Page 102 of Brazen Mistakes

RJ and I share a glance, but luckily Jay’s too caught up playing with Clara’s hair to see it. That one time lasted months, and while it fixed itself, it was terrifying to watch.

Jansen’s stomach rumbles, breaking my thoughts.

RJ stands with a chuckle, the tiniest grin hinting on Clara’s face, and something eases in me, just a little. This is entirely unconventional. But it’s right for her. And looking at the three of us, talking to each other, checking in not just on work or school or parties, but on our actual health, that’s new.

New closeness.

Deeper friendship.

And she gave that to us.

RJ pulls on his shirt. “I’ll bring up the food. Do I need to tell Trips?”

This gets Jansen’s attention. “He’s already gotten some food.”

“How would you know that?” I ask.

“I ran into him in the hallway a bit ago.”

I barely hold in the laughter that bubbles in my gut. “Back when you were buck-ass naked and still all blissed out?”

“Yup. Then.” Jay looks somewhere between sheepish and chuffed, like he can’t decide if he should be embarrassed when also, if Clara had her way, he’d have been in here with us.

RJ’s laugh is full, and while I don’t want to wake up Clara, I can’t help it when I join him.

Clara murmurs but doesn’t wake. And after grabbing food, none of us wants to leave her alone. So we don’t.

Chapter 37

Clara

The room is half-lit when I startle upright, sandwiched between RJ and Walker. The gasp that accompanied my sudden bout of wakefulness has a figure spinning in the chair to face me, revealing Jansen sitting cross-legged in front of RJ’s set up.

He pulls me into his lap before I let out a strangled breath, pressing my damp face to his chest to hide my tears.

He holds me in the quiet dark, the silence so unusual I don’t know what to make of it. But it feels too good to question, so I curl into him, calming my pounding heart while he twists my hair around his fingers.

Back in control, I shift so I’m sitting sideways across his lap. “What time is it?”

“A littleafter one.”

“That’s almost a full night’s sleep for me right now,” I say, not sure if I want a pat on the head for sleeping so long or a reprimand for still not getting enough of the stuff.

Instead of giving me either, he presses his lips to my cheek, focused on the dark interior of a house scattered across RJ’s many monitors.

“What are you looking for?”

“Just surveillance for a minor job.”

“Am I invited?”

He stands with me in his arms, moving across the room and sitting down with me by a pile of plates and bowls. “Grilled cheese?” he asks.

I’ll take that as a no.

I grab a triangle of sandwich and carefully pick off chunks, forcing myself to chew and swallow them. “Were you heading to bed soon, then?”

“Nah. I’m not tired yet.”

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