Within the hour, I had uploaded my programs to Hoda’s Facebook, her Twitter, her Instagram, her emails, because she had five separate addresses, and her website. The program acted like a window. It was a back window she didn’t know she had, but I could get into her accounts anytime I wanted or needed.
I could watch her activity.
Was it an invasion of privacy? Yes.
Did I care? No.
She thought I hadn’t earned my place. She underestimated me. She released that image of Kash and me, so in the way of us Hayes women, vengeance was totally appropriate here. She screwed with me, I was going to obliterate her if I so chose.
I just wasn’t there, yet.
Ring! Ring!
Buzz! Buzz!
Shit. Damn. Crappers.
It was five-forty. Matt was late and so was I.
I ran to the door and hit the speaker button. “I’m late, too. Tell Matt I’ll be down in five minutes. I gotta pee.” I didn’t wait for the guard’s confirmation. I let the button go and sprinted to the bathroom. Then I sprinted to the closet and changed super quick. It should be casual at the estate tonight, but one never knew. I threw on jeans and a nicer sweater than what I’d been wearing to school. I ran my fingers through my hair quickly and called it done. My hair could go up in a clip. It’d look like a messy ponytail. That was fine by me. Chrissy would say something, but I wasn’t caring at this moment. I could braid it if necessary.
Grabbing my bag, another litany of curses fell from my mouth, because I needed everything to go with me to do my coding in the car. Shit, shit, shit.
My wallet and phone were stuffed in my backpack, and I had my laptop in there. Yes. I was running down the checklist. I had everything I needed. I thought so, anyway. If I didn’t, I’d be up later than I wanted to finish my coding, because I had reading to do for tomorrow, too.
There was a knock at my door.
I pulled it open. “Hey.”
It was Scott.
He held the door for me, falling in line behind me as I dashed to the elevator that was being held open for me.
Scott hit the parking lot button, folding his hands in front of him as the doors slid closed. “I’ll be the guard accompanying you tonight.”
I was half-distracted, thinking that I really needed Matt to be texting on the drive there, i.e., not talking to me.
“Huh?”
“Your guard. That’s me tonight.”
I was a bit slow. “Okay…?”
A faint grin from him. He was being patient with me. “We are taking your brother’s vehicle. Both his guards are going. You won’t need both of your guards, so Mr. Harkman will remain behind here.”
“Oh!” Then I grinned. “Harkman. I like it.”
We were nearing the parking garage when I thought of it. “Could you do me a favor?”
He glanced to me just as the elevator stopped.
“I need to do work in the car. It’s difficult if Matt’s talking. Can you distract him for me?”
His mouth twitched before smoothing back into a blank wall. “Sure. I can do that.”
The elevator opened. I was guessing Harkman was the guard standing just inside the garage, because we walked past. He and Scott did a nod thing to each other. I faltered, because instead of the normal SUV, it was a limo.
Matt’s guard opened the back door and Matt was there, grinning. He saluted me with a drink in hand. “We’re late, sis. Figured we should do it in style.”
Guy’s face poked out from the inside of the limo. He smiled wide at me. “Heya, Bailey. Guess who’s going to dinner with you guys?”
My stomach bottomed out. “Oh no.”
His grin only widened. “Oh yes.”
I slid inside, or started to.
I paused midslide, with one leg still outside, because Guy wasn’t alone.
Tony was inside. He was at the far end of the limo. Guy was on the couch that ran the length of the limo. Matt and I went to the back.
Scott bent down, looking inside, assessing the situation.
He looked at me. “There’ll be a vehicle following. I’ll ride in that one.”
I wanted to ask if I could go in that one, too, but Matt must’ve sensed my thoughts. He threw an arm around my shoulder, his eyes falling on my backpack, which I was holding in my lap. He motioned to it with his drink. “What’s this?”
I was pleading with Scott not to leave me alone.
His mouth only twitched before he shut the door.
Matt’s breath was already strong. “What were you doing before this?” I asked.
He just laughed. The alcohol was rank.
His eyes were dilated and lazy. His smile was sloppy. “Partying. What do you think?”
“Partying?”
Both Guy and Tony had glasses next to them, and Tony was in the process of filling his with rum, but they didn’t look as gone as Matt.
“Why are you guys here?”
