Page 110 of Dukes of Peril

“Then tattoo Lav.”

I look at her, all smooth and serpentine, her legs soft and begging to have that snake tattoo filled in. “No,” I sigh, deflating. “Vinny’s art, bro. I can’t just put something on her all slapdash and shit. I need time to plan a worthy piece.”

Sy’s eyes narrow in outrage. “But you’d put something on me all slapdash? Fuck you.”

Shrugging, I don’t deny it. “Hey, I don’t look at your skin when I’m getting off.” But then I pause. “Although, the way we’ve been sharing Vinny lately, you and Nickaregetting kind of unavoidable.”

I see the sock he chucks at me coming a mile away, and I easily bat it to the side, chuckling.

When the playfulness fades away, a seriousness fills Sy’s eyes. “Remy, are you going to–”

“No,” I say, unequivocally. “I’m done with the drugs.”

His eyes grow tight. “If it gets that bad, I’d let you tattoo me. You know that, right?”

I grip the door jamb, nodding. “Yeah, Sy. I know.” After an awkward beat, I say, “I’ll leave you alone so you can get that finished.”

He searches my eyes, which is something that used to piss me off, always feeling analyzed. Now, I just meet his gaze back, challenging him to find something.

Finally he rubs his eyes. “Yeah, this fucking paper is driving me crazy.” He looks back at the screen. “Careful with the cat when you come to bed. He gets so fucking territorial.”

Feeling a bit lighter, I toss him a salute. “I’ll be in later. Something I’ve gotta do first.”

I think about stripping down and climbing in with them now. The invitation was a deliberate message.Stay close. My cock twitches at the idea of waking Vinny up and using her to help get the empty feeling out of my gut, but she looks peaceful.Theylook peaceful, so I keep walking.

I grab the pack of cigarettes off my bedside table–smoking, the lamest of vices–before heading upstairs, passing the loft, and climbing the staircase to the clock room. Vinny’s clock pieces are spread out across the floor like a complicated puzzle. I step over them, knowing if I fuck up her organizational system, she’ll get pissed.

Although… there’s something about her when she’s riled up—cheeks pink, eyes shining bright. It’s why Nicky fucks with her so much. He likes it when she fights back. Scratch that—helovesit. The first time she kicked him… well, that was the day he locked in on her for life, imprinting like an animal to its mate.

But even Nicky wouldn’t touch her clock pieces. He’s a possessive, horny fucker, not a dumbass.

I climb the ladder in the corner easily, lifting the hatch and pushing myself up onto the stone of the belfry. For a long second, I just tip my head back, letting the cool gust of night air embrace me.

Finally,sky.

It’s dark up here, but the city provides enough light to navigate around the pillars to an archway overlooking the campus. I hop up on the ledge and fish a cigarette out of the pack, feeling fifteen again, and then light the tip, inhaling.

Clouds cover the night sky, obscuring the stars and moon, but I feel the vibration of our town: the horns honking in the distance, the neon lights over on the Avenue. Sometimes it’s weird to think about Lionel Lucia’s failsafe lurking beneath those streets. Beneath this very tower. A viper hidden in the brush. A glow of red-orange-yellow illuminating the landscape. Forsyth becoming the hot ember on the end of the universe’s cigarette, burning lower and lower with every pull of its lungs.

I’m not sure how long I’m mulling over it, rolling it around like a filter between my fingertips, when the creak of the hatch shatters the stillness. Vinny’s pale hair appears first. Her body rises next, Sy’s hoodie hanging over her shoulders, the hem almost grazing her thighs. My heart skitters at the sight of her, thinking about those pink panties, abouther.

“You’re awake.” I hop down, reaching my hand out, helping her off the ladder.

“Thanks.” Her eyes dart down to the cigarette–my second one. “Everything okay?”

There’s no mistaking the worry in her voice. It’s fair. I don’t fully remember the day she found me up here, carving up my skin. The memory exists, but it’s shadowy, like it’s lost in fog. More feeling than imagery. I know I scared the shit out of her, though. I also know she saved my ass.

“I’m fine. Just getting some sky. Those meetings happen in the ground, you know?” But even as I assure her, my fingers are pushing up the hem of the shirt, my thumb seeking the star. This time though, her hand does the same, dragging down the waist of my jeans to find her matching moon. Goosebumps rise on her skin and I edge closer, scenting her hair. “You cold? We can head back down.”

She shakes her head. “Between Archie and Sy, sometimes it feels like I’m sleeping next to a furnace.” There’s a long pause where she watches me, searching my eyes a lot like Sy did earlier. When her lips part, there’s a tremor in her voice. “Why did you come up here, Remy?”

It’s impossible not to see the fear lining her eyes.

“You heard us talking in his room,” I realize.

She rushes to say, “I wasn’t eavesdropping. I was just in that place.” Deflating, she adds, “You know the one.” That just happens to Vinny sometimes, getting trapped somewhere in the purgatory between sleep and wakefulness. Whatever this thing is with Nick, it must be serious. She hasn't had an episode in a while.

“It’s been nice having Sy back,” I say, tipping my head back to look into the clouds. “When I got out of Saint Mary’s, he started treating me like his patient. Suddenly, it wasn’t cool to fuck around with him anymore. Everything I did had some kind of deeper meaning to him, like I was some kind of puzzle he had to figure out.” When I glance down, she’s frozen, her knuckles warm against my belly. “It’s not that I didn’t understand why he was doing it, because I did. Sy loves me. I never once resented that, but I just… really fucking needed a friend. Instead, I became his burden.” Reaching up, I cup her cheeks in my palms, impressing the words into the wind between us. “I don’t want to be that for you. You don’t need to save me all the time, Vinny.”

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