Chapter 180

Lake POV

I stood in Rhodes and Troy’s driveway in my pajamas, watching Ramon’s car disappear down the street, my mind struggling to process what had just happened.

Ramon had looked terrible. Worse than I’d ever seen him. His hand was bandaged and bleeding through, his eyes were hollow and red-rimmed, and he’d been talking about debts and charges and staying away like he was saying goodbye forever.

“What just happened?” I asked, turning to Rhodes. “What was he talking about? What debt? What charges?”

Rhodes ran a hand through his hair, looking exhausted. “Let’s go inside. It’s cold out here, and we need to talk.”

“No,” I said, wrapping my arms around myself against the morning chill. “Tell me now. Rhodes, what’s going on? Why did Ramon look like that? And what did he mean about me pressing charges?”

Rhodes sighed heavily. “Lake, Ramon had a... difficult night. He’s not in a good mental space right now. But he wanted to make sure you and Olli