Chapter 24

When I wake up the next morning I…have no idea what to do.

I mean, the penthouse is totally quiet – you’d honestly think that I was here alone. But…I was ordered to my room.

Am I allowed to…leave it?

I spend about five minutes wondering and then I huff a frustrated sigh, tossing my blankets off and making a quick trip to the bathroom to clean up before I stride for the door and grab the handle. When I turn it, I’m frankly surprised that it’s not locked.

My leftover anger giving me courage, I stride out into the beautiful main room of the penthouse and plant my hands on my hips, glaring around, ready to face Christian again and resume our argument.

But…he’s not here. It’s just Nico, sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee on the table before him, reading the newspaper.

“Finally up?” he asks, not raising his eyes to me, his voice sarcastic like I slept a thousand hours. I glance at the clock and scowl – it’s only seven in the morning.

“Where is everyone?” I ask, ignoring his question.

“Where is Christian, do you mean?” he asks, raising his eyes to me now, a smirk on his lips.

“And Frankie,” I retort, though…honestly, he’s right. I wasn’t thinking about Frankie at all.

“Out,” Nico says, his word clipped and brooking no invitation for further questioning on that point.

“Well,” I huff, crossing my arms now, “did his highness leave any further instructions about what I’m supposed to do today? Considering my mind and my actions aren’t my own to direct.”

“Look at you, fancy language,” Nico says, smirking at me. Slowly, patiently – probably because he knows it gets under my skin – he folds his paper and places it on the couch. “And as a matter of fact, his highness did leave instructions for you.”

“Well?” I ask, pissed.

“Well, have breakfast,” Nico says, gesturing towards the kitchen. “And then I’ll tell you.”

“Just tell me, Nico,” I growl, resisting the urge to petulantly stomp my foot.

“Instruction one was to make sure you had breakfast,” he counters, leaning forward towards me. “So go eat, Iris.”

I glare at Nico again, honestly wishing Frankie had been left instead, even if I did watch him callously snap someone’s finger last night. But, given no other real option, I head into the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee before rifling through the cabinets and scowling to see that the only thing to eat is breakfast cereal, though there’s no milk. Frustrated, I just grab a stale churro off the counter – honestly, nobody bothered to put these away last night? – and turn towards the living room.

But Nico’s already behind me, seated at the counter, and making me jump at his sudden closeness.

“How are you so quiet?” I ask, annoyed that he was able to sneak up on me so easily.

“Stealth training,” he says with a grin, and then he pulls a phone from his pocket and slides it across the counter towards me. “Here.”

“What’s this?” I ask, snatching it before it falls to the floor.

“It’s a phone,” he says, like I’m an idiot, and I raise my eyes to glare daggers at him.

“Something about this,” I say, gesturing between us with the phone in my hand, “is going to have to change, Nico. I’ve given you no reason to be so nasty to me all the time –“

“You’re the reason I’m stick in this penthouse all day babysitting, Iris –“

“Christian is the reason for that, not me. If I’m the one in charge, you can go,” I say, throwing a hand towards the door.

We glare at each other for a long, long moment before Nico scowls and glares down at the counter for a second. “Fine. Truce. For now, until you start being annoying again.”

“I’m not annoying,” I sigh, “I’m a god damn delight and you know it.” Nico looks up at me, quizzical, but I just come around the counter and put my coffee down, sitting next to him and holding out the phone. “So? What’s this?”

“You’re supposed to text your friend and your brother,” he says, a little chagrined, I think, to tell me news that’s going to make my happy. And it does just that – I sit up straight with an excited gasp.

“Really?” I ask.

“Yes,” he replies, looking at me and holding up a finger, “with qualifications.”

I nod, letting him know that I’m listening.

“First, I read every message before you send it. Yes?”

I sigh but nod again, agreeing to it.

“And second, you lie your ass off, telling them that you broke up with Steven and had to leave everything behind at your house and that you simultaneously got a really prestigious internship that’s going to take up a great deal of your time. You’ve borrowed this phone and will contact them when you get a new number of your own.”

“Emi’s not going to buy that, Nico,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“It doesn’t matter if she buys it,” he replies, rolling his eyes right back. “It will work, which is all that matters. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” I sigh, and then I take the phone from him. Damon is easy – I just type out the story on the phone and include a little personal stuff about how I love him and I’m sorry I’ll be out of touch, encouraging him to contact his sponsor if he needs to. When I show it to Nico, he nods once and I press send. As I suspected, Damon doesn’t reply.

Emi, however, is a different story. As soon as I type out the same sort of message and send it to her, a reply comes back instantly.

Emi: What the hell is this, Iris!?

I show it to Nico, who sighs and stands behind me. “Is this going to be like, a long girl conversation?” he asks, already sounding exhausted.

“It suuuure is,” I reply, nodding.

“Fine, whatever,” he huffs, lifting his chin towards the phone. “Just type – I’ll read over your shoulder and tell you if anything is out of line.”

I nod, and type my reply.

Iris: I’m sorry, Emi – it’s out of my hands.

Emi: So you just – broke up with Steven!? And didn’t call me!? Iris I’ve been looking everywhere for you – I’ve been so worried! Your whole apartment is trashed!

My eyebrows go up at this and I look up at Nico, who just shrugs, letting me he can neither confirm nor deny.

Iris: Steven must have gotten pissed at me, I guess. He wasn’t happy when we broke up. I was scared to go back, but luckily this internship came along right when I needed it.

Emi: As much as I’m happy to have you away from that deadbeat, Iris, we both know that trashing his apartment in a rage is not his style. Tell me what’s really going on.

I sigh.

“Tell her that you’re telling the truth, Iris,” Nico instructs. “And then wrap this up.”

I nod, doing as he says.

Iris: I promise, Emi, I’m not lying to you. But the person I’ve borrowed this phone from wants it back – I’m sorry, I have to go. I love you so much – I’ll be in touch as soon as I can!

Emi: Promise me you’re safe, Iris. Please. I’m worried you’ve been kidnapped.

I turn to Nico, raising my eyebrows.

“Clever girl,” he says with a smirk. “Send her a picture of you in this apartment, by the window. Show her you’re happy and healthy, interning with a family as a private chef or something.”

I nod, considering that that will probably work, and then do as he says. When Emi replies, I can almost hear her sighing in her words.

Emi: Something’s still fishy, Iris, but I’m glad to see your stupid, pretty face. Please be careful, I love you, message me when you get a phone.

I send my goodbyes back and then sigh, missing her, as I hand the phone back to Nico.

To my shock, he instantly pops out the sim card and snaps it into pieces before dropping them into a glass of water. Then, as I watch, he wipes the phone back to factory settings.

“Wow, so…no contact from here on out,” I say, lifting my coffee from the counter and taking a sip.

“You’ll get contact privileges back in time,” Nico says casually, leaning on the counter and studying me, “when things settle down and you demonstrate that you can behave. Which you did not do last night.”

I open my mouth to protest when suddenly the door opens. I turn to it, eager, hoping it’s Christian –

But my mouth falls further open in shock this time when I see Frankie come in, looking exhausted and very, very muddy. I take in his bodily exhaustion, the dark circles under his eyes, and realize that Frankie? He didn’t sleep at all.

But where the hell has he been all night?

And where is Christian?