Read Four Letters (The Lust List: Devon Stone #3) for Free Online Page A

currently in the backseat.”
    I hold the phone toward Lex, who shouts into the receiver, “Hi, big brother!”
    I put the phone back to my ear. “See?”
    “What the hell is she doing? In Oregon, she was a bitch, telling me off. Why would you have her in the car with you?”
    “Because she needs help, and we’re the type of people who help others.”
    “Correction,” Devon says. “ You’re the type who helps. I couldn’t give a damn what she needs after the way she acted. Tell her to leave town. We don’t want her around.”
    “Devon, that’s not going to happen. We need to—”
    “We don’t need to do anything.” His voice gets louder before he catches himself. “We owe her nothing. Now, I have a meeting. I’ll talk to you later.”
    He hangs up before I can say anything else.
    “So? How’s the big D?” Lex asks from the backseat, giggling to herself after catching on to her unintended dirty joke.
    At the gate, Maddie said we owed Lex nothing. Now Devon’s saying it too. Am I the only one who feels family helps out family no matter how awful they may have been?
    I store my phone back in my purse and breathe out a frustrated sigh. “Devon’s fine. He’ll be back tomorrow, and we’ll talk to him. Until then, you can stay with me and Maddie.” Looking over to Maddie, I give her my best apologetic expression. “That’s okay with you, right?”
    My best friend catches on to my pleading tone and grips my hand as reassurance. Then she calls to the backseat in a cheerful voice, “Yep! It’ll be great.”

    We get to the apartment, and I feel a weight lift from my shoulders. Even with Lex in tow and a stalker somewhere out there, I feel much better now. I’m home.
    Maddie unlocks the door, and I’m overwhelmed by the sight of our living room.
    Balloons. Streamers. Flowers. A big box of cupcakes.
    I pull Maddie into a hug. “You did all this for me?”
    “You should’ve never been left alone at the gala. I acted like a child and got trashed. Devon, Mr. Cavalier, got me back here safely, and while he was here, that awful bitch was hurting you.”
    “It’s done with. And it wasn’t your fault. Okay?” I look around at our apartment. She’s even spent time cleaning it. The usual dust bunnies hiding under the edges of the couches are missing. “You didn’t have to go through all this trouble.”
    “I didn’t have much else to do.” She shrugs, then gets a grossed out look on her face. “What’s that smell? The trash is empty. I even had candles burning.”
    We turn to find Lex leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette.
    Maddie looks at me, annoyed. “It smells like my bar.”
    I glare at Lex. “Outside. Be considerate.”
    “Whatever.” She mopes out of the apartment.
    I shake my head. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
    “Yeah, neither do I.”
    I grin at her. Thanks, best friend. “I just can’t not help her. But she’s more a mess than…”
    “Than Devon?”
    “Yes. And he wants nothing to do with her. So I’m working double duty. I need to fix their relationship and get her clean.”
    Maddie grips both of my shoulders and looks at me seriously. “You do know you don’t have to do anything, right? I love you for how much you want to help, but these aren’t your battles, and they’re adults.”
    I know she’s right, but it still feels like the thing I need to do. There’s no talking me out of this one.
    “I’m going to get unpacked. Thank you, so much, for everything. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
    We have another cheesy, sappy moment before I disappear to my room. I laugh when I see she’s even tidied my room. The bed’s made, the curtains are pushed open, letting sunlight cascade through, and an enormous bouquet of white lilies and roses waits on my dresser.
    This is sweet, but Maddie shouldn’t feel so guilty. None of us expected Nat to be a complete lunatic. I empty the duffel bag, making a mental note to get my own if I’m going to keep