Page 41 of Enter if you Dare: Part One

“Copy that,” I say as I head out the door.

Behind me, Clay says something low to Cave, and his answer is a single word that echoes throughout the room, which I hear clearly even from the doorway.

“Mine.”

We reach Valli’s house in record time, Cave’s knee bouncing chaotically until I pull onto the curb, then he jumps out. He doesn’t knock; instead, he brings his foot up and kicks the door open. The frame splinters with a crack loud enough that I flinch, then he storms inside before Cipher or I have even left the car. By the time we are through the front doorway, Cave has already lifted Valli into his arms, straight off the couch.

“What?” She blinks up at him in confusion. “Cave? What’s going on?”

“Valli!” I push past Cipher into the room. “This is going to sound dramatic—or maybe not, considering Cave’s entrance—but Steedy’s men have been watching you all week. They are coming for you, and we need to leave right now.”

“No, I’m not leaving my house,” she says, squirming in his arms as she starts to cough. She looks rough and must be sick.

I glance at Cave, who has her wrapped tightly in his arms. “Honestly, Valli, I don’t think the big guy is giving you a choice.”

“Cave.” She places a hand against his chest, her expression somewhere between annoyance and exhaustion. “I have a fever, have used every tissue in this house, and cannot fight off armed men right now. I can barely stand up without the room tilting.”

“You don’t have to fight anyone,” Cipher says gently, moving closer so he’s at her eye level, since Cave shows no sign of putting her down. “That is the entire point. We’ll fight, you rest.”

“That’s not how I operate. This is not your problem—it’s mine.”

“It is today,” I say, grabbing the throw blanket off the back of her couch and draping it over her since Cave clearly won’t set her down.

She lets out a breath in irritation. “Fine. But I need my phone.”

“I’ll grab it,” Cipher says, already moving toward the kitchen counter where her phone is charging. He is back in seconds, tucking it gently into the blanket burrito she is wrapped inside.

Cave carries her out the splintered front door like she weighs nothing at all, and I jog ahead to pull the back door of Ares’s car open. If there is one thing I know about Cave, it’s that he is not setting her down voluntarily until he decides it’s safe to do so.

“My medication is on the kitchen counter,” Valli says weakly. “The orange bottle.”

“Got it.” Cipher doubles back without being asked, reappearing a moment later with the bottle, which he hands off to me.

“Buckle up, sick girl,” I say, sliding into the driver’s seat once Cave finally straps her into the back beside him. “We’re about to be very protective of you, and I think you’re going to love the attention once the fever breaks enough for you to appreciate it properly.”

“I hate all of you,” she mutters, but lets her head drop against Cave’s shoulder.

I pull away from the curb, glancing behind us at her front door hanging open on its broken hinge. I make a note to call a handyman to fix it ASAP and replace it with a stronger door.

Valli

In the three days since I’ve been brought here, I have learned a few things about myself. Mostly, I’m a terrible patient. I have three men trying to take care of me, and yet I believe I have to look after myself. It’s something I’m used to, and I can’t switch it off, no matter how hard I try. Cave physically dragged me back to Cipher’s shed when I went for a walk, and it has been hard enough to sneak out since Noa has been like a mother hen. Cipher still struggles to look at me, but he brings me soup and medicine like clockwork.

“Valli,” Noa says, and I almost jump out of my skin. “Why are you not resting?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about—I was going to shower,” I say, pausing at the door and turning to face him.

“You have your scheming face on. Now get back into bed.”

“Noa, I can’t stay in bed forever. I need to look for a new job because I have bills and a sister who relies on me. I also hate lying to Leni, and she’s asking too many questions.”

“We’re working on it, I promise. And tell her you are here—it’s fine if she knows.”

“I guess I could. But everyone keeps telling me they’re working on it, and I don’t even know what that involves.”

Noa’s grin falters for a second. “Come and drink this tea. Cipher made it for you.”

I walk over and grab the mug, since I figured out early that arguing with Noa is like running in circles—you get nowhere.