“That hurt to say, didn’t it,” I drawled, opening the trunk to start unloading the food since Raven and Logan were helping Reid. He shook them off with annoyance, forcing himself to get inside on his own with the crutches, and Logan let out a sigh.
“Don’t mind him, Rae. He’s a cranky bastard right now.”
“Why? He’s home,” she asked lightly, but I could hear the sadness in her voice. They were a family, and it was obvious how close they all were despite it only being a friendship.
I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from answering, knowing she didn’t want to speak to me. I followed Reid inside with my arms full of insulated bags, doing multiple trips back to the car to unload it all while Raven and Logan talked between themselves.
When I’d placed the last bag in the kitchen, Zavier materialized behind me like a ghost, scaring the shit out of me.
“Fucking asshole!” I snapped as I pressed my palm to my chest, concern lining his brow as he noticed me wince as pain bloomed through my muscles.
“You’re still in pain? I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Well, I did crash my car,” I deadpanned. “But, no. This pain is from days of fucking my girl.”
“Stop bragging. Not all of us get laid, you know,” he joked, motioning to the bags. “What’s all this?”
“Your meals for the next couple of weeks. Lukas and Jensen went a little crazy. They take theirstay-at-home dadjobs seriously.” I opened the freezer to start stacking it, finding it practically empty, and I suddenly realized just how broke they were. I knew I lived a life of luxury, but I never really noticed just how other people lived.
“Don’t look at us like that,” Zavier grunted, knowing exactly what I was thinking. “We’re fine, and we never go hungry.”
I glanced at him, keeping my voice quiet. “What about bills?”
He shrugged, helping me unpack the food to avoid meeting my gaze. “They haven’t taken the house. I’ve been slipping money into the accounts to keep it balanced, and I think Reid did the same with his racing money.”
“Do you guys rent or own the house?”
“It was Raven’s parents’. If they wanted, they could come back and kick us all out,” he admitted, his jaw going tight.
“You should get your own place. If you’re paying off the mortgage, you could be using it for rent money. I bet my parents have a house they could rent you,” I offered, but he shook his head, conflict on his face. “Rae won’t leave, so we stay.”
I made sure the others weren’t close by before speaking again in a whisper. “Are you still doing runner stuff for that drug dude?”
“No. I got out,” he answered, his face serious. “You can’t tell anyone I did it, okay? I swear to God I’ll kill you.”
I blinked at him in surprise for a second before nodding, knowing he wasn’t making a joke. He’d kept my secrets from Beckett, who seemed to be his best friend, so I’d respect his wishes and keep his secrets buried too.
I never thought I’d like him, and I still wasn’t sure if I’d count him as a friend, but he’d made his way off my shit list.
“What are you two talking about?” Reid grumbled from behind us, making us jump. For a big dude on bulky crutches, he sure was silent.
“He was just scolding me for racing,” I said smoothly, and I could tell by the look Reid threw my way that he didn’t believe me.
“Whatever.” An engine roared outside two seconds before Logan’s voice reached us from the porch.
“Uh, Reid? You might want to come and see this.”
“There’s no fucking way,” Reid murmured under his breath, hobbling outside with us behind him, and my eyebrows shot up as a black Challenger almost identical to his pulled into the driveway. The only thing different was the matte black paintwork now had a shiny top coat.
Reid turned to me with a question in his eyes, but I put my hands up in front of me and shook my head. “Nope. I have no idea what’s happening.”
The engine shut off, and Turbo climbed from the driver’s seat with a grin on his face. “Hey. I hear you’re having car problems.”
“You bought me a car?” he asked in disbelief as Turbo walked towards us, amusement on his face.
“I bought what was needed to put your baby back together. Most of the motor was alright, and some of the body was fixable. I gave your audio system an upgrade though since I couldn’t save the interior.”
Reid stared at it in stunned silence, but Logan spoke up tightly. “What did it cost?”