“Yeah.” It was obvious she didn’t know who Alex was. That was fine. There was too much history here to educate everyone. “Are you from Fallen Crest?”

Alex smirked, his gaze including me. “Roussou.”

“Oh.”

I was thinking about something totally different now, and hoping to hell there wasn’t something else in the works here.

I told Alex, “Drake called me.”

His gaze had moved onto Veronica, who was starting to thrust her hip out toward him. They were both eyeing each other, but at my words, his gaze whipped to me. “What?”

“He told me something about my dad.” I was testing him, seeing if he knew what I was talking about.

His eyes went flat, flatter than Harper’s mouth had been moments ago.

He knew.

“Is that why you’re here?”

He swore. “No. No way, Bren. I’m here because I know Harper. His dad was friendly with my uncle.”

My head lowered.

He read my motion right. “Yeah. That uncle.”

Race’s dad, the dad who ran the drug business in Roussou before Drake turned on him and ensured all of them went to prison, or just county, in Alex’s case.

I nodded to his drink. “Sober?”

He looked down, his eyebrows pinched together. Then he laughed. “This is pure soda, but drinking wasn’t my issue, and to answer your next question, I’m clean.” His gaze jumped to Harper before swinging to me. “Got clean in county. Planning on staying that way. And now that we’ve covered all the bases, you want to tell me what you’re really doing here?”

Alex had never been an ally.

My stomach was starting to churn, but that mattress. I kept going back to that mattress.

I asked him, “You know why that was brought out?”

He turned and paused before swinging back. His gaze met mine and I saw the look there. He wasn’t happy. His lips thinned. “No, Bren. I’m really here just for a get-together. Harper invited me, said it’d be a good time, but that was it.” He gestured to the mattress with his drink. “None of that, not like what you’re thinking.”

“What shit is she thinking?” came from Aspen.

But Alex didn’t answer.

I didn’t answer.

Harper didn’t either.

Jade swore behind me. “Those invites were only just for us, weren’t they?”

Veronica swore. “And there ain’t no barn, is there?”

Harper’s smile was almost evil. “No, ladies. There’s no barn, but yes, you were the only special ladies on the invite list.”

Jade grimaced. “I want to barf.”

“Me too.” That was Angeline, and she sounded just as pissed as the others.

Good.

Good!