Page 126 of Please Open Me
Not that silver foxes weren’t hot as heck, but I wasn’t at a stage in my life where Icouldhave a graying partner.
Not when I was this young and pretty.
“Have a nice evening.” His dark eyes roamed over me as he spoke.
Ew, he was totally checking me out. Not that I could blame him, you know, with—
Alex’s smile fell the second he looked at my hands, and he pulled away from me.
I tried not to seem offended as I took my coffee, lifting it high and pretending to examine it; in reality, I only cared about my nails.
Momma had sent me on a mission, seeing as Iwasn’t making any progresswith Seb. You know, because there was no progress to make, because Sebby wasn’t dangerous.
But, I digress.
For the first time in God knows how long, I had to have bare nails. Something about going undercover, but it really just seemed like a way for her to kill my vibe.
And, of course, for the first time, I had my victim's blood caked under my all too short nails.
My lips pulled into a thin grimace as I once again thanked Alex before speeding off into the parking lot and hopping into the car.
I set the mocha in my cupholder and pulled out of the parking lot, humming along to whatever bubblegum pop song came on the radio. I wasn’t even listening, really. My mind was busy replaying Alex’s face when he saw my nails. Men always notice the wrong thing.
It didn’t matter. By the time I pulled into Sebby’s driveway, the caffeine had seeped into my bloodstream and my mood had brightened once again. My heels clicked across the front steps, and I slipped inside like I owned the place.
All the lights were off, letting what remained of the sun flood through the open blinds.
“Guys?” I called, my voice echoing off the foyer.
Somewhere deep in the house, Lucian groaned. That was the only sign of life I needed from him. When I left for my trip, he was still in withdrawal hell.
Two weeks later, and the groan sounded… clearer. Less like a dying animal, more like a cranky old man forced out of bed—good for him, I guess.
But I wasn’t really concerned with his sobriety, not this time. Right now, it was kind of a boring side plot. You know, when compared to Mason leaving, and the kids, and the entireSebby not telling me who the heck he murdered, even though I really wanted to know.
I kicked my heels off and placed them neatly next to the unruly mound of boy shoes. I knew they were all in the throes of some shade of depression, but the least they could do was clean up after themselves.
“Cameron?” I called, cupping my hands around my mouth.
Nothing.
But that also made sense. He was the only person in this house allowed around the kids, for now. And seeing as Mason was out-of-town doing whatever celebrities do in California, Cam was probably suffering through Leona’s misplaced anger for the good of the children.
Slowly, I stalked along the wooden floors like a cat trying to sneak up on their favorite toy. The living room lights were out, but the light of the TV painted everything in a blue and white glow.
My eyes widened with enthusiasm as I peered around the corner to see Sebby’s long frame splayed across the couch, no shirt, messy hair, looking half dead to the world.
The bags under his eyes looked large enough to carry a vacation's worth of luggage. Maybe there was something wrong with me, but I kind of liked when my men looked unkempt and maybe a bit sick.
Sebby looked like the kind of mess you wanted to poke at and see what lies underneath. His chest rose and fell in slow, uneven breaths, and for a moment, I thought he’d passed out completely. But then Mason’s voice drifted from the television, not her normal one, but the one she used for the public.
She’d lighten her accent and brighten her tone. She called it speaking clearly; I called it her customer service voice.
Mason's chin was tipped to the side as her lips pulled into a tight smile, the kind that didn’t show her teeth. This whole fake person was tied together with too much makeup and an almost ethereal black dress.
Creases formed along my nose as I took in the silver quarter of her hair, dyed into her bangs directly above her brown eye.
“What did they do to her hair?” I scoffed, causing Sebastian to jump.
