I didn’t want to lie to her, but I also didn’t know what was going on with Dylan. He’d been gone more often than not and never wanted to talk about where he’d been. I hitched my shoulder in a shrug. “Maybe. If it was something important that he needed help with.”
Wendy rolled her eyes. “You’re a good friend, but you’re a shit spy.”
Laughter bubbled out of me. “Thanks, I think.”
“And you know, the offer is always open if you want to take one of my spare rooms. It can’t be easy living with Dylan and next door to two of the boys. Ryan is settled now, but Nathan…” She sighed.
She didn’t need to finish the thought. I knew what she meant. Nathan was gorgeous and arrogant and aggravating. He always had to have his way, but it was because he thought he knew what was best for the people he loved. He’d do that cocky head tilt thing and just say what he thought in that obnoxious way of his.
He was lucky he was so pretty.
And muscular.
And those tattoos…
What were we talking about again?
I shook my head. “It’s fine. Really. Dylan’s couch is comfy. And it’s only temporary. I’m still trying to get hold of the landlord to talk about breaking the lease. But he must be out of town or something.”
“Busy raking in the profits from his drug operation, you mean.” Nathan murmured as he popped up next to me on my other side.
I sent a desperate look Dylan’s way, but he was busy arguing about cheesecake slice sizes with Sabrina. “My landlord isn’t a drug dealer. My neighbor is.”
Nathan snorted. “And the landlord is just turning a blind eye to the operation? I don’t think so. Guarantee you that bastard is getting a cut of the profits. And I bet you a hundred bucks he’s gonna give you the run around about breaking your lease, too.”
“I guess we’ll see,” I said.
Nathan sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “You shouldn’t have paid your rent this month. You’re not even living there.”
“My stuff is there, therefore I pay rent.”
“You never should’ve moved into that hellhole in the first place. I don’t know why you were so goddamn stubborn. We wanted to help you, Mads. You know you’re like family. If you’d let my lawyer—”
“Dylan?” I interrupted Nathan’s familiar tirade. “What’s going on? We leaving or what?” That like family comment felt like a physical blow. It was one thing when I thought it about Sabrina and Wendy, but for Nathan to say it about me? Ugh. It hurt. “I don’t want to be out too late. I gotta work tomorrow.”
“Yup. Let’s roll.” Dylan hugged some Tupperware to his chest and turned to the door. Calling over his shoulder, “Later, all.”
I should’ve known he wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation of cheesecake. I forced a smile and waved to my friends. Hiding my true feelings about Nathan was my normal—I had twenty years of practice. I moved to follow Dylan, but Nathan grabbed my arm.
“Mads, you shouldn’t—”
“I gotta go, Nathan. See you later, okay?”
He’d never see me as anything other than a pseudo-sister. Someone he had to look after and solve my problems. Definitely not someone he’d ever see as an equal.
Or want to see naked.
I’d been, and always would be, friend listed. It was time that I accepted it and moved on. Literally.
Dylan was surprisingly quiet on the drive to my apartment. He usually had a few rants about his brothers; the guys were typically at each other throats at least once a week. But not tonight.
That was fine by me. I wasn’t in the mood for chit chat. Or to talk about his brothers.
We were idling at a red light when Dylan’s phone pinged with a new text.
I bit my lip as he pulled his phone from his back pocket and read the message. Since we weren’t driving, it wasn’t exactly bad that he was reading his texts. But he could still get a ticket.
The thought flew from my head as I watched the blood drain from Dylan’s face.
“What’s going on? Are you okay, Dyl?”
He didn’t answer me or reply to the text. It was either a novel length text or he was reading it over and over. Either way, it didn’t look like it was good news.
“Dylan? You’re kinda scaring me here. Who texted you? What’s going on?”
A horn blared behind us. We both jumped and looked up at the now green light. Dylan cursed under his breath, shoved his phone into the center console, and sped through the intersection.
“Uh, I can’t take you over to your apartment tonight, Maddie. I gotta go take care of something.”
“Okay.” A pit formed in my stomach as I stared at Dylan’s stoic features. There was so much he wasn’t saying. What was going on? Was it a girl? His dad? Something I didn’t even know about? I might’ve only been living with Dylan a few weeks, but I knew he was hiding something from everyone in his life.
If he wasn’t talking to me about it, I could guarantee he wasn’t talking to anyone else about it, either.
“What’s going on, Dylan? You know you can tell me anything, don’t you?”
But Dylan just shook his head and didn’t say anything.
I sighed. “Just know, whatever it is, I’m here for you. You’re one of my best friends. There’s nothing you could do that would make me not love you. Just tell me when, and I’ll show up with a shovel and a bag of lye, no questions asked.”
He snorted. “A bag of lye? Really?”
“For sure. I’ve read a ton of romantic suspense. I know how to hide a body and not get caught.”
“Okay, that’s frightening as fuck.”
“That’s love, buddy.”
“It is. And I love you too.” He sighed. “But I can’t. I’m
