Page 27 of In Prey We Trust

Sighing, I cross my arms over my chest. “I don’t like how they look at the Princess. And… Aubrey hates sphinxes.”

Fitz pauses for a half a second, then bursts into laughter. Chess is as puzzled as I am, but my twin is cracking up so hard, tears start running down his face. He can’t even breathe long enough to do more than hold a finger up—luckily for him, not the middle one—so I fume as I wait for him to stop.

“Fitz, for the love of Neptune’s crabs, give us a break here,” Chess grumbles as he rubs the back of his neck. “What’s so goddamn funny?”

“You… the two of you…” He mimics an angry face that cannot possibly be how we look. “Fuck, you’re worse than the Capsaicin Crusader over there. This is the best day ever.”

My arm shoots out and I grab him by the collar, tugging him eye to eye. “Fitzgerald…”

“Oooh, he’s gonna ‘Raj’ me ‘cause he’s jelly.” My brother hoots again and wipes his eyes, not remotely concerned with my death grip on his shirt. “You need to get out more. I invited them to the game because they’re funny as hell and I had a little ‘meet cute’ in mind for Baby Girl’s gangster friend.”

I drop him as his words hit me like a bricked bat. “Well, shit.”

“I knew I sensed something,” Chess mutters under his breath.

Fitz reaches over and ruffles the cheetah’s topknot, making him look adorably messy. “Baby, you know better. No more nakey time outside the fam; it’s a rule.”

He crosses his heart as he pouts at Chess, and I roll my eyes. “Yes, thank you for that image. But you could have told us you were playing Cupid, dummy.”

“I just did…duh.”

Sometimes, I’m not sure how I managed not to murder my twin long before we got to Apex.

“Let’s go see what the others are doing over in the non-textbook section, shall we?” I roll my eyes at Fitz, but he grins like a loon in return. I think he enjoyed seeing Chess and I get possessive—perhaps even set it up. He’s always on us about showing emotion more. Troublemaking little shit.

“C’mon, Chessie. Maybe the poetic prat and his savory scholar found more of those racy books that get Baby Girl all blushy. I love when she reads them to me.” My brother drags the cheetah along, babbling about dirty books with gusto, and I shake my head.

Fitz excited about reading is a new one; I’ll give her that.

Putting aside my irritation at the proprietors of this place, I follow them downstairs. The levels set below ground are cool and dimly lit, like a movie temple just as the main floor is, and it’s hiding how massive their inventory really is. The flying duo is each leaning against a shelf, watching Dolly as she slides around on a ladder with her bum in the air as she reaches for things. They could help her, but hell if I can blame them for ogling instead. It’s a sight to behold and even I can admit that.

“Baby Girl, I see London!” Fitz yells as he barrels down the aisle. Our friends give him a dirty look, but he doesn’t notice as he tugs Chess along to stand underneath her. “And now I see France.”

“I’ve told you to stop calling my pussy that. You are not Napoleon, you lunatic,” she replies as she stretches up to grab a thick tome that must be several books in one. “Rennie, look I found the one with the girl who pretends to be a boy.”

“Excellent choice, ma petite. Did you find a paranormal one, too? One with dragons should be amusing,” the gargoyle says as he bobs his brows.

“No dragons!” Aubrey growls. “They don’t do it right and I can’t abide poor research.”

My brows furrow as I look at them all in surprise. “Does she have you all reading smutty books with her?”

A ripple of sheepish looks runs across my entire ambush and I snort. “Holy hell, Princess. You even converted the literary purist. Good on you.”

She turns on the ladder and crosses her arms over her chest, arching a brow at me. “Perhaps you’ll be lucky enough to find out why they all like reading with me now that you’re not being such a tool, Raj?”

Ouch. I deserved that one, I suppose.

“Fine. Just nothing with wolves. I fucking hate those flea-bitten assholes.”

Dolly rolls her eyes and holds her hand out, ticking her fingers one by one. “Good goddess. No dragons, no wolves, no TSTL chicks, no law enforcement, no this, no that… it’s getting harder to find things based on all of your rules, boys.”

Fitz pouts. “Hey! No one likes the po-po, D. That’s fair.”

I shrug. “He’s right.”

Huffing, she holds her free hand out and Renard takes it so she can leap off the ladder to the floor. “Thanks for the assist, Rennie.” Dolly pushes up on her toes and kisses him lightly, then hands Aubrey the books she wants to add to the pile he’s holding. “Did you guys come down because they’re ready for us?”

Chess chokes, putting his hand over his mouth, and I slap him on the back. “No, we followed Fitz. He seemed very interested in your… reading habits.”

---