Guy lounged back, throwing his legs up on the seat across from him. He raised his glass toward Matt. “Your bro’s been on a bender since last night. We heard you got a visit from him, too.”
Whoa. Matt seemed sober earlier.
Tony finished pouring his glass and leaned back, but he was more sipping, with his eyes pinned to me, almost squinting. “The fuck called this afternoon at some chick’s place.”
Guy started laughing. “He was freaking, didn’t know where he was. Totally forgot he had two guards waiting on him.”
How much had he drunk between this morning and now? I must’ve been a pit stop.
Wait. He had breakfast at the Chesapeake Estate this morning. Had he been drinking during that, too?
I stiffened, throwing him a side-eye of my own.
Matt removed his arm from me, shoving to the corner, and he slipped farther down in the seat. He growled, “You both are assholes.”
Guy’s head tipped back. He just laughed.
Tony rolled his eyes. “Asshole friends that came to pick you up and acted like it’d been the plan the whole time so your babysitters didn’t report to your sister’s man, and the Great Authority Kashton Colello didn’t rain hell down on you. We’re super fucking horrible friends.”
My stomach was twisting up, hearing all of this.
Matt still growled, looking outside. “Whatever.”
Tony snorted before sipping his drink again.
I didn’t say a word. Matt was on a bender. Noted. I would be sharing that with Kash, but Tony was wrong. I knew Kash wouldn’t be chasing Matt. For one, he couldn’t, since he was in Brazil.
I looked at Matt. “Were you drunk at my school earlier?”
Matt froze.
And my second question. “Were you drunk at breakfast, too?”
Matt didn’t respond. His head was down. His phone was buzzing, and he was responding to that, not to me.
I looked at Guy and Tony. They weren’t looking at me.
“When did you pick him up?”
Neither of the guys spoke up, and that had my stomach twisting all the more.
I leaned forward and hissed, “You should’ve called Kash. Maybe then my drunk brother wouldn’t have been around my other brother and sister.”
Tony’s jaw clenched, but he still didn’t look at me.
Guy was just looking at his phone.
“How bad were you?” I squared off against Matt. He continued to ignore me. “If you don’t answer me, I’ll take your phone and load a virus to it so you’ll never be able to use another phone again.”
He continued typing, then stopped. He froze a second before lifting his head. “You can’t do that. You’re good, but not that good.”
My lips thinned. “Try me.”
Guy spoke up, his voice strained. “He wasn’t that bad in the morning. He called us early, around six. We got him, thought food and family would sober him up, because he wanted to go to another after-after-hours club. It didn’t work. He got all worked up about something, demanded we bring him to you, and then we’ve been at Octavo this whole time.”
“Octavo?”
“It’s another club in Chicago.”
I was going with a hunch here. “One that Kash or our father doesn’t own, right?”
I was met with silence. All silent.
I had to sit and contemplate, because what was my role here? I knew Kash used to deal with this, bailing Matt out before and after he got into trouble.
I ran down my list of options.
Option one: Blow a gasket that Matt was on a bender and be alarmed at how good he could handle his liquor, because I never once thought he was drunk at school.
Option two: Do nothing and tell Kash later. Let Kash deal with Matt.
Option three … I had no clue.
I went with a mix of all the options and I announced it. “Okay. This is what I’m going to do.”
All the guys looked at me, each with a different expression.
Guy was mildly curious.
Tony was glowering.
Matt was wary, but there was a “fuck ’em all up” look in his eyes, too.
“I’m going to sit here and do my coding for school. Then I’m going to text Kash later that you were drunk tonight, but you and I both know he won’t be flying in to deal with you. And three, if you do anything tonight to scar our little sister and brother, I will blow a gasket.” I leaned in close. “You’ve not seen me blow a gasket. You do not want the gasket to be blown. Trust me.”
Matt’s eyes filled with that crazed look like he was going to call my bluff, but he only raised his glass for another sip—make that a gulp—of alcohol. Guy was back to lounging; he almost looked like he was going to fall asleep. And Tony’s eyes were narrowed and fixed on me before I looked at him. He raised his chin up, in a slow way, like he was almost challenging me, but then his gaze slid away to the window. From his profile, he looked pensive.
And me, I set my bag on the floor, pulled my computer out, and did my coding assignment.