Page 63 of Muzzled

Ryan waved the phone off. “Then order them properly.”

Flicking his knee, she faced Bo and rolled her eyes. “Ignore him. I have copies of those back in my suite I can give you right away. The river paintings are some of my favorites, so I always stock up on prints.”

Bo smacked the back of Ryan’s head. “I don’t know how you put up with this miserable tight-ass,” he said to her, dropping his phone onto his lap.

She gave Ryan’s shoulder a quick kiss and laughed. “I happen to adore this miserable tight-ass.”

The other twin, Alex, snickered and sprawled out the best he could in the small space. “Adore, hey?”

“It’s her polite way of saying she tolerates me,” Ryan interjected, glancing at her with a smile before he pulled into the restaurant parking lot. “Are you okay with Greek tonight?”

“I’m up for Greek every night,” she replied, grinning when a howl rose from the back seat.

He parked and lolled his head against the headrest. “Don’t give them ammo.”

Bo poked his head between them. “I’m going to make this the most awkward meal you’ve ever had, Ryan. Let’s eat.”

*

Ryan sat backand watched Micah flip another napkin open and look expectantly at Alex.

“Charon’s staff.”

Her eyes narrowed in contemplation for a moment, her lips pursing as her pen began to move across the delicate paper. When Bo leaned in for a better view, she pulled it closer to her until she finished, then shoved her drawing across the table with a flourish. “Well?”

“That’s pretty impressive,” Alex muttered, lifting the napkin up and frowning as he examined the details.

Bo nodded in agreement. “Very fucking impressive. Now show us a face. Any face. See if we can figure it out.”

Her eyes lit up with the challenge and she grabbed another napkin from the dispenser. “If you can guess it, you’re buying dessert.”

“If we’re upping the stakes, there need to be limitations,” Alex countered with a grin. “First, none of the usuals that have shown up in your other pieces. Between us, we’ve probably seen all your work, so no Persephone, no Hades, no Atropos, no—”

“No copycat art,” she finished for him, then laughed. “I got it. I want cheesecake.”

Ryan monitored her expressions as she got to work, the first vague sweeping lines taking shape while she hunched over the table, brows knotted. “Hey,” he said quietly when her eyes began to glaze over. “Why don’t we give your fingers a break and focus on that cake?”

Although she blinked and hummed in acknowledgement, her pen continued to fly across the napkin, small tears appearing as the pen dug into the weak fibers.

“Micah.”

Her nose wrinkled and she pulled her work in tighter.

He glanced across the table at his brothers, their wary expressions mirroring his own.

“Mic—”

“Done,” she announced and shoved the artwork across the table. “Tell me who this is.”

Bo stared at the face, the muscles in his jaw flexing as Alex swallowed and gave her a tight smile. “Augustus Brooker. Cheesecake is on Bo.”

Ryan exhaled and grabbed a dessert menu. “Pick your poison.”

“Who is that?” she asked, scanning the menu briefly before she closed it.

The twins looked to him, and he turned his attention to the salt shaker, while the server took his time returning to their table. “Old acquaintance.”

“How old?”

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