I frowned. Beautiful?
“You thought I was here to rob you two minutes ago,” I reminded him. “Are you actually hitting on me right now?”
He shrugged.
“It’s not every day a pretty girl sneaks into my apartment in the dead of night,” he told me. “If you’re not a burglar, I’ve got to wonder what other reason you might have for being here, don’t I?”
I gaped at him, lips actually parting in shock.
“You think I came here to–” I started, shaking my head. “In your dreams.”
“Maybe,” he admitted, grinning.
Scoffing, I made an effort to pull myself up but only succeeded in scraping the hell out of my thighs as they slid down against the exterior wall again. My feet found the ledge again but only barely. I breathed out as I glanced back down at the street and cursed myself for it an instant later.
“If you need help, all you have to do is ask,” he said. His tone was light, amused.
My glare shot straight through him.
“I’m fine,” I snapped. “I don’t need you.”
He shrugged, pushing off the wall and backing into the hallway behind him.
“Suit yourself,” he replied easily. “Call me when you’re ready for me to pull your stubborn ass back inside. Then we can discuss what you were or weren’t doing here.”
I growled as he left the room and then redoubled my efforts to lift myself up off this ledge, but there was nowhere to get a good enough grip and my feet kept sliding back down precariously close to missing the thin edge that supported them. I looked down at the street one more time. Was I really going to die here rather than ask that arrogant Third Ringer for help? Honestly, maybe.
Finally, with a howl of rage, I called out to him.
“Okay, fine,” I cried.
A few moments later, his head poked around the corner of the doorframe.
“You called?” he asked in a singsong tone that made me want to punch him in the throat.
I rolled my eyes but he didn’t move. The asshole was going to make me say it.
“I need your help,” I ground out through gritted teeth.
He beamed as he entered the room and approached the window. He leaned into the opening and held out a hand.
“Was that so hard?” he asked cheerily and I really did consider punching him in the throat.
But then he was pulling me inside and I was stepping back into Adrian’s room, wind blowing my hair all around me. He closed the window as I got my bearings and stood up straight. Even in the darkness, I could see him better now. Tall and lanky with bouncy brown hair he kept running a hand through and dimples every time he grinned at me, this was the roommate. I knew him. At least, I knew of him. There wasn’t anyone in all of Sanctuary who hadn’t heard about the way he’d stood up to Cosmo in front of the Tenth, Adrian’s own brothers at his side as he challenged Viper injustice.
I took a step away from him, gaze narrowing in examination. He was a wild card, one I wasn’t prepared for, and now there was a fourth power in play in Sanctuary. I had no way of knowing this nameless roommate wasn’t one of the rebels I’d just discovered residing within the city.
“You weren’t robbing me,” he said slowly, eyes dropping to my pockets as if he actually expected to find something hidden there. “And you didn’t come here to climb into my bed. So why are you here? And who are you?”
Both fair questions. Neither of which I had an answer for. If I told him who I was I put my whole House at risk. He would tell everyone a member of House Avus had been sneaking into his apartment late at night. With things already so volatile down here on the lower rings, we didn’t need a scandal like that tipping the balance. As for why I was here, I didn’t really have an answer for that either. Telling him I was here because I didn’t trust his former roommate, because I believed she’d beenharboring a secret I was determined to reveal, wouldn’t win me any favors.
There was one thing I could tell him. It was something I knew I needed to tellsomeone.I’d fully expected that someone to be Milo, however. I thought I’d probably go to him after it all spun out of my control. I’d wait too long to admit I needed help like I always did, but maybe this way was better. Maybe this roommate could help.
“You know the Bexleys,” I said.
He blinked at me, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic. Clearly, this hadn’t been what he’d expected me to say. But then, a moment later, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair again while shaking his head.
“That’s why you’re here?” he asked. “You’re one of them?”
