“His dad would care.”

“Isn’t his dad some general in the army or something?” I asked.

“Never mind,” Corrigan said quickly. “Your friend Mena took off. She said something about running the warpath?” He frowned. “Just as friendly as I remembered.”

“You’re not going to answer me, are you?” I drank my beer.

Corrigan glanced at me. I knew then that he wouldn’t. He and Bryce were trying to protect me in some way by not sharing what they had done.

“Hey, uh…if Bryce isn’t over at your place, you call me. Whenever,” he spoke up. Serious.

“And the douche will wake up this time,” Bryce pointed out.

Corrigan glared, “I already said I was sorry. It was four in the morning.”

“I answered,” Bryce remarked. “I was there.”

“Shut up. Both of you. We’re not going round three,” I barked out. I needed them.

I needed them to not fight. Everything else in my life…just not those two.

Both shut up and nodded, obediently.

I chuckled and moved to sit on Bryce’s lap.

I stayed there the rest of the night as the guys all drank and chatted. They talked sports, hunting, how fake Chantal’s boobs were, and anything else.

I sipped my beer and stayed in Bryce’s shelter, content.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

We stayed in that room until Corrigan’s stomach growled loudly. There’d been one look shared between the two guys and both announced at the same time, “The diner.”

It was agreed and as we went downstairs, we left with another two cars of guys following. Everyone piled into the diner and we took up two tables. I found myself beside Corrigan with Bryce across the table. After I ordered a refill, my phone rang.

I answered, guarded, “Hello?” I hadn’t had good luck with phone calls lately.

“Where the hell is my sister?!” Denton ground out, furious.

I was actually a little bit relieved. “Uh…she’s not home?”

“No, she’s not home. Where is she?”

“I don’t know. Did you call her phone?” Brother or not, the guy was starting to get on my nerves.

“I don’t know. Do you think I’m a moron?” Denton mocked me.

“Uh…” He did not just give me the perfect opening…

“Don’t answer that. I don’t know where my sister is and I know she went to some party with you tonight.”

“Look, she left early. I don’t know where she went.”

“How’d she get there?”

“I drove.”

“Did you drive her home?”

“No,” I said sharply. “Your sister’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.”

“My sister is not like you and I don’t want my sister to ever be like you.”

I sighed. “If you want my help, insulting me is not the way to go.”

“I want you and your friends to look for my sister. Now!”

“And issuing orders won’t help either.” I hung up on his sudden shout.

“Who was that?” Corrigan asked.

“Mena’s brother. She’s not home and he’s blaming me.”

“They’re not right. Something’s…I don’t know…they’re not right,” Bryce muttered.

“He’s just worried about her.”

“My mom’s not harassing you,” Bryce pointed out.

“No. Your mom is praying for me,” I said sarcastically.

Carlos, who’d stayed quiet the entire time, spoke up, “We could drive around and look for her. I mean, it wouldn’t hurt, you know. Just in case something did happen, you know…”

“I’ve got some flashlights in my trunk,” Chet offered and stood up. As we all stood, Corrigan hissed in my ear, “You stay with Bryce. Braven’s too drunk to be rational right now.”

“You think? He’s been leering at me the entire time. And why am I adjusting for a drunk?”

“Because you’re awesome…and you’re sober.”

“I’m not really,” I glared. “Sober, that is.”

Corrigan grinned and shrugged. “I know, but…you’re more sober than Braven and I don’t want to beat the crap out of him. I kinda like the stupid kid.”

Bryce took shotgun in Chet’s car when I slid into the backseat next to Tatum.

“Hey,” Bryce peered at me, questioning. “I thought you were in the other car.”

I shrugged and looked out the window. That was the extent of our conversation.

“Pull up next to him,” Bryce instructed Chet and as he did, Bryce rolled his window down. Corrigan lifted himself out of the window and sat on the doorframe with his arms resting on the car’s roof.

“What’s up, boys?” Corrigan smirked, cockily, across the top.

“You want the back streets? We’ll take Hyde Park?” Bryce asked.

Corrigan shrugged. “Sure. I don’t care.”

“Holster and his crew can check out the riverbank,” Bryce murmured.

Carlos asked, “You got some flashlights?”

At Bryce’s negative, Carlos jumped out and passed them out to the vehicles.

Braven leered at me the entire time until I snapped.

Cursing, I was at his seat in a flash. I threw open his door and dragged him out of the car. As he fell, I kicked him in the stomach, head, and groin. He just laid there and groaned in pain as I knelt over him to whisper, “You stare at boys like that? Keep it up and I’ll spread that rumor.” I flicked him in the ear before I returned to my seat and turned mute.

Some of the guys were taken aback, but others weren’t surprised.

Chet drove off when Corrigan started laughing in their car.

Bryce was fighting a grin when I glanced over. “Shut it,” I growled and Bryce laughed outright.

Chet announced, “You’re my god, Sheldon. I will pray to you three times a day. I will even buy a mat and declare it my ‘Sheldonism’ praying mat. It’s all you from now on.”

“Screw you too.” But I bit back a laugh.

Tatum saw it and started laughing. He pounded the back of Bryce’s seat and shook his head. “You’ve got to be an animal in bed, Sheldon.” He asked Bryce, “Is she an animal in bed?”