Page 44 of Obliterated
“Are you ever going to stop with those?” she teases. “I heard they can kill you.”
I snort, smoke curling from my lips. “There are a lot of things that can kill us. I think smoking’s the least of our concerns.”
“Touché.” She clicks her tongue, then bumps her shoulder into mine. “So. Finally able to drag yourself away from your other addiction?”
“He’s not my anything.” The lie is sharp on my tongue.
Her answering cackle echoes over the trees. “Right. You like him. Shit, you watch him like he’s the last star in the sky. Like if you blink, he’ll burn out and be gone.”
I don’t answer. Just smoke, letting the bitter taste ground me while she babbles on like she always does.
“No… it’s not that you like him.” Her tone shifts, softer, cutting closer. “I think youlovehim.”
I kinda want to push her off the wall.
My glare cuts sideways, but she just hops up onto the ledge, arms spread wide, defying the drop below like it’s nothing.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she says, steady as ever, not even glancing my way. “I canfeelthat stupid glare on me. You think loving someone is a bad thing. It’s not. It can be something beautiful. I love you, you know.”
I blink. The smoke catches in my throat and I cough, tears pricking in my eyes. “What?”
“Oh gods, you idiot.” She laughs, shaking her head. “Not like that. You’re like my… big brother. I know you’d have my back. Defend my honor if needed.”
More smoke pours out of me as I scoff. “You don’t need me to defend your honor, Tass. You’d rip the balls off any man stupid enough to try anything with you, hang ’em on a line like laundry, and make him thank you for the privilege.”
She grins sharp, teeth flashing in the moonlight as she hops off the ledge and bumps my shoulder. “Still. You have my back.”
“You know I do, Tass.”
And I do something I’ve never done before—I sling an arm around her strong shoulders and tug her in close, just for a second, before I let go and take another quick drag.
Damn Kieran for making me soft.
She halts mid-step, tilts her head up at me, those sharp slanted eyes catching the moonlight. Surprise flickers there, quick, then something warmer, softer, something I don’t usually see in her. She gives a little nod, her lips twitching like she’s fighting a smile.
“Good,” she says finally, voice low. “I’d kick your ass if you wouldn’t.”
She doesn’t push it, doesn’t make it weird. Just keeps walking, knowing better than to dig at me when I’m already out of character.
We go on, boots crunching against stone, nearing the last building tucked into the corner of the wall. The Den. Joyeus’ domain. Of course she’d set herself up here, chambers high above the rot she makes her coin from. Staying right atop the filth like she thinks it elevates her instead of just proving she’s queen of the gutter.
“Kieran loved the cheesy bread you brought over yesterday,” I finally say to break the silence as I flick the smoke away.
Tass kicks at a loose rock, sighing. “Good, but it’s always bread, fucking fish or vegetables. If I see another damn zucchini, Max, I swear I’m going to start throwing them at people. I want something else. Something real.”
I arch a brow at her. “Like?”
“Like some damn potatoes that aren’t rotten,” she goes on, more dramatic by the second. “I want those long, weird ones.Remember those potato sticks when we were up north last spring? Hot, greasy, salty…”
“Fries?” I supply.
Her whole face lights. “Yes. Fries. I want fucking fries. Gods, I’d trade my boots for them. Hell, I’d even smile at the Council if they gave me a plate.”
Her words fade into the night as our pace slows, the mood shifting without either of us saying a thing. The Den rises ahead, dark and hulking, its white brick walls cracked and lanterns throwing shadows across stone balconies and shuttered windows. The smell of sex and alcohol drifts down, mixing with the sour stench of the street.
We don’t need to speak. We never do, not when it’s time to work. One look is enough and we slip into that rhythm, the one where every step, every breath lines up like we’ve been doing this our whole lives.
Which is partly true.
