I curse, digging through our stockpile of supplies before realizing we don’t have anything that will work. “You’re an asshole.” I turn back towards the stairs, cursing all the while, and Yri joins me as we forage for something that will work since every business is of course closed right now.
We end up at the forge, grabbing a portable power drill, iron rings, and some rope. We make it back to the rooftop nearly an hour later. It’s another thirty minutes before we have it rigged up to fly beneath ours long enough to get a picture before taking it down, the antenna groaning and bending under the weight.
I collapse in a heap, more exhausted than I’ve ever been in my life. “I could sleep for a week.” I lean back against the small brick wall, tempted to pass out here and now.
“How’d you get Boris to let you steal the whole door?” Elias asks curiously.
I pin him with a glare. “Three hundred bucks.”
All four of my brothers don the same incredulous look I no doubt had when I was confronted with the offer. “That’s obscene!” Kinsley exclaims in horror.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Sure as shit was, so thanks a lot.”
Kaiden shares a look with Kahl, one I know all too well and I internally laugh maniacally at whatever horrific fate is about to befall Boris. I’ll never see that money again, but he’s definitely going to end up with more than he bargained for.
When Soren comes to sit beside me I end up leaning against his arm, already half asleep. “So, does defeat taste as bitter as they claim?” I taunt, but the effect is ruined by my yawn.
“Your little boyfriends surprised us, it won’t happen next time,” Kahl backhandedly praises.
I open an eye at his word choice, searching his gaze. He dips his head, effectively giving his approval before he stabs through his sleeping bag from the inside. He jerks a hand up through as much of the tape as he can, busting through the rest once he makes enough progress. The others follow his lead and soon all of them are free.
“What happened to the no weapons rule, you cheaters?”
Kaiden flips his knife shut, striding over to slap it into my palm. “Always assume your opponent is armed. Never leave yourself vulnerable by choice, Ez, or I’ll be carving ‘dumbass’ into your tombstone.”
He always comes across as harsh and callous, but I get now that it’s just because he’s worried. No matter how much they’ve tried to drill lessons into my head, unless they become second nature to me, they won’t matter. I curl my fingers around the weapon before tucking it into my pocket with a nod of thanks and meet his hard gaze.
“It’s not cheating because the rules were made up in the first place.”
His eyes soften nearly imperceptibly. “And it doesn’t matter if they’d go to jail for breaking them because you’d already be dead.”
Soren adjusts his arm so that I’m leaning more fully into his side as his arm wraps around me. It’s the first time he’s been this bold; it’s almost like he can sense something in the air, knows that something’s changed. He’s tense for a minute, seeing how I’m going to react. When I don’t pull away he starts to relax.
“Ready to head home, little dragon?” he rumbles beside me, the vibrations coursing into my chest and settling low in my stomach.
I groan, the very thought of walking back across town making me want to jump off the roof. “I’m pretty sure my feet will fall off.”
Cai drags over the ruined sleeping bags, tossing one at my feet. “If you’re going to pass out on the roof, may as well be a little more comfortable.”
I’ve never been camping. I get now that my brothers didn’t want to risk us getting ambushed, to leave ourselves exposed like that. As much as a bed sounds appealing, immediate sleep sounds far better.
The triplets are already arguing, but Elias cuts them off. “She’s on the highest building in the city and there are walls wrapping around it; it’s not like she’s going to get shot. And those two managed to hold their own against all of us even without her or Vyrian’s help.”
Kahl reluctantly sighs. “It’s not like you’re a kid, Ez; we’re just overprotective. Stay safe.”
Kaiden scowls. “Keep your knife on you. Stab first, ask questions later.”
Kinsley comes over and muses up my hair before heading towards the fire escape. “We barely get to see you as it is. Lunch tomorrow?”
I agree and they leave without a fight. We rearrange the shredded camping gear into a mock bed, the four of us stretching out and already planning new ideas for the next game.
