Free Strung Out (Needles and Pins #1) by Lyrica Creed

the lounger pad with pillows scattered around him. Gage was draped in one of the cushy chairs with one leg resting on a matching ottoman.
    If the chase scene onscreen was any indication, they were in the middle of an action flick. Gage waved me over, but Colt’s voice boomed from behind me when I would have taken the seat next to him.
    “Not corrupting my kid are you, Remington?” He moved into the room, holding the beer he’d apparently detoured by the kitchen for. “This guy leaves the Playboy channel on for kids looking for cartoons to find.”
    “Dad, seriously? Anime is not cartoons.”
    “And neither is what you were watching in here the other day.”
    Realizing I must have been the one to leave the receiver on the channel, I burned with embarrassment.
    Gage broke in, interrupting. “Chill, Colt. I said I was sorry. It won’t happen again.” He hadn’t paused the movie yet. Perhaps he was hoping it would deflect the discussion if it continued to play.
    He had kept his eyes averted from me during the exchange. But when I straightened my spine and squared my shoulders, determined to set the record straight, his gaze landed on mine, and his chin moved ever so slightly in a negative shake.
    Colt and Seth left almost immediately, and I was still standing when I turned to Gage. “You shouldn’t have taken the blame. You have to live here.”
    “Well, you’re living here for now. And you’re right. It’s stupid, but it
is
more accepted for men to be into it.”
    I felt a tug in my chest—a déjà vu of Gage in older brother protective mode. Like when he’d stepped in front of my screaming mother and lied, saying he and his friends had trashed the den.
    “I brought you the rest of my burger. It was giant.” I crossed to him. “My fries too.” Dropping to the chair beside him, I crossed my legs comfortably and munched on the fries as he ate the hamburger.
    “How did tonight go?”
    “Okay. It was good to get out. But I wasn’t in the mood for a date. And I think that may have pissed Colt off.”
    I suddenly had his full attention. “Why? What did he do?”
    “Nothing. I just mean I think he had a date night planned, and then I insisted we go to Rockin’ Reilly’s instead of the sushi place. And I wouldn’t even dance with him.”
    I was certain I saw the quirk of a smirk, but he took the last sweet potato fry from my fingers, broke it in half, and then gave one-half back to me. ”Any leads on Ivy?” His half disappeared between his lips.
    Tearing my gaze from what became a borderline erotic moment—watching him chew—I shook my head. “She wasn’t there. And I managed to ask a couple of the employees but they didn’t know of her. Any ideas what we do next?”
    “Yeah. But you’re not going to like it.”

Chapter 13

    “W hat goes on in there?” I nervously eyed a tall wooden gate as Gage’s car rolled to a stop before it.
    It rolled open, and a mansion-sized house sprawled down the mountain beyond. Instead of being lit up against the night like the cozy windows of neighboring houses, the stone structure seemed eerie.
    “You wouldn’t believe—or maybe you would.” My chin snapped up, and his grip flexed on the wheel. “Sorry. That was out of line. I’m nervous as hell.”
    “Can we just ask about her and get out?”
    “You don’t have to go in. I can take you back home and come back myself.”
    “No. I need to. What if she’s there under a different name or something? I’ll recognize her.”
    As the gate swished closed behind us, a man approached the car. “Membership?”
    Gage pulled up a screen on his phone and tilted it to the man.
    “Great. Drive around to the side entrance.”
    Gage rolled up the window. “Here goes.” He braked near the designated entrance.
    Another man manifested beside my door and waited to open it. Gage was given a ticket as if it were valet parking for a swanky restaurant. I shivered with nervousness after alighting from the vehicle, and he put