Now, here I was, comfortably sitting in an airport, after my brother had lied through his teeth that he would be safe. I held the earring tight.

My manager always said that I was ruining my lips by biting, and my looks were more important when I posed for those magazines. "Without that mouth and that ass, you’re out of a job."

Wait? 

I looked at myself in the mirror while washing my hands.

"Hell, this is why I hate tight pants." Ben started singing in cuss. 

"Tight pants are not the issue. You idiot, picking pants smaller than your ass was the problem." Kevin came out of the stall near the next.

I snickered and stepped back to give him room.

"I can't lift this, idiots, don't you dare go without me. Hell, Ace is the 'Acing in the cake', and why am I in trouble every time?" Ben screamed at the top of his lungs this time.

"Again, he didn't pick a size smaller than his. Don't worry about buttoning it. Just flash it. I heard the famous Devlin Declan was here to sweep someone off their feet and into his bed. You had your eyes on him for months." Kevin winked at Ben, who poked his head from the stall.

"So flash or no flash? What's your plan, Ben?" I laughed.

"I don't think he likes me. I tried multiple times. But I caught him looking at you for a sec in Lora's party." Ben, who finally got his pants done, nodded at me.

"Just for a sec. Not more than that." He showed me his cock size.

"Me? No thanks. I know men like them. They only want me in bed, not in life." I put a lollipop in my mouth and gave Ben his strawberry and Kevin his icepop.

"They think they own the world." Kevin shook his head.

"Huh, wait till you see his little brother. Then you know what those words really mean. It's good they were not on good terms. Imagine both of them in the same room. I would run and hide under the table. What is Declan doing here anyway? He won't come to parties like this." Ben circled his lollipop, and it slipped and crashed on the floor.

A sudden clash with a plant and a baby boy with a bicycle brought me back. His mother ran towards him and picked him up while his father apologized to everyone. I still vividly remember my brother did it for me. 

Even though I was twenty-five years old, he still considered me a two-month-old baby. I had to help my family. I couldn't stay and live my life when my brother was in danger. 

I wiped my cheek and looked at the clock on display. Still have twenty minutes left for the flight. I took the phone my brother gave me and dialed Ben's number. After a moment, I deleted the numbers I typed. Where was the payphone when you needed it? I looked around.

"Pick up, Ben. Pick up, you bastard."

"You have two seconds to get my attention..." Ben's voice sounded more soothing than I ever heard.

"Ben," I rushed.

"Ace? Ace? What the hell? Why aren't you in Paris?" He whispered.

"You knew I was running to Paris?" I demanded.

"Running to? Are you still here? Get out of the country right now. They were searching for your family members. Everywhere." He yelled and caught himself.

"My father is innocent." I defended. 

"So does Oliver's. So does Walters. Listen, your brother somehow managed to hide you. But no one knows how he did that. Again, an impressive tale from our Alex. But don't ruin it." He sounded strange, serious.

"Ben, listen to me. I couldn't leave my family in crisis." I banged the glass window.

"No. You listen. Just don't." His voice held a warning.

"Hiding someone from Declan's eyes is more dangerous than fighting directly with them," I uttered the exact words haunting me for the past few hours.

"I know. So does your brother. Only a few knew you left. Tomorrow, everyone will know. So you have to go to Paris today. Youngest Declan is hunting down the city right now. So be careful." The airport speaker had so much to say when I needed some quiet time.

"I want Devlin Declan's number." I held the phone's mic directly to my mouth, trying to drown out the terminal noise.

"..." Ben didn't utter a word till the announcement got over.

The Great Ben - the info volcano, who never closes his mouth, didn't breathe. If it were another situation, I would laughed so badly. Still, it made me smile despite the situation.

"You want what?" He huffed.

"I want the eldest Declan's number. The CEO's number. You and your family knew everything. Don't say you don't have it. I know you have it." I didn't give him any time to defend.

"What are you going to do with it? Tell me that, then I give you the number."