“That’s not what she said.” I crossed my arms over my chest and sat back in my seat.

“Are we really going to do this right now? I fucked her twice. The second time only happened because I was drunk and she hopped on my dick uninvited.”

“Whatever,” I rolled my eyes again. I seem to do that a lot around him. He narrowed his eyes at me and breathed through his nose and I could tell he was getting pissed.

“Why do girls always ask questions they don’t want to know the answer to?” Keenan asked. Keiran ignored him and continued to stare at me.

“They’re hardwired that way,” Dash said appearing from the stairs with Sheldon right behind him. “Aw man, you’re getting tatted? Me next.”

“I haven’t finished your design yet. Why do you have to be so complicated anyway?”

“I’m a deep man. What can I say? This one is special.” He then turned his gaze on me. “Hey, Lake. You talk to your girl yet?”

Shit, Willow! I’d forgotten about her because I was so wrapped up in Keiran. I am such a shitty friend. “No, actually, I haven’t. Excuse Me,” I said standing up and heading for the stairs.

“Hey, I’ll come with,” Sheldon said. I shrugged and made my way up the stairs. When I got to Keiran’s room I pulled my cell phone out of my bag and saw a missed call from her. I dialed Willow and waited for her to pick up.

“Thank God. I thought you abandoned me,” she sniffled.

“Do you have a cold?”

“No. My mom is home.” Willow and her mom didn’t usually get along well. She hated how independent and free Willow was. It only got worse when she found out about Dash. Now all they did was argue. Her mom was always pushing her past hang-ups on her. “Are you home? I want to come over.”

“I’m at Keiran’s but I’ll come now.”

She let out a dry laugh. “We both know that isn’t about to happen. When was the last time you slept in your own bed?”

“His uncle is home.”

“Oh snap. You met him? What’s he like?”

“Intense.”

“Maybe it runs in the family.”

“Yeah, maybe. Anyway I don’t think I’ll be staying over tonight. That would be too weird.” We talked for a few more minutes before I passed the phone to Sheldon who wanted to talk to her. I left the bedroom and went back to the basement. Their low voices instantly put me on alert and I paused on the stairs.

“Arizona, Kentucky, and Wisconsin are battling right now. They’re at the top of my list. I haven’t made a decision.”

“Because of Lake, right? Where is she going?”

“I don’t know. She hasn’t said.”

“So ask her.”

“I’m getting to it, moron. I had to take care of those other two.”

“What did Mario do with them?”

“He’s keeping them on ice for me.”

“He’s a scary motherfucker. How do you know that guy?”

“He used to be a partner with the people who owned me.”

“Shit.”

“Fuck.”

Owned him? Someone owned him? Oh hell no. I needed him to talk. “Who owned you?” I asked, walking the rest of the way down the stairs.

“Lake…”

“No, Keiran. You just said someone owned you.”

“Let it go,” he said through clenched teeth.

“I can’t just let it go. I have a right to know.”

He stomped over to me and pushed me against the wall by the staircase. “You don’t have the right to shit but what I tell you. My past is my own.”

“But you said –”

“I know what I said. It’s none of your business.”

“Why do Dash and Keenan get to know?”

“For fuck sake, girl—“

“Um, guys? As much as this turns me on to watch you fight, we need to go.” Keenan deadpanned.

“Go? Where are you going?”

“We are going to play laser tag,” Keiran emphasized.

“Yeah, it’s Monday Madness. All the food you can eat and my boy Teddy is working tonight so we get drinks too. Let’s roll!” He and Dash ran up the stairs tripping and shoving each other to get to the top first.

“I’ve never played laser tag.”

“No? Well then you can’t be on my team. I don’t lose,” he gloated. I hit him on the shoulder and his eyes danced with mischief.

“Can I see your tat?”

“It’s not finished.”

“Oh…later then?” As he stared down at me I could see the turmoil behind his eyes. He stepped away from me and jammed his fingers in his hair. Did he already regret getting the tattoo?

“We need to go,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me up the stairs. I heard Keenan creating a ruckus as soon as we reached the first floor.

“What are you pigs doing here? This isn’t the time we scheduled.”

“We’d just thought we’d come ask a few questions and maybe have a look around. We hope you don’t mind,” one of the suits said but his tone suggested he didn’t care otherwise.

“You can ask your questions from the doorstep because you aren’t stepping foot inside this house without a warrant.”

“Do we need one Mr. Masters?” the second detective asked in a gruff tone. “Is your father home by any chance? We’d really like to speak with him as well.”