“We’re in,” I whispered.
“No movement from the front of the house,” Kenna’s voice murmured in my ears.
Moving through the kitchen, I felt like a rookie FBI agent about to raid the place. But I also felt like throwing up. I wavered between the two.
Keep your shit together.
If Josie had qualms about breaking into the frat house, she didn’t show it. Girl remained the picture of calm as we shared a glance, knowing our moment was up—it was time to shine. This was where we parted ways. The goal was to get in and out as fast as possible to lower the risk of someone discovering us.
With a quick nod, I headed for the hallway, going for the stairs. I had a general layout of the house from the last time I’d been inside. Josie would cover the main floor while I took the second, which consisted of mostly bedrooms and a few bathrooms.
Finding Sterling’s room shouldn’t be difficult, I hoped. He was bound to have something personal to give him away.
The stairs creaked as I ascended, but other than the little groans and moans of an old house, no other sign of life seemed present. I went through the methodical task of checking room after room, poking around and sifting through papers and mail. My conclusion after the first five or six rooms—college boys were gross.
There was messy, and then there was nuclear bomb messy. As a person who wasn’t known to be super organized or clean, the fact that I was grossed out spoke volumes. My shoes were sticking to the carpet. Never a good sign, and I was damn sure going to shower when I got home.
I came to a door at the end of the L-shaped hallway, surprised to find that the doorknob wouldn’t turn.
Why is this door locked?Suspicious? Fuck yes.
Or maybe someone really valued their privacy, yet I got a sinking feeling that wasn’t the case.
I tried the handle again, but it wouldn’t budge. Bending down, I inspected the lock. Unlike the other doors, this one had a tiny keyhole, not the turning mechanism the rest of the rooms had.
Now my suspicious nature went on high alert.
I knew one thing for certain. I had to get into this door.
Keeping my voice low, I started to speak. “Josie, I think I—”
“Mads?”
Jumping to my feet, I banged my elbow on the doorknob. Pain shot down my arm, and a series of f-bombs went off in my head. Narrowing my eyes at the last person I expected to see inside Sterling’s frat house, I met his scowl with one of my own.
“Micah,” I whisper-hissed. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Then I whacked him on the shoulder. “You scared the shit out of me. You’re lucky I didn’t pepper-spray the shit out of your eyeballs.” I hit him again just because.
Micah glanced over me. “Just where exactly are you stashing pepper spray?”
That was the first thing he had to say to me in a week? Where was the pepper spray?
“Mads?” Josie whispered in my ear. “Did I hear you right? You said Micah?”
“We got a problem,” I replied, keeping my eyes on the culprit. I didn’t want to admit it, but seeing him, having him just feet in front of me, opened a flood of emotions. I missed the asshole.
“What kind of problem?” Kenna asked.
“The kind of problem where you suck at being a lookout. How could you let him in?” No mercy tainted the accusation.
Dead air greeted me through the phone, and I snorted, neither Kenna nor Ainsley owning up.
Glaring at Micah, I demanded, “Who else is here with you?”
“It doesn’t matter. We’re leaving.” He grabbed my wrists to drag me down the hall, but I dug my heels in.
“No. Not until I get what I came for,” I insisted, gritting my teeth in determination.
He turned back to face me, frown lines creasing the corner of his lips. “And what is that, Maddy? What did you think you’d gain from sneaking into his house? Did you not hear a word I said? You were supposed to stay away from this, away from Sterling, and yet I find you here, in the middle of the spider’s web.”