Four Letters (The Lust List: Devon Stone #3) (6 page)

I disable the extra alarms—the one for lunch, the ones set for later and tomorrow. No more of that. I can take care of myself. It’s time to step up. I can’t really take control of things if I don’t have control over my own head. So it starts now. I go a step further and delete all the alarms—every one of them telling me what to do and when to do it. Alarms from years ago telling me to get ready for classes or make dinner. Ones from weeks ago telling me to leave for my interview with Mr. Keenly—the interview that changed my entire life.

The alarms don’t own me. My problems don’t own me. Nat doesn’t own me.

I hold my head up higher.
Let’s do some good today, O.

Outside of my room, the rest of the apartment is quiet. Maddie’s room is empty. No one’s in the bathroom. And Lex isn’t here.

How the hell am I supposed to get her ready to go when she’s not even here? Did she come home last night?

No problem. Just a minor glitch. There’s still time, so I’ll wait for her. She’ll turn up—hopefully before we need to leave.

An hour later, I’m trying not to glance at the clock too frequently. I’m scrubbing dishes from breakfast and relaxing my breathing. Then I hear the door open, and I’m tempted to turn around and chastise Lex like a child coming home after curfew. But I remember what Maddie said. She’s an adult. I have to respect that.

“Want coffee?” I ask, not looking at her.

She lets out a moan and I hear her plop down on the couch. “No…I’m good,” she says in a drawn out sing-song voice.

Now I look over and find her in her own little trance, gazing up at the ceiling fan. Dammit, she’s high already?

I bite my tongue, not wanting her to go into an aggressive rage like yesterday at the gate. “We have plans today. Lunch. Can you…um…try to sober up before then?”

She lets her head roll in my direction and smiles. “You need a hit. Or you need to get laid. You got a boyfriend?”

Is she serious?

“I’m with Devon. Remember?”

Lex starts laughing. “Right, right. My big bro. I love that guy.”

Give me a break. She’s too far gone to negotiate with now. I go in my room, find her a change of clothes, and return, tossing the outfit on the cushion next to her.

“Go take a shower. Clean up.”
In more ways than one.
“We’re leaving when you’re done.”

Lex seems a little more human when she emerges a while later. Refreshed and alert, she’s actually very beautiful. Her pixie cut is smoothed down, looking chic, instead of being the wild mess she usually sports. Her eyes are less puffy after the shower, and in the jeans and button down blouse I loaned her, she looks mature, approachable.

My hope is restored. “How do you feel?” I ask, standing up and grabbing my purse. I toss my phone in and grab my keys.

I get a groan from her, but she saunters over to the couch and steps into her shoes. At least she’s not resisting my plans—not that she knows what we’re doing anymore than Devon knows.

In the car, I get on the highway, heading toward Colin’s Diner. I won’t lie. I’m nervous, but this is exciting. I’m determined to play mediator for Lex and Devon.

“So…where were you last night?” I try to sound casual, not nagging.

“Long story or short?”

“We have time.” I might as well hear all the details. Maybe it’ll help me figure out what to do with her.

Lex takes a deep breath. “So while you were gossiping with your girlfriend, I grabbed her phone on my way to the bathroom. I did a couple quick searches and found a dude who could hook me up. My stash was low and if I’m going to be here a while, I need a go-to guy—or girl. I’m not sexist or anything. Anyway, Joe picked me up, and we hit it off. He had a little party at his place, so he introduced me to the local crowd, and I ended up staying the night. That’s all.”

That’s all.
“So this Joe guy’s a drug dealer. You had him come to my place to pick you up, and you stayed out all night with him—a total stranger?”

“You know? I was going to apologize for yesterday and calling you a goody-goody and everything, but…”

I glare at her. “Should I remind you I can have you re-arrested any moment?”

“Uh huh. Forget it. I’ll keep my life to myself so as not to offend you and your values.”

“It’s not like that, Lex.” Count to ten. I want to yell at her that she doesn’t know anything about me, but it won’t do me any good. “I just don’t fully…understand…why you need it.” Or why Devon needs it.

