Kahl bursts into Eli’s room first, seeing him hefting his backpack strap over his shoulder and glancing at us in amusement. “You’re alright?” Kahl exhales in obvious relief and Eli rolls his eyes.
“Seriously, you’ve been high strung for too long. Live a little,” Eli teases as Kinsley narrows his eyes at his little brother.
Gravitating closer, the back of his hand brushes against mine, and I feel less ridiculous that I’m not the only one jittery and needing reassurance that everyone I care about is okay. “What did you do, Elias?” The stern vibe he’s going for misses the mark because, well, it’sKinsley.He happily casts all forms of responsibility and stress onto his other two-thirds.
“Ididn’t do anything. And certainly not to your car,” he smirks and they cross the room in quick strides, tearing back the heavy curtain and peering out into the driveway. Glancing over Kahl’s shoulder, I see a flash of red scales lit up by the street lamps on the otherwise dark street.
“She didn’t,” Kinsley snorts in amused denial, opening the window to precariously crane his head outside before jogging out of the room.
Kahl’s lip twitches as he deadpans, “Put our car on the roof? You seriously don’t think Ezra would do something like that?” He follows right behind his brother, leaving Eli and I pulling up the rear as we return downstairs. Kaiden’s soaking wet self stalks after his brothers outside, the thirst for revenge clear on his dripping face as he volleys a glare between Eli and the empty driveway as Kinsley fills him in.
I stop in the hallway, staying out of the direct line of sight to the street as neighbors start to emerge to investigate all of the noise, ducking back into the shadows. Jumping as Eli grabs my wrist, I fight the initial reaction to break his nose.
He leans closer, whispering, “I’d skip the shower tomorrow. Consider this your one and only pass, so don’t ruin it by tipping off my brothers, okay? Welcome to the family, Saige.”
Chapter 11
Kinsley
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“Son of a bitch,” Imumble, stuffing my clothes into the washer.
I have to give props to my little brother and that bastard Yri. The dissolvable dye they created and Elias slipped behind the shower head comes out clear, but dries purple. Not only do I still look like a goddamn blueberry two days later, but it rubs off on all of my clothes.
“Eli? You home man?” Donovan hollers, and I curse, sprinting up from the basement.
There’s a grunt of pain and some swearing by the time I launch off of the top step into the hall, rushing into the living room. Saige is straddling his stomach, blade pressed into his slightly bleeding throat. To the kid’s credit, he keeps his hands open on the floor beside his head in surrender, trying to make it clear he isn’t a threat. Honestly, it’s the only thing saving his neck right now.
“Fuck, you’re as bad as the sister.” He’s about the same size as Eli, but with dark brown eyes that have already seen way too fucking much.
“How the hell did you get in here, Donovan?”
He blinks, looking between me and Saige, but his attention continuously gravitates back towards her. “Door was locked so climbed in through Eli’s window,” he replies without remorse. “Where the hell did you find a girl?” His eyes widen for a minute, nervously flicking back to me before addressing Saige directly. “They didn’t abduct you or something, right?”
I snarl. “We didn’t fucking kidnap her. What kind of assholes do you think we are?”
