“Foster brother.”
He frowned, just slightly. “Yeah. Foster brother, but basically her brother.”
Lassiter started laughing, walking away before I could say something. Or hit him.
Palma’s own eyebrows were arched high, but at Levi’s words, she thawed. Her smile relaxed. She drew even closer, which she needed to do because the inside of the warehouse was packed. There was no way they weren’t violating fire safety and health code for how many people were packed in here. Then again, this was an underground fighting ring, and it was organized by Creighton’s men, so I shouldn’t be surprised.
“I had no idea you had a foster brother, or that he was here. I thought you were from Cincinnati?” She held her hand out, taking in all of Levi. “I’m Palma. Blake’s roommate.”
“She is from Cincy.” He dropped his hand from around my shoulders and took hers in both of his, pumping it. “Let’s talk about you, though. Wow. You’re her roommate?”
Marshall gestured to himself, Palma, and toward the bar where Heath was still standing. “We all are. Me. Heath over there. There’s another roommate, but good luck seeing her. She could be a vampire.”
Levi started to shake his hand before the words registered. He stopped, doing a double take at what Marshall just said, along with seeing who Heath was. Confusion crossed his face. Alarm was right after. Then more confusion.
He gave me a questioning look.
I shrugged. “That’s between me and—you know.” I nudged his arm, indicating Marshall again. “Technically, I’m supposed to be here as Marshall’s date.”
Levi had begun to reach for Marshall’s hand to shake, but at my last statement, he doubled over in a coughing fit. I did not do the nice thing and pat him on the back. I let him suffer. When he stopped, he fixed me with a dark look, but I caught the amusement too. “Right. I’m not seeing why you—never mind.” He took Marshall’s hand and gave him a brisk nod. “It’s nice to meet you guys. Have you met anyone else from Blake’s life?”
I cursed out a half laugh, half hiss. “Subtle.”
He just blinked at me, still grinning.
“No. Why?” Palma’s eyes were wide, leaning forward.
Levi’s arm came down around my shoulders, and he tugged me once more into his side. “Lassiter, the little angry-looking blondie who seems pissed at the world. Him too. He has the braids in his hair, tattoos all over. Though, if you call him our foster brother, he’ll get pissed. He was more like a foster neighbor. Grew up on the same street with us, but don’t let him fool you. He basically grew up on Miss Marcie’s couch.”
Palma turned to look, and as she did, Marshall asked Levi a question. Soon the two began conversing. That was when Palma sidled up to my other side.
Holding her drink close and stirring the paper straw, she said quietly, “I didn’t know you grew up in foster care.”
I searched her face, trying to see if that was a problem. The reactions were always varied. They either looked down their nose at me or began to view me as some sort of threat to them. Positive responses were rare.
“I did. Yes.”
I held my breath, waiting to see how Palma was going to react.
A sheen shone in her eyes, and underneath was kindness, mixed with respect? Was I seeing that correctly? I almost wept. I reached for her instead, hugging her. She was not someone I would have to say goodbye to, at least not right now.
Her face stuttered before she tried to give me a smile. “I’m sorry.”
Sometimes, with some people, they may say something similar, but they didn’t mean it. Palma meant what she said. It made a difference. A big one.
She playfully nudged me. “So. A foster brotheranda foster neighbor? You got any more foster siblings around here?”
Oh, boy.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Blake
Palma fell into the seat beside me, flushed and a little sweaty. “Your foster brother is hot.” And a little wasted since I was smelling a good amount of rum from her breath. She ran a hand through her hair, dislodging it, frowning down at herself. “Shit.”
Placing her drink on the table in front of us, she used both her hands to redo her hair. It’d been hanging loose earlier, but after an hour moving around and yelling at the fights, she put it up in a clip. She was redoing the clip. I was envious how seamless she made it look. Two seconds and voilà, done. Insta-beautiful.
“So.” Palma raised her eyebrows at me, waiting for a response.
