“I’m not going anywhere,” I say. “If I have to sit on these steps and wait until you need to leave again, that’s fine with me. I can do that.”
“I’ll only speak to you in the presence of my lawyers,” she says, moving closer to the door and speaking through the slot.
Knowing how close she is sends my whole body into frenzy. My heart slams against my ribs.
“Is that what you need?” I ask.
No answer.
I step back from the door, the physical pain of it real, then lean into the car window as Atlas lowers it.
“I need you two,” I say, pointing at the twins.
“And not me?” Drako protests.
“No. Not you.”
He looks scandalized as Atlas and Apollo get out without a word.
We cross the street and step over the fence. When I reach for the mail slot again, the door opens.
Nina holds it from the inside, watching my every move.
“I’m going to kill you, Atlas,” she says, threatening—but my friend only offers her a calm smile.
“Hi, Nina. I’d love to say how good it is to see you—and maybe get a hug. Would you allow that?” he asks, still smiling.
I roll my eyes.
As if it were that easy. As if Nina would open the door just because he—
The door opens wider.
I stare, stunned, as Nina glares at Atlas.
“I still want to kill you,” she says.
He steps forward and hugs her. He murmurs something in her ear, too low for Apollo or me to hear.
“It’s good to see you,” he says louder. “Really good.”
“I don’t know if I can say the same,” she replies—and this time there’s no irony in her voice. “Hi, Apollo.”
“Hi, Nina.” The other Xpanos twin steps in, kisses her cheek, and hugs her.
The need to touch her—to claim the same right they just had—is overwhelming. I want more. Much more.
But now isn’t the time to test my luck.
When Apollo steps away, she finally looks at me.
Air floods my lungs and I gasp as they work at full capacity for the first time in five long years. Her heart-shaped lips presstogether at my silence, but I can’t break it—only stare and try, obsessively, to remember how they taste.
“They’re not my lawyers,” she says sharply, her tone nothing like the warmth she gave my brothers. “They’re yours.”
“They’re ours. Because I won’t work against you, Nina.”
“Do I need to apologize for not believing you? Or is that unnecessary? I think it’s unnecessary.”
