Page 35 of Infamous Heart

“It’s sex, not state secrets!” Xander blurted out, smacking the table louder than necessary.

“Yes, it’s Sebastian. I think it’s a thing. We haven’t gotten to that conversation, but I’m hopeful.” I was about to reveal his secret about the Legos, but I decided that was a detail for just me. “And just so you know, Alejandro, he’s a stud in the bedroom.”

“That’s our boy.” Alejandro patted me on the cheek. “Glad to hear somebody realized you’re a catch.”

“Last night,” I shifted uncomfortably, but I couldn’t resist, “let’s just say he injected some pep in my step.”

“Did he just make a sex joke?” Alejandro rested the back of his hand on my forehead. “He’s not sick.”

Okay, now I rolled my eyes. They were never going to let me live this down. If they weren’t my friends, I’m pretty sure I’d hate them. Bring on the ribbing. I’d survive their best attempts to turn my face red.

“We should probably take his temperature.” Xander reached for the red duffle bag filled with his medical gear. “Oh wait, I don’t think I have a meat thermometer.”

“Guys,” Bernard waived them off, “leave him alone. It’s mean to mess with somebody who is getting fucked stupid on a regular basis.”

“Bernard,” my jaw dropped, “you too?”

“Yup.” He straightened his back as he stroked his moustache. “Good for you, kid.”

The joking didn’t faze me, but a simple compliment from Bernard made my cheeks burn. It had been a while since I came to the coffee shop with a victory in my pocket. I didn’t want to brag, but I was glad they understood how much this one meant to me.

“Chad,” Bernard yelled, “get Griffin a coffee. We’re celebrating him getting laid twice… by the same guy.”

Dead. I wanted them all dead. I didn’t know how, but I would get them back. If it required me to make a pact with an ancient Norse God and swearing my allegiance to the underworld, I would have my revenge.

Bernard’s smile stretched until he bared his teeth. Best friend, or arch-nemesis, only time would tell.

He lifted his coffee, saluting me. “So, what’s everybody up to today?”

* * *

I let out a yawn. Three coffees had done nothing to shake the need for sleep. Reaching for the door, I gave my head a light shake, loosening the relentless cobwebs. The Vietnamese food had been enjoyable, and Sebastian wasn’t joking about his culinary skill, but I should have left before that. No, instead I let my affection override common sense and I spent half the night working on the design package for Damien.

With a little time to kill, I needed the opinion of the one artistic person I trusted. It just so happened that Lydia was also more jolting than any amount of caffeine. I had barely cracked the door when her screech filled the comic bookstore.

“Griffin!”

Yup, I was right. With one screeching word, my heart thumped, and my ears rang. I stepped inside the store to see that she had already changed hair color since I saw her last. Now an electric green ponytail stood nearly a foot straight off her head. The font on her black sleeveless hoodie had a matched her hair, reading a bold, “My Sword is Bigger than Your Dick.”

“Did you read it? Please tell me you read it. If you didn’t read it, you need to leave.”

“Do you wake up like this? Or does it require drugs?”

“Jerk,” she leaned over the counter with the cash register. “What did you think?”

Every time I stumbled over my design last night, I paused to read a few pages ofDie. Hero. Die.If I had entered the store without reading it, there was no way Lydia would avoid spoilers.

“It was good, really good. I have to say, I didn’t see the twist coming.”

“Right? It’s literally in the title. They didn’t mean him dying physically, they meant the death of a hero. That’s ballsy.”

“You think?”

“He literally tore the heart out of his girlfriend’s chest.”

I shook my head. “He did it to save the people in the building from dying. There wasn’t a choice, either kill her or kill them. He sacrificed her for the better—“

“Wait,” she shook her head, waving at me to stop talking. “You’re defending what he did? A hero doesn’t kill people. That’s part of the code.”

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