Change the subject. I’m in a positive mood, no room for a bunch of negativity. Try to relax. It’ll be fine. We’re going to meet up with Devon. I’m going to get these two to bond—hopefully not over their addictions.

And here are the bad thoughts again. Okay, new topic.

We get to a red light and stop. I focus on my car.

This thing probably needs a tune up. The tires are low on air. The brakes are a little squishy.

“You mad now?” Lex asks, looking amused.

“No. I’m just…driving.”

I step on the gas, now hurrying to get to Devon. But the damn traffic and red lights are keeping me trapped with Lex and my own thoughts.

“Dude,” Lex starts. “You really need to chill. You aren’t better than me.”

“I never said I was.”

“And I’m not some sort of loser just ‘cause I do stuff you don’t like. So you should just stop—”

“I can’t.”

Oh shit. Something’s wrong.

“Can’t what? Can’t stop judging me? Can’t stop acting like—”

“No! I can’t stop the car!” The brakes were squishy a minute ago. But now they’re…unresponsive. Fuck, fuck, fuck. “I don’t know what to do. The brakes aren’t working.”

The light ahead of us is red. I clench the steering wheel and start hyperventilating.

“You’re going to hit that car!” Lex shouts. She grabs the emergency brake and yanks it up.

The car starts to skid, tires squealing against the L.A. street. But we aren’t going to stop fast enough. Either we hit the car ahead of us or…

I turn the wheel and steer us into a ditch. The car comes to a stop with a jolt. I throw it in park, and drop my head into my hands, struggling to steady my breathing.

“What the hell just happened?” Lex asks.

“I—I…I don’t know. One second, it was okay. The next, they just stopped working.”

We get out of the car and walk around to the front as though I can diagnose the problem. The bumper’s a little scratched up from the rough stop. A newer car with a warranty would make this much easier. I pull out my phone to call a tow truck and a taxi. Devon’s waiting and…

A car pulls up behind us and parks. Both doors open, and I groan when I see who’s found us. The cameras start going off almost immediately as the two paparazzi climb out.

“Are they serious?” Lex smirks and I’m startled by the resemblance to Devon.

Laughter escapes me. “Yeah. They show up at the worst times.” Adrenaline pumps through me, and the last thing I want to do is deal with the media. They rush toward us, talking over each other.

“Ms. Margot, can you tell us what happened here?”

“Did anyone get hurt, Ms. Margot.”

“Is Devon Stone in the car?”

“Were you driving drunk?”

Ignoring them both, I let them snap whatever idiotic photos they want. I find a tow truck guy who can come pick it up and drop it off at a mechanic. I tell him I’ll pay him extra if he can handle all this without me present. All I have to do is say my name and that I’m trying to get rid of the paparazzi before he shows up, and the guy’s more than happy to take care of my car without me.

Next up, a taxi, so we can get to the diner. Just as I get an answer, one of the paps get in my face.

“You can tell me. Are you on something? Intoxicated? High?”

I recognize this jerk. He’s the one I laughed at last time I saw him because he looks like a damn pirate—hoop earring, weird vest. The resemblance must be intentional.

Not that I have the upper body strength to have any effect, but I shove the guy away from me. I think he’s trying to smell my breath. What a creep.

I turn away to talk to the taxi service, and Lex squeezes past me, getting in pirate guy’s face. I watch her, worried about whether or not she’ll make things worse.

“You got a problem, you talk to me.” She’s fearless, inches away from the creeper’s face. “What do you want?”

A taxi will be here in a couple minutes. Now we just need to get away from these vultures.

“I’m just doing my job, babe. If Olivia Margot’s wrecking her car in the middle of the day, that’s news. And that news can pay me big bucks.”

“Hate to break it to you, asshole, but I was the one driving.”

“And you are?” He lets his camera hang from his neck as he pulls out a cell phone, turning on a voice recorder and holding it toward Lex to catch her next words.

