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“I have three husbands,” Willa says. “Micah just happens to be my best friend too. Which he says means he can claim favorite status. And, yes, sometimes we go to sex clubs. Together. Mostly when we need to meet clients somewhere... discreet.”
“Oh.” I sit on the edge of the bed, speechless. “So you don’t—”
“We do.” Mischief lights her gaze.
Okay, that’s one question answered. Wait... It’s Dizzy’s turn for cross examination. “Who is Soren?”
“If I told you... I would have to kill you... yada, yada, yada.” Dizzy finally finishes with her phone. “Adira told me what to order for Lennon so that’s done. Do you think she’s trustworthy?”
“No. Go back to Soren.” I don’t know if she is. I certainly can’t imagine she could be as bad as Sonatina. I’m pretty sure she’s just trying to survive as best she can. “I’m not going to be put off so easy. I have so much to catch up on.”
“FBI,” Dizzy says.
“What?” Shocker. I wasn’t expecting that. “Not the guy you kissed that weekend?”
“Different FBI agent. We can catch up on all the ins and outs of my life later. We need to hear all about what’s going on here.” She picks up Kodiak’s black, white, and gray flannel from the bed. “You’re spending time in bed with a man who isn’t Riot?”
“Riot and I are not together.” And Kodiak is kind and fun to be around. He soothes the jagged edges of my aching heart and lets me breathe again.
“Babe, I don’t care if you’re banging the whole band. Actually, I really hope you are. He might be my brother-in-law, but he’s still had his head up his ass for far too long. The way he treated you...” She lifts the flannel to her nose and inhales. “Oh, this one smells sexy.”
“Kodiak,” we both say at the same time. He’s the only one who wears flannel.
“We watch a lot of infomercials together.” It helps when I can’t sleep. Sometimes Riot is there too. Taking up space in my world that I don’t know if I want him to have yet.
I take the flannel from her and fold it over my arm. I have a sense of possessiveness over a piece of material that’s ridiculous when we’ve only had sex a few times. “He’s fun to be around.”
“And ride on.” She grins at me. “Good for you. I would have given that man a ride too back in the day. But then West would have killed him, and he is far too pretty to go out like that. And that’s the problem, you see. Riot hasn’t worked it out yet. Girls like us... we’re the whole fucking world. Not the scraps. Until he realizes that, it’s your job... no, it’s your responsibility to enjoy the plethora of gorgeous men that are on offer. It’s even better if it makes him suffer.”
“I’m not sure that’s what I want.” For a second it hurts that she isn’t my sister-in-law. I could use a sister like her in my corner.
“And it’s okay if it isn’t.” She reaches out and covers my hand with hers. “I think he understands where the blame lies.”
“Do you think he’ll ever figure it out?” I shouldn’t ask. I don’t want to give her or anyone else hope that Riot and I might get back together. That’s not why I ask.
Lips pressed together, she glances at Willa. Something is shared between them unspoken before she looks at me again. She presses her fingers to the middle of her chest. “I’m an eternal optimist. In love. And about people like Sonatina meeting a very dead and soggy end.”
“Soggy.” I laugh.
“Yes.” She nods vigorously. “When you hit an artery by accident and blood spurts everywhere... so then their clothes are soaked. And your clothes are soaked. And everything is just... soggy.”
“That’s quite the picture.” I shake my head, trying to clear that vivid image.
“So... can I kill her yet? Or would you prefer Willa do it? She’s a real ball buster.”
“Unfortunately, Sonatina’s balls are not the variety I bust.” Willa wrinkles her nose. Tips the bottle and swallows.
“Oh yes.” Dizzy rolls her eyes. “She has this code. It’s very specific. But couldn’t you make an exception this time, Willa? We could finally work together.”
Willa’s lips part.
“Okay, enough talk about ending Sonatina,” I say before she can tell us what she’s thinking. And I let her. Dreaming about doing away with Sonatina won’t help me escape this reality. Making sure I get far away from Marco is the only way out of this whole mess. But for tonight I want to forget about both of them. Riot too. “Let’s get ready.”
An hour later we’re dressed up, dolled up, and tipsy. Our pregame has been on point, and we are ready for dancing and shenanigans.
Well, overseen shenanigans anyway. Rook is dressed down tonight in casual slacks and a long sleeved, fitted shirt that makes his muscles stand out in a way they usually don’t under his jacket. I have no idea where he’s concealing his firearm, only that it’s not hidden by that shirt.
“What a silver fox!” Dizzy whispers in my ear before plopping down on the sofa with Willa and Micah.