Page 51 of Twisted Ruck

Jay grinned. "If I was to use it, I'd exercise discretion."

"No using it on Dominic King or Otis Skinner," Atlas said. "Unless you and your glitter want a shallow grave."

"Hell no," Jay agreed. "I wouldn't prank Chelsea with it either." He took my hand and held it loosely in his.

"It's nice to know I'm safe from glitter," I said dryly. "What worries me is what not I'm not safe from. You're not going to put thumbtacks on my work chair, are you? Or bring me coffee that has salt instead of sugar? Or put icing on a sponge, pretending it's cake?"

"No, but those are all good ideas," Jay said. "Which one of those have you done?"

"Jay Lang, did you just suggest I'd prank someone? Like, my teachers at school?" I pretended to be outraged.

"You did, didn't you?" Atlas asked, ending the question with a laugh. "I bet you raised hell when you were at school."

"Not really," I said. "I was the one who sat quietly and got my work done. Which is why they never figured out I made the fake cake."

After they both had a good laugh, I added, "That particular teacher was mean. She used to hold the whole class back during lunchtime if one kid did anything wrong. I tried to explain to her that it wasn't fair to punish all of us because one person decided to be a dickhead. She gave me detention, and kept on doing what she was doing."

She was lucky she wasn't around these days, or she could look forward to spending some time with my brother. Which was extreme, even given the way she treated us.

"Sounds like one of my teachers," Jay said ruefully. "He used to get angry at me for being distracted in class. Problem was, I knew the work already and I was bored. Or I didn't understand why we needed to know it. I can focus if I give a shit."

"It sounded like he needed more training," I said. It must be difficult to teach a class full of kids who all had different learning abilities and interests, but no one should be punished for being bored, or if the work wasn't challenging enough.

"Yeah, I guess so." Jay shrugged. "Anyway, Atlas has sidetracked us enough. He was just about to tell us where we're going." He looked over to Atlas, his head tilted sideways.

"No I wasn't," Atlas said. "But you can see it up ahead."

Jay and I both looked.

"Demons' Arena?" I asked. "It's not hockey season yet." Which was a shame, because I would have enjoyed seeing a game with them.

"I know," Atlas said. "Otherwise we'd have seats at the front, right behind the plexiglass. I buy season tickets every year."

"He's slightly obsessed with hockey," Jay said.

"If I wasn't playing footy, I'd be an ice hockey player," Atlas said.

"I'd be a sprinter," Jay said. "Rugby is the only team sport I ever liked. Everything else, I preferred to be an individual."

"No one could accuse you of being anything other than an individual," Atlas said affectionately.

"You too," Jay told him. "So, what are we doing at Demons' Arena? Watching preseason training?"

"Huh." Atlas frowned. "I should have thought of that. Good guess, but no."

"We’re not taking part in an attack like the one that happened five years ago, are we?" I asked carefully.

So many people died in that attack, it was considered a dark time, even by Dusk Bay standards. Just thinking about it gave me chills. I could easily have been there, watching the game. Thankfully, we didn't go that night, but we heard the horror stories afterwards. That was bad enough.

Atlas pointed a finger gun at me. "Also a good idea, but no. We're not attacking anyone. That is to say, an attack isn't on tonight's agenda, but I'm always open to a change of plan. You never know what might happen around here."

"Let's hope that doesn't happen," I said, giving him a well-deserved side eye.

That wasn't my idea of a fun way to spend the evening. Admittedly, I knew plenty of people who would put that at the top of the list. Strangely, my brother wasn't even one of them. The Brantley twins, definitely, but not him. He preferred amore subtle approach, unless there was no other choice. If there wasn't, he'd take part.

"If it does come, we'll be ready," Jay assured me. He squeezed my hand lightly.

In spite of the contact, he didn't make any effort to bring me any closer to him. If he needed his personal space, I was happy to give it to him. I'd wait for him to decide when and if he wanted more.

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