Real Sexy (Real Dirty Duet #2)(3)

"Of course. What's the address?"

I walk over to the counter where there are a few pieces of mail waiting to be dealt with, and pick one up to rattle off the address.

"I have no clue where that is, but I'll google. I'll be there as soon as I can. But tell Boone I'm going to castrate him if he hurt you."

We hang up before I tell her he's not here.



* * *



Forty-five minutes later, I head to the end of the driveway as I see headlights pull up to the gate. I'm in my jeans from the night before, and a stolen T-shirt of Boone's tied in a knot at the bottom to keep it from hanging down to my knees.

From my quick scan of the area, I don't see any sign of cars other than Hope's big truck, but that doesn't mean the paps aren't hiding somewhere. Boone taught me that.

"How do I open this gate?" I mumble. I know Boone has a sensor in his car, but there's no obvious mechanism for opening it from the inside. Am I going to have to climb it?

I can just imagine the tabloid pictures and headline.



* * *



Boone Thrasher's Girlfriend so Desperate to Get Away, She Climbs Gate in Stolen Shirt





* * *



But nothing I do will make the thing budge. Out of options, I grab the metal bar and haul myself up.

Hope pops out of the truck as I throw a leg over the top. My ankle is throbbing, but thankfully the pain is bearable.

"What the hell are you doing?" Hope hurries over to the gate and bear-hugs my legs so I can slide down her body.

Please let there be a merciful God and no pictures of this. Otherwise, the headlines are now going to read:



* * *



Boone Thrasher's Girlfriend Escapes Compound into the Arms of Her Lesbian Lover





* * *



"I didn't have a choice. I had to get out, and I don't know how to work the damn thing. Do you?"

She shakes her head. "No. But let's get the hell out of here before someone thinks we're trying to break in and not out."

Crap, I hadn't even thought about that. I round the hood to the passenger side of the truck and climb inside.

"How's the ankle?" Hope asks as I shut the door.

"Still aches, but I'll be fine. I've had worse sprains and kept working. Boone overreacted." To myself I add, And maybe I'm downplaying it a tiny bit.

Hope shifts the truck into reverse and backs out of the driveway. "Maybe so, but it was still super hot to see him go all alpha-protective mode and carry you out of the White Horse. Have you seen the pictures? I think everyone with a cell phone managed to snap a different angle. Some people are calling him the Gentleman Bad Boy now."

I roll my eyes. "What else did I miss?"

"One site said you fainted because you're pregnant with his love child." Hope glances at my giant shirt. "If they see you in that, they'll be on baby-bump watch."



       
         
       
        

This time when I roll my eyes, my vision blurs for a second, and I'm a little concerned I might strain an eye muscle. If that's even possible. "Good God."

"I mean, you did go to the hospital right after, and they didn't miss that information." When I release a low groan, Hope continues. "Did you really think dating him would be easy?"

It's on the tip of my tongue to say that we're not dating, but I hold back the protest because actually, I have no idea what we're doing now.

Before today, I would have said it's nothing but a rebound fling for Boone, but things have . . . shifted. I don't have an answer for her, so I say nothing.

Hope takes a left and heads for the highway, keeping the conversation going without waiting for me to reply. "So, you want to tell me what's going on that necessitates a midnight escape plan?"

"It's not midnight, and I'm not escaping."

Hope glances over at me. "You scaled a fence."

"I told you I don't know how to open it. Boone and Anthony had to leave in a hurry." I hesitate for only a second before I fill her in on the arrest.

"Holy fucking shit. That's going to take all of five seconds to hit the news cycle. But what the hell could he be arrested for?"

"It has to be my fault. I swear to God, if Brandy is behind this, I'm going to rip the hair out of her head like she used to do to my Barbies."

Hope knows all about my long-standing issues with Brandy. "You really think she'd do that?"

"There's not much I'd put past her at this point."

When Hope merges onto the highway, she glances at me. "Then we best go find out from the source, don't you think?"





3





Ripley





The Open sign flickers in the high window next to the fluorescent fishbowl. The fish blinks as though his light is about to burn out. Except for the few cars belonging to regulars, there are hardly any vehicles parked out front.