One incident, three months ago, resulted in her almost dying. Ever since then, Shade had watched over her like she was Typhoid Mary and he was just waiting to see what catastrophe would strike next.
Lily didn’t want to hurt Beth’s feelings; however, Razer’s friend was a real jerk. She felt guilty as soon as the word crossed her mind. She tried to find the best in people, but Shade made it really hard.
The familiar strain of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” sounded from her purse right as Lily was about to pull out of the parking lot. She put the car in park before she reached inside her purse for the ringing cell phone.
“What’s up?” Lily asked, seeing her sister’s name on the caller I.D.
“Lily, are you still at the factory?” Beth asked.
“Yes.” Lily didn’t tell her she was sitting in the parking lot, ready to pull out.
“Is Rider there?”
“Yes, he’s talking to Shade and Bliss.”
“Oh.” Beth paused. “That’s probably why he’s not answering his phone.”
“Yes,” Lily said without hesitation.
“Can you do me a favor?” Beth’s sister sounded tired and frustrated. “My car is broken down at Ms. Langley’s house. Can you ask Rider if he can bring the trailer to pick it up? Razer and Viper are going to meet him here to help. They were at the grocery store when I called. I told him I’d call Rider and get him to meet them at her house.”
“No problem. I’ll tell him right now,” Lily offered.
“Thanks. I’ll see you later.” Beth disconnected the call.
Lily backed into the lot, parking again. Getting out of the car, she went toward the factory with her thoughts on her sister. Opening the door, she came to a stop.
Rider was standing behind Bliss, his arm around her waist with his hand splayed across her bare stomach. Bliss’s face was filled with uninhibited excitement as she looked at Shade who was standing a few inches away, staring back at Bliss. Both men had expressions of desire written plainly across their faces.
A shard of pain went through Lily’s brain at the same time that the metal door closed with a loud snap, and the tableau turned to stare at her standing at the doorway.
“Uh, um.” Lily had to force herself to focus, trying to get her mind in working order. “Rider, Beth’s car is broken down at Mrs. Langley’s house. She needs you to bring the trailer. Excuse me,” she explained her presence to the three frozen in place before turning tail and running. Her hand hit the metal door rail and the door flew open. Lily ran to her car, her face flaming at overreacting and making a fool of herself as always.
She opened her car door hastily, getting back inside. She was reversing out of the parking lot when she saw Shade, Rider and Bliss come out of the factory. She waved at them before turning her car to exit out of the parking lot.
Lily took deep breaths; a headache was beginning, making driving difficult. Reaching into her purse, not taking her eyes off the road, she searched for her sunglasses. Finding them, she slid them on, hoping it would help the headache that was threatening to make her vomit.
Her hands tightened on the steering wheel while she continued to take deep breaths then released them several times, focusing on her breathing and not on the look on the two men’s faces with Bliss between them. Shards of pain again attacked her at the mere thought.
Starting over, she redirected her thoughts, making herself mentally remember what had gone into each order she had filled that day.
She had just finished reciting her fifth order when she thankfully pulled into the driveway of the house she shared with Beth and Razer. Breathing a sigh of relief, Lily got out of her car, going to the door and unlocking it.
Turning on the lights, the tension lessened as she entered the home she had been raised in since her adoption. Shutting the front door, she grabbed a bottled water from the refrigerator in the kitchen before then going upstairs to her room.
The soothing colors of her room relieved her nerves even further. Going to the medicine cabinet, she took out a prescription bottle and removed a pill, swallowing it with another drink of the bottled water she had carried upstairs.
Returning to her bedroom, she slipped off her shoes before lying down on her bed that she made every morning before she went downstairs. She pulled the small quilt her mother had made for her that lay on the bottom of her bed over her, rubbing her cheek against the soft material, letting the pill she had taken make her drowsy.
Closing her eyes, she drifted off, escaping the migraine and the look on Shade’s face as he’d watched Rider hold Bliss.
*
Lily awoke from her nap with her headache gone. Finally feeling well enough to wash the smell of the factory off, she took a shower, washing her long hair. Afterward, she dressed in over-large sweat pants and a large t-shirt that hung on her body then brushed her wet hair, leaving it to dry naturally.
Going downstairs barefoot, she found her sister and Razer sitting at the table, eating dinner.