“Special Agent Iris Copenhagen. I’m on a secret mission with the Queen of Spiked Stilettos here. We’re on our way to the Grand Canyon to—”

“You’re screwing with me, aren’t you?” the dumb pirate says.

I stifle my own laughter.

“No,” Lex keeps a perfectly straight face. “I speak nothing but the truth.” She moves fast, grabbing pirate pap’s phone and chucking it out into the street where it meets its fate with a passing semi truck.

We all hear the crunch of metal and glass as the phone is pulverized against the pavement.

“Oops,” Lex says and turns to me. “We ready to go?”

We start walking a few feet down the road while I keep an eye out for our taxi. Behind us, a pissed off pirate yells at Lex, but she doesn’t even blink.

A yellow car comes to a stop next to us, and we hop in.

“Colin’s Diner, and quickly. The paparazzi are following us.”

The taxi driver tells us it’s no problem and hits the gas. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to leave my broken car with a couple disgruntled paps, but what’s the worst that can happen?

“Thank you,” I tell Lex. “For stepping up back there. You didn’t have to tell them you were driving.”

“I never wanted to live down here. Hell, I never wanted to visit down here. But I always thought it’d be fun to tell off the paparazzi. I figured I’d never have the chance.”

She has this satisfied look on her face, as though we’ve just crossed something off her bucket list.

“Well, I’m glad I could make your dreams come true.”

We get to the diner only a few minutes late, thanks to the fact we’d left unreasonably early from the apartment. Devon’s waiting on the upstairs terrace. First he spots me, and I get that sexy grin that implies he’s relieved to see me, but then his eyes meet Lex’s, and his expression vanishes.

“This’ll be fun,” Lex says under her breath.

“Just wait at the table. Let me talk to him real quick.”

I walk to Devon, take his arm, and without saying a word, lead him inside to a quiet hallway.

“What the hell, Olivia?”

“I know. Don’t be mad.”

He glares down at me, eyebrows raised.

“For starters,” I say, leaning up and kissing him. “Welcome back.”

He softens a little at that, relaxing his shoulders.

“Now hear me out.” I take a breath, ready to defend all of my good intentions. “She needs help. We’re going to help her.”

Maybe I catch him off guard by my assertiveness, or maybe he just missed me while he was gone, but he smiles. “And why are we helping the woman who slammed a door in our face?”

“Because we won’t stoop to that level. Plus, I think…when you talk to her, you’ll find she’s a lot like you.”

“Is that good or bad?” he asks.

“I’ll let you be the judge of that.”

He steps closer to me, and I’m overtaken by his scent. I close my eyes and soak him in. It’s unbelievable how I feel about him.

“One more question,” he says quietly in that low, sexy voice.

Want to go back to my place? Want to stay with me forever? Want to elope yesterday?

I’d say yes to all of them right this instant. “Hmm?”

“When were you going to explain this?” Devon holds up his phone to show me the
ScandalLust
article announcing my car accident. A photo shows me on the phone and Lex yelling at the pirate guy. And the article proves to be the icing on the cake.

“Girls Gone Dirty: Devon Stone’s Girlfriend, Caught In a Lesbian Love Triangle After Crashing Into Ditch—What Were They Doing in the Front Seat to Cause the Accident? You’ll Never Believe It.”

“Wow…They work fast.” I want to make more jokes, but he’s still waiting for an actual answer though. “Sorry. My focus is on this lunch. My car’s old. It gave up on me. There’s nothing more to it, but those guys were trying to build more drama, obviously.”

Devon looks at me for a long second. “You’re okay though?”

“Yes. And Lex helped, so you
really
owe it to her to listen. Now let’s go.”

We go back to Lex, and I’m relieved how easy it was to get Devon to agree to this. I flash Lex an encouraging smile, and we all order our drinks and food. Let this lunch begin.

“So,” I start, hoping to help break the ice. “Lex has hit some hard times, and Maddie and I are letting her stay with us. It works out great.”

Devon eyes me suspiciously and turns to Lex. “So you couldn’t give us the time of day in Oregon, but you have no problem using my girlfriend for your own needs?”