Page 160 of Shades of Silver City

“No wonder he likes you.” Pixel smiles as she works. “You two are perfect for each other.”

A booming laugh catches my attention, and I cross the room in time to hear Remy say, “Well, it’s a good day for you, asshole, cause I’m finally coming home with ya, boy.”

“Glad to hear it,” Archer says, trying to conceal his pleasure. “Godric can show you to an apartment.”

Godric mutters something under his breath, descending the ladder. He hesitantly strides toward Remy, and the two stare at each other with their arms crossed.

“Never mind,” Remy mutters, turning toward the door. “Forget I came. I prefer the streets.”

“Fucking wait,” Godric hisses. Remy pauses with his hand hovering above the handle. “We have shit to talk about. Come on, old man.”

I hold my breath as Remy lowers his hand. Finally he turns to follow his estranged son. The two head toward the elevator and out of sight.

“That’s huge,” I say on an exhale.

A fleeting look of worry crosses Archer’s face. Then it morphs into a small smile. “It’s something.”

We’re coming, Scathe says. Be there in three…two…

The front door groans open again with a loud creak. Scathe bounds in, with Zeke right behind him.

“What is it?” Archer asks in alarm. Understandably so, considering these two are supposed to be working—Zeke in the lab and Scathe downtown, keeping an eye on things.

“Gotta show ya something, boss,” Zeke says with a grin. His mohawk is growing out, flopping over into his face. I don’t know how it doesn’t drive him nuts to constantly have green strands in his line of vision.

“Hey, Zeke!” Pixel calls.

“Little genius,” Zeke responds.

“Tell me why you’re here. What is it?” Archer says, using his stern voice. The one that means business. The one that sends a tickle zipping between my legs.

I bite my lip, tamping down the lust so we can show Archer what we got.

“So…don’t freak out,” I say.

He spins to face me, stress wrinkles on his forehead. When he reaches up to run a hand through his hair, I know we’re really making him nervous.

Zeke and I share a look. I nod, and we both remove our hoodies at the same time. Zeke has a medical bandage about the size of a fist taped to his pec. It matches the one on my left inner forearm.

“What is this?” Archer asks, his gaze flitting between us. Pixel shuts her computer, joining us for the reveal. She, Godric, and Scathe knew what we planned, but no one told Archer.

I wanted to surprise him on his birthday.

Zeke goes first, peeling back the bandage to reveal fresh ink and angry, red skin. It’s an exact replica of the Nightcrawler tattoo. The same one Godric, Pixel, Archer, and the others have on their hands.

“It’s a symbol of solidarity. Of loyalty, bro,” Zeke says, smiling at Archer. “I mean, boss. Bro-boss.”

“You idiot,” Archer mutters, but he’s smiling too.

“Couldn’t do it on the hand. Public job and all.”

“Tattoo or not, you’ve always been one of us.” Archer places a hand on Zeke’s shoulder, pulling him in for a side hug. Finally, Archer turns to me, his eyes blazing. “You, too?”

“Not exactly.” I bite down on my lip to keep from smiling as I pull back the bandage on my arm. Unlike Zeke, who got his tattoo done only moments ago, I got mine done yesterday. The skin isn’t as irritated as it was, but the ink is just as vibrant.

“Holy shit,” Archer whispers when I reveal the whole thing.

At his cursing, my laughter breaks free. “You like it?”

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