Harper and Shane went to a late movie. It had been sweet watching those two all afternoon and evening. My worry that Shane was only playing around with my best friend was put at ease for the most part since I could see the way he looked at her when he thought no one was watching. He didn’t ogle her, didn’t try to disrespect her by undressing her with his eyes whenever her back was turned. The biggest pass I had seen him make toward her all evening was trying to hold her hand as we had walked to dinner from The Ink Shop.

I was home alone and really kind of exhausted on top of having some bad PMS cramps. It took a lot out of a person to have your back inked to the degree mine had been inked today. But it was well worth it. I was thrilled with the results. In the bathroom, I pulled off my top and tried to angle my back to get another peek, but it was bandaged. With a happy sigh, I left my shirt off, finished stripping and went back into my room that I shared with Harper and lay down on my stomach, hoping that the cramps would go away soon.

Within seconds I was asleep…

Hours later I turned over, reaching for Drake to snuggle up to. When I didn’t feel him my eyes snapped open and I saw that I was at home instead of at his apartment. My stomach tensed up and I reached for my phone. I should have told him what I was doing. I should have told him myself that I wasn’t going to get to see him yesterday evening.

I had wanted him to see my tattoo right away, hoping that it would tell him what I couldn’t say out loud yet. Instead, I had let Shane talk me into letting the ink set over night before letting Drake see the masterpiece on my back.

Heart racing, I pulled up his name and hit connect. When it did nothing but ring until it went to voicemail, I glanced at the clock between my bed and Harper’s. Two o’clock. Biting my lip I hit redial and was sent to his mailbox again. Three more times―nothing. That wasn’t like Drake. He wasn’t the heaviest sleeper. My repeated calls should have woken him up.

Without giving it much thought, I turned on the lamp and then remembered Harper, but she wasn’t even in her bed. Not wanting to go down that road, wondering if my best friend was out getting nasty with the man I wanted as my brother-in-law, I started pulling on clothes. I had to get to Drake and tell him why I hadn’t called. I missed him like an amputated limb, and my chest was already feeling like there was an elephant sitting on top of it.

The air was muggy as I hailed a taxi. I climbed in and gave the driver Drake’s address. The city was calmer this time of night, and the man didn’t have any trouble getting me there quickly. Still, I couldn’t help feeling anxious. When the yellow car pulled to a stop in front of Drake’s building, I tossed the guy a few bills, not caring that I had just tipped him out the ass, and rushed inside.

The doorman behind the desk gave me a welcoming smile when he saw me. “Morning, Miss Daniels.”

I gave him a small smile. “Hey, Kyle,” I greeted the hulking man. The security here was amazing, something I was sure that Emmie had made sure of before buying the apartment for Drake and Shane. But even if it hadn’t been, the muscled man that stood guard over the lobby on the nightshift would have made intruders think twice before attempting anything.

The elevator came quickly when I called for it, and I waved at the doorman before stepping inside. The closer I got to his floor, the more nervous I got. My palms were sweating and my heart was racing. Dammit, it had been less than a day since I had left him sleeping in what I had come to think of as our bed, but I felt as if I hadn’t seen him in months.

Using my key, I unlocked the apartment door…

Shane was standing in the living room. He jerked around as soon as he heard the door opening. I raised a brow at him. “I thought you would be with Harper.” Worry for my friend suddenly made me freeze. Harper hadn’t been at home!

“She’s here,” he assured me. “In the bedroom…”

“Shane!”

“No. Nothing happened.” But I could see from his eyes that something had happened…

But what?

“Don’t play games with her, Shane,” I told him as I tossed my keys on the coffee table. “She’s not like your usual women.”

“I know that, sis…” His gaze kept moving down the hall and I watched as his jaw clenched so hard that I wondered if his teeth were going to break. “You should go,” he said without turning his eyes away from the hall that led to the bedroom.

Drake’s bedroom.

“I just got here. I missed Drake.” I started toward the hallway that led to his room. “I’m tired, Shane. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“No!” He moved so fast my head spun. Shane stepped in my path and grasped my arms. “I think you should just go home. I’ll make him call you. You guys can talk then.”

“What is your problem?” I pulled my arms free and pushed against him to get him out of my way. “I’m not up for games, Shane. Really, I love you, but I’m tired. My back aches and I just want to snuggle up to Drake.” He wouldn’t move out of my way. I pushed at his chest, but he was unmovable.

“I’m telling you, Lana.” His eyes were dark, a mixture of emotions swirling in his blue-gray eyes. “Go home.”

My stomach tensed as I saw rage, disappointment, and worry among the emotions in Shane’s eyes. I stopped trying to get around him. “Is Drake alright?” I demanded.

Shane grimaced. “That’s a matter of opinion. Right now he’s sleeping. In the morning, I plan to kill him.” He reached out and his fingers gently pushed my hair away from my face. “Don’t hurt yourself by going in there.”

The first crack started at the bottom. I felt the pain in my heart but it wasn’t enough to make me fall on my knees. “I need to see it.” Whatever ‘it’ was. But with Drake that could be anything. “Please, Shane. Get out of my way.”

He closed his eyes, as if mentally debating with himself over the decision to move or not. After a long moment he finally nodded and stepped to the side. My fingers shook as I reached for the doorknob, I could feel Shane standing just behind me, and I sucked in a steadying breath as I opened the door.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I stepped into that bedroom. The smell hit me first. Sweat and liquor mixed with some expensive perfume. My eyes zeroed in on the bed. Drake was asleep on top of the covers, completely naked. He was turned on his side, his pillow under him…