Project Alaric: Book One ✔️

Chapter Three

Emery Gray

"Selling what, exactly? Boy Scout cookies? If so, I'll take some shortbread ones."

I deflated, staring into those piercing blue eyes that held so many unsaid words. Alaric jumped in before things took a turn. "Remember our conversation about respect?"

Axton hummed, tapping his pointer finger against his chin. "Yes, well, I distinctly remember all the threatening you did. The silent promise of rearranging my insides if I was to be mean to your little friend." He flicked his finger in the air like he had an idea. "Ah! Yes, I do recall."

"Or you could act like you don't have all these defenses around yourself. You know, kind of like how you went to Apollo three nights ago and..."

Axton threw up his hands in surrender. "Okay, I give up. You win." He glanced at me. "I will play nice...ish." He looked at Alaric. "He didn't know about this until you left with my truck to see him, did he?"

"No, he did not."

He nodded. "Okay then. Well, you have my promise that I will be a good little boy." He shrugged a shoulder, tossing two of the shirts in his hand toward the couch. "I don't play well with others, but I won't rip you apart." Those blue eyes zeroed in on me–seriousness behind them that I didn't expect. "Understand me when I say that you have my word. I might not be kind to outsiders, but I have my reasons. And during this trip, I will not treat you as an outsider, but as if you were one of us."

For as evil as I'd seen Axton through the last six months, I somehow believed him. The way he stared at me like it meant something to him for me to believe him. He waited there, not moving a muscle.

It wasn't until I nodded that he straightened up. "Okay." I blinked. "Wait, did I just agree to this entire charade?"

Apollo chose that moment to walk into the room, clapping his hands together once. "You sure did, Emery." He stopped next to Axton. "I want to see how all of this plays out."

I furrowed my brows–confused. "How what plays out?"

Axton shrugged a shoulder, unsure why the grin appeared on Apollo's face. "It's better not to ask Apollo why he does what he does." He folded the shirt in his hand. "When do we leave and how long do I have to pack for?"

I was still shocked that I accidentally agreed to this that my brain fell offline again. Most parts of me wanted to just go along with it because I was curious by nature, but thinking about sharing hotel rooms with the boys was terrifying. I didn't know anything about them that wasn't surface-level. And the only thing I knew about Axton apart from the angry shields he'd thrown up around him was that he recently got his GED. Apollo was a mystery who favored the color green.

As for Alaric, I knew far more than I would ever admit out loud. I listened far more when it came to him. But why did he suddenly want something to do with me? We hardly had conversations that lasted more than twenty minutes. We hung out quite often, but engaging in conversation? No. We didn't do that.

Alaric slowly turned to face me with a bright smile on his face and that was the very moment I knew I couldn't deny his request. I mentally fell on my fucking face when he smiled like that. "When do we leave?"

Right. I hadn't answered those questions.

I took my phone out of my pocket, went to the itinerary, and handed it over. "Here. It's in order."

He plucked my phone out of my hand before his eyes started to devour the information I gave him. "Omni Grove Park Inn." He nodded. "We leave in two days." He continued to scroll until he reached the end. "About two weeks. Ends on November first, Sweet Cheeks."