Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Nate grinned. “Lucas mentioned that not too long ago, how you’re slowly retreating from the limelight.”
“What can I say, I’m gettin’ old and tired,” Colt laughed.
“Shut the fuck up, we’re about the same age,” I told him. “I ain’t old.”
Reese puffed out his chest. “I can’t believe I’m actually the youngest in this bunch.”
“What’re you gabbin’ about over there?” someone hollered. And that someone sounded an awful lot like Penelope.
We all looked back toward the carport, and sure enough, Penelope and Nora were trailing over.
“Forget what I said,” Reese muttered.
“Ha!” That was funny. He was no longer the youngest.
I met Nora’s impish grin and got ready to start apologizing. I mean, I’d already apologized in a text, but I still felt bad for the timing. I’d ditched her the day I’d taken off to hunt down Nate.
“How you doin’, kiddo?” I asked her.
“Amazing! You?” She skipped over to me and gave me a side-hug. “No more Enya for you, I hope.”
I laughed through my nose. “None whatsoever. Life’s great, all of a sudden. I’m still sorry about ditching you, though.”
She scrunched her nose and peered up at me. “What’re you talk—oh. Oh, please. The only thing that would’ve pissed me off in that scenario is if you hadn’t chased down your man. Besides, I got to spend some quality time with James and Jordan. They’re fun.”
I smiled and—
“Is that part of the event, boys?” Pen asked. “Or something I should be aware of?”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“What do you mean?”
We all followed her stare, or to where she was pointing, and I cocked my head. Was that some kind of dirt on the house wall? It was smudgy and only a few shades lighter than the black paint, but the more I looked… It couldn’t be dirt. It was a circle or something.
“What in the actual…” Reese stalked over there and brought out a—a flashlight? Nope, scratch that, it was a UV light.
Penelope snorted a laugh. “Who walks around with a black light, Reese?”
“Someone who’s just checked every goddamn mattress in this house,” he shot back.
I cracked up. “Thank you for your service, my man!”
“Aye, we appreciate you ensuring the year’s biggest orgy is fresh and clean,” Greer laughed.
Reese flipped us off over his shoulder, at the same time as he backed away from the house wall. The pale UV glow shone a light on more than one circle, I realized. It was a word.
Soon.
“What the…” Colt stood straighter.
So did I.
It wasn’t just painted once either. Reese walked along the house wall and revealed someone had painted the same word over and over, wherever they could reach. Soon, soon, soon, soon. Between windows on the first floor, underneath the windows, along the concrete of the crawlspace.
“Those motherfuckin’ brats,” Greer sighed.
“Whoa!” Nora exclaimed. “A little soon to point fingers, isn’t it?”
“Soon, she said,” Colt pointed out. “Funny choice of word, that.”
Nora rolled her eyes.
“To be fair, sweetie, this has the brats written all over it,” Pen reasoned.
I scratched my chin.
“It’s glow-in-the-dark paint,” Nathan murmured. “We see it more now because it’s getting darker.”
Aye, the sun had gone down.
A beat later, I heard a rush of dings and vibrating sounds, indicating an impressive number of texts had been sent simultaneously. Greer pulled out his phone with a frown, KC was next, Penelope too—and Nathan. And Reese.
“What is it?” I demanded, and why the fuck was I excluded? So was Colt.
“It’s a link,” Greer muttered.
“To a countdown…?” Nate showed me his screen. “Coming soon, it says.”
No menu or any other links, just a single page showing an animated countdown to… I squinted, practicing my math skills. Uh, sometime in August?
“What’s in August?” KC asked.
There weren’t enough brats in front of the house. Reese and I locked eyes, and we knew what we had to do. He started walking toward the side of the house, and I followed. Greer and Colt weren’t far behind.
For chrissakes, the brats had just pulled a major stunt. Speaking of soon? This was too fucking soon!
“It’s here too.” Reese slapped a hand on the wall along the side. “Someone did this last night—or around sunup. The whole day’s safe. Paint’s invisible in the sun.”
“Hold on—stop, stop, stop.” I caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder. “Strategy. You crank up the anger, and I’ll see who reacts. We know these boys. They love to raise hell, but they don’t wanna piss anyone off.”
He nodded with a dip of his chin. “Okay. Yeah. Agreed.”
Colt and Greer caught up too, and the former, for some fucking reason, emptied his coffee mug on the wall. But that wasn’t coffee.
“What the hell’s in that mug?” I blurted out.
Nate showed up too.
Colt shrugged. “Wine.”
Sure, why not. Now I could smell it too, and I realized why he’d done that.
The paint was coming off.
He pointed at the wall. “This will be gone in the next downpour, so at least the brats put some thought into it.”