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“We trust her. Do you trust her?” I asked, wincing at the memory of what I’d asked Anson to do with her only a few nights ago.

“With my life.” Enzo locked eyes with me.

“Me too,” I whispered.

“Then, when she arrives, we never speak of this to her again. We forget she left, but remember why she did. Agreed?”

I nodded. “Agreed.”

He grabbed his booze and swallowed down a big mouthful. I got up and entered the kitchen to find Cole consoling E on a stool by the island.

“She’ll be home in three days. Get your shit together. She’s not going to want to come home to this. E, I’m talking to you,” I said, knowing I was being a dick but not giving a shit. He needed to get himself sorted. We all did, but he was the one trailing behind.

“I will.” E sat up and wiped his eyes. “I-I can do it. For her.”

“Good. Cole, clean this fucking mess up. E, get upstairs and get a damn shower. Can you do that?”

He nodded and got to his feet, wiping his eyes again before he left the room.

“Do you think things would be better if you were in charge?” Cole asked as I made to leave the room.

I looked at him from over my shoulder. “No. It’ll never get better as long as this is our lives. Remember that the next time this shit happens.”

And with those words, I went upstairs to ensure E was OK. Something told me I’d been too harsh with him and needed to smooth it over.

Fuck, what a nightmare.

EIGHTY-ONE

ETHAN

Three days. I worked my ass off in those three days. Fox was right. I was a mess, and Rosalie didn’t want to come home to me like this. So I plastered a smile on my face and didn’t get high once, even though it was killing me inside to be sober and without her. It made the pain that much more real.

Enzo took those three days and worked harder than I’d ever seen him work. He had people in and out of the house as he picked up the slack on their engagement party. He announced his parents would cancel their party because they wanted everything to be about Enzo and Rosalie’s impending nuptials.

Fox seemed quieter than usual, which was saying something since I’d noticed him withdrawing over the last few weeks. When I asked him about it, he only gave me a sad smile and said our focus should be on Rosalie and me, not him.

But I knew something was going on with him. He was depressed. He didn’t smile like he used to. There were no jokes. No playful moments. He was shutting down, and it terrified me.

“What do you think?” Cole asked as he held up Cotton, sporting a fancy new bow tie. “Think Rosebud will like his new tie?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “I like that it has little birds on it.”

“It was either birds or fish.” Cole placed Cotton on the window seat in the living room. Cotton immediately zeroed in on a bird bouncing around on the lawn. “Since he seems to like birds, I figured it was a no-brainer.”

“Cole, I need you out tonight with Jake.” Enzo came into the room.

“Rosalie is coming home,” Cole said. “I’m not doing shit but waiting for her.”

“Wrong. You’re going out with Jake. He needs help setting some Russians straight.”

“Then you fucking go,” Cole snapped, his blue eyes flashing. “I’m not going to miss out on Rosalie coming home. It’s been an entire week. Not happening.”

A muscle thrummed along Enzo’s jaw.

“I’ll go,” I said softly.

Both of them snapped their attention to me.