“Come on, Ocean. That dagger was taken and put in an evidence locker. This has to be a coincidence.”
“Stop talking down at me,” I demand, recognizing his tone as the one he uses when trying to reel Kairo in, knowing he’s about to kick someone’s ass. “I’m telling you, Eli. This is connected. I don’t know how or why, I just know it. I feel it in my gut. Whoever did this has something to do with my father’s death.”
He lets out a heavy sigh and meets my eyes. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. I feel it.”
Eli studies me for a moment before finally nodding and slipping his hand into his pocket. “Alright, babe. I’ll call Nic and get him back here. We’ll sort it out.”
“No,” I rush out. “Don’t call him. It’s not smart for you guys to be hanging around here with all the cops crawling around. Nic is already a gray area seeing as though he spent most of the night here. I can’t have you guys going down for this. You need to stay away.”
“Seriously?” He laughs. “There’s a fucking rapist with a boner for you running around, and now a murderer who may or may not be the same guy who killed your father. We’re not about to let you out of our sight until this is straightened out.”
I let out a sigh and look up at him. There’s no point trying to fight it. The boys will have it their way no matter what I say or how I feel about it because where they are concerned, all that matters is my safety. I might as well accept it and make the most of the protection detail that’s going to be following me around like a bad smell.
“So,” I say, wanting to change the topic. “What are you even doing here? Nic will castrate you if he found out you dropped out of the Jude search to come and rub your dick all over me.”
“It’s fine, babe,” he says with a mischievous grin. “Half the fucking Widows are out there searching for the fucker. They’ll be alright if I take two minutes to check up on my girl. Besides, what they don’t know won’t hurt.”
“But that’s the thing. You walked in here thinking you would just be celebrating your STD-free dick, but now that you have more information, you have no choice but to call Nic, and then you’ll be dead.”
Eli’s face falls and his eyes slowly come back to mine. “Fuck,” he sighs. “I didn’t think about that, but I guess if I’m going to go down I might as well enjoy myself.”
My eyes narrow in suspicion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I, uhh … might have made a quick stop on my way here.”
The penis balloons float behind his head and I eye them warily. “Why does that make me so nervous?”
His brows bounce excitedly as he strides back toward the front door. “Have you ever walked into an adult store?” he asks, leaning out the door and grabbing a bag. His head reappears and the grin on his face is nearly enough to have me running for the hills. “It’s fucking wild, babe. I wanted to cheer you up with a ‘syphilis free party’ and went fucking nuts.”
Eli laughs at his little nut pun and I roll my eyes as he collects his penis hat and fixes it back on his head before dropping the bag on the coffee table. He’s quick to start rifling through it, and I watch as a rainbow of suction cup rubber dildos are stuck down on the coffee table. Next penis-shaped straws are pulled out, penis confetti, and naturally, a bunch of penis-shaped candies.
I stare in wonder, having absolutely no idea how his little brain decided that surrounding me with penises was somehow a good idea after the night I’ve had, but when I see his dorky little smile, it somehow makes me feel a million times better. Though, that mood instantly goes crashing down when he pulls out a penis shirt for me to wear and then tops it off with a crown, declaring me a ‘cock dominator.’
For some reason, unknown to me, I let the idiot stay. He drops down beside me with a bottle of tequila, and I find myself grateful for the distraction.
I don’t know how my four boys always manage to be there for me exactly when I need them, but somehow, they do and that’s one of the main reasons that I love them so damn much.
“So,” he says, leaning back into the couch and propping his foot up onto the cock-filled coffee table. His eyes meet mine and before he says another word, it becomes far too clear what he’s about to ask. I prepare myself for the worst, knowing I won’t make it through this without breaking. “No bullshit, O. How are you really doing?”