Jaden replied. "I’m just telling her."
"Well don't," Jax said. "She doesn't need the grief."
"You meanyoudon't need the grief."
As they argued back and forth, I sat in stupefied silence while my mom's words of warning played in my head.If you think you can just waltz back into the penthouse like nothing happened, you're crazy.
At the time, I'd figured that was just anger talking. But now that I had some distance, it was dawning on me that things were a lot more complicated than I'd considered at the time.
We'd been arguing about Dominic. He owned the place my mom called home – which happened to be the same place I'd been living for the past week. In spite of what my mom liked to call it, it was no penthouse, even if itwason the top floor.
This might've been impressive, if only the building were taller than three stories or contained more than four apartments. The building didn't even have an elevator, which was fine by me. Still, it couldn’t be a penthouse without an elevator, could it?
Jax's voice, softer now, interrupted my thoughts. "Don't listen to him. If there's someplace you need to be, say the word. I'll make it happen."
Jaden said, "Only if you're calling her a cab, because ifI'mgoing,you'regoing."
In spite of my worry, I just had to ask, "Going where?"
It was Jax who answered. "Nowhere. It's not a big deal."
I didn't believethatfor one minute. You didn't wear a tux unless it wassomesort of big deal. I hadn't wanted to pry, but now, I couldn’t resist asking, "Are you on your way to a wedding or something?"
