Page 106 of Unholy Masks

I shook my head when we reached Enzo’s house. He unlocked the door, and almost immediately Irene came out of the living room, looking excited. She froze when she saw Trish standing there with a bag slung over her shoulder. Her smile faltered—just for a second—before she pasted on a bright one that felt odd on her.

They didn’t notice it, the change.

But I did. I knew her too well.

“You came,” Irene said, walking toward Trish. “How are you feeling now?”

Trish gave a small nod. “Better. Getting there.”

“I’m glad,” Irene whispered, wrapping her arms around Trish.

“Thank you for letting me—”

“It’s not my place,” she cut in quickly, eyes darting away from Enzo like she didn’t want to meet his gaze.

“Red,” Ryden said as he strode toward me, his gray eyes beautifully sad. He pulled me into a hug and kissed me with a long sigh, like we hadn’t seen each other in weeks. “I missed you.”

“Didn’t you see her this morning?” Irene scoffed, crossing her arms. “God, you two…”

“I still miss her. What’s your problem?” he shot back, eyebrows raised.

“My problem? This…” she said, rolling her eyes. They fought like they were siblings, and it healed another broken part of me. I knew Ryden would protect Irene with his life if it had come to that. “You literally just saw her this morning, and you’re being an absolute drama queen!”

“Yes. Hours have passed since,” Ryden said, pulling me in again for a kiss. “Felt like years.”

“Get a room,” Irene said.

“We have several,” Ryden said.

Looking at them bantering like this made my heart stupidly full, and then I worried if it was wrong to feel so happy when everything else was crashing and burning.

“You’re impossible,” she said, yanking me away from his hold. “You can have her later. It is my turn now.” She looped her arm through mine, frowning at him. “I knew her first!”

Ryden lifted a brow. “What is this? A custody battle?”

“Something like that,” Irene said with a sniff.

Enzo rolled his eyes. “And you said you’d be okay without her in your life. Look at you…”

She made a face. I turned to look at the two guys, who were smirking, and Trish, who had a smile on her face, watching the circus.

“Ryden, take that pizza.”

“Thank you, Doctor Death. I’m starving,” Enzo said. “Trish, I’ll show you to your room?”

“If you don’t mind the pizza and the noise, come back,” Irene said. As soon as Trish left, I turned to Irene.

“Are you okay with Trish staying here?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, arching a brow.

I exchanged a glance with Ryden as she carried the pizza boxes inside.

“Are you sure?” I asked him quietly.

“I am, and stop being so obvious.”

“What? I don’t know how I feel about Trish staying here. Maybe we should just take Irene home,” I said. “After what happened, this isn’t safe either.”