Page 68 of Never the Same

“Hey, you good?” My head fell forward at Alex’s voice.

“Yup.”

“You lying?” He was probably at my six now. Didn’t need him to have my back or be anywhere near me.

“Nope.” I cracked open my eyes, making sure Ranger hadn’t escaped.

He was a few feet away, sunbathing on his back, belly exposed, tongue lolling, as if the world wasn’t falling apart.

“Let me guess: She’s ruffling your feathers?”

Seeing as he wasn’t letting me off the hook, I faced him, jaw rigid, body strung like a trip wire. “I’m not a bird.”

Of course he pressed and called me on my bullshit. “Could’ve fooled me, with all the times you fly away. You know, whenever shit gets real.”

The guy had a psych degree, and I had to be reminded of that at every turn when he tried to use it on me. Not that it ever worked. I was a steel trap, at least before Hollis went missing and turned up only remembering me.

“Come on, man, talk to me.”

“I’m not looking for a repeat of what went down in that office,” I warned. “That duct tape is keeping me together just fine.” The lie was almost comical, considering everything that’d happened with Hollis since we’d arrived at my house.

“And the prayers? How are those?”

I rolled my eyes and stepped forward, untucking the chain I knew he had hidden under his tee, revealing a cross. “Why don’t you go pray for us both, how about that?” No way God wanted anything to do with me at the moment anyway.

Alex glared at me as I let go of his cross; I wasn’t in the mood for judgment, so I searched out Ranger to look at.

“Just tell me if it’s her that’s got you in such a foul mood, or the case. Your father?”

“You’re as bad as her, I swear.” I hung my head. “Just don’t know when to stop.”

“I don’t abandon a brother, and you should know that by now.” Alex remained locked in, not bailing the way I’d once wished my parents would. That one of those times when they ghosted me for days on end, they’d just stay gone for good. I was better off alone at thirteen than cleaning up after them. So I’d begun to believe, at least.

Before I had a chance to continue battling my way through this with Alex, the back door opened.

“I have Constantine on the phone,” Ryder said, holding the door open without coming out. “He might have something.”

I’d never been so thankful for an interruption.

Alex shot me a You’re not off the hook look I ignored on our way inside, Ranger leading the way.

I expected Hollis to be waiting there already, but she was nowhere in sight. After our towel talk earlier, I’d barely spoken a word to her. Saved by Audrey and Chase showing up a few minutes later, thankfully not finding her in only a towel.

“She’s on the phone with Gideon,” Audrey told me, beating me to having to ask.

My pulse grew wings and took off in flight at that news.

“Hollis texted Lyra, asking her to send a photo of Tristan so she knew what he looked like. She was hoping it’d spark something for her,” Audrey explained as Seraphina joined us in the kitchen. “Gideon called before Lyra could even answer, pissed off.”

“Why?” Alex asked, clearly not in the know about this, either, which meant it had happened while he’d been playing shrink with me outside.

“Not a shocker, but Julian and Gideon have been reading her texts.” Audrey held up her hands as if to say Don’t shoot the messenger. “Her asking for a photo set him off.”

“She must’ve forgotten her mother’s orders not to mention Tristan over the phone,” Ryder remarked—and shit, I’d nearly forgotten about that and our code for him because of it, X-Man.

Audrey jerked a thumb toward the hallway. “I’ll go grab her.”

“If I didn’t have safety measures in place,” I said as Audrey left, “I wouldn’t be surprised if they were listening to us.”