Tamsin blinked, her expression mockingly serious. “A date? You?”
“I know,” Nox replied. “She was the brave one. I showed up clean and on time, which was already a personal best. So, we’re sitting together, chatting, and she asks me what I do for work.”
Tamsin leaned forward a little, clearly already bracing herself for whatever was coming.
“I tell her,” Nox said, “that I smuggle wolves out of the country, steal military intel, and occasionally blow up government checkpoints if I’m feeling really spicy.”
“Was she thrilled?” Bishop asked.
Nox pointed. “She was. Said—and I quote—’So, you’re good with your hands then?’”
Tamsin groaned. “No, she did not…”
“Oh, yes,” Nox continued, his teeth flashing. “So, I looked her dead in the eye and said, ‘I’m better with my mouth.’”
There was a beat.
Then Tamsin burst out laughing, the kind of laugh that tipped her sideways into Bishop’s shoulder. Even Bishop cracked a smile, shaking his head.
“God help us,” I muttered, but I couldn’t stop the grin pulling at my mouth either.
Tamsin wiped at her eyes, still smiling. “Fine. You win. You win the whole stupid contest.”
Nox bowed slightly. “As I should.”
The bourbon bottle moved again, passed between hands in an easy rhythm. The wind kept tugging at us, the sea kept rolling, the engine kept humming steadily toward England.
And for a few minutes, we weren’t soldiers or wolves or fugitives.
We were just people on a boat, laughing at bad jokes because we’d all seen too much of the alternative.
Tamsin leaned back against the rail and sighed, a quieter sound now. “Thank you,” she said softly.
None of us asked what for, because we all knew.
CHAPTER 17
Tamsin
I was tipsy.
Not drunk. The world wasn’t spinning. I wasn’t stumbling either. Just warm and glowing and it felt really good.
We’d told a few more jokes and my ribs still ached from laughing. Eamon had laughed enough that he almost spilled the bourbon, and Bishop… well, Bishop hadalmostsmirked, which might have been the rarest miracle of all.
I leaned back on the bench for a moment, letting the wind lick at my face, letting their voices drift into a low background hum. I could have stayed there, curled between them, warm and adored, forever.
But I wasn’t quite ready to sit still.
“I’m going to check on the grownups,” I exclaimed, sliding to my feet.
Eamon looked up. “You want company?”
I shook my head, a smile tugging at my lips. “If I don’t come back in five minutes, assume Elias has tied me to the mast.”
“That’s not as comforting as you think it is,” Nox muttered.
“Don’t wait up,” I teased.
