Link coughs, masking a chortle.
“She’s talking about fuckin’ Advil, you morons!” Atlas fumbles to clear his name from the dirt I’m dragging onto him.
“I like you already.” Carter grins at me.
“Well, that’s an entertaining birthday,” Dean says, pulling my attention.
“It’s your birthday?” I ask, and he nods. “Happy birthday! Sorry about the whole...” I wave my hand, unsure of what to apologize for first, “... everything.”
“Thateverythingis what makes today enjoyable.”
“Atlas failed to mention it’s a birthday party,” I say, opening my bag, scurrying around its contents. “My father used to say that showing up to one empty-handed signals disrespect. But I have a giftfor you... kinda.”
“You don’t have to,” Dean protests.
I pull out my butterfly knife, using the bottom of my shirt to wipe off the prints.
“What... ?” Dean doesn’t give an impression of someone who can’t finish a sentence.
“She’s not going to give you a weapon with her prints on it,” Atlas answers for me.
Is there an undertone of pride in his words, or am I hallucinating?
I pin my attention back on him, abandoning the job at hand. He is starting to get to know me, and thatalmostgets under my skin in a good way, but I’m still too pissed to spare him anything other than a stabby glare.
Placing the knife in my open palm, I extend it to Dean.
“It’s nothing special, but it has a reinforced fiberglass blade with a polypropylene handle. Passes through metal detectors.”
Dean cocks a brow, and the corner of his lip pulls to the side. Impressed? Because of a simple knife? They all carry weapons, including knives. Why the reaction, then?
“I wouldn’t wanna leave you defenseless,” Dean says with an even tone, still not taking the knife from my palm.
“Well, I know in my current state,” I point at the fashionable outfit Atlas put together for me. “I might look that way, but I can assure you, I’m anything but defenseless. Besides, I have a taser in my bag.”
“You have a taser and a knife, and you didn’t use them on me?” Atlas asks, his tone hitting a pitch higher in surprise.
“The night is still young,” I answer, my eyes doing the stabbing, while Dean takes the knife from my palm.
“She was gonna stab you with a fork,” Connor adds with a smirk.
“Snitch,” I throw at him, and Atlas’s fingers dig into my skin, forcing my attention back on him.
He’s grinning ear to ear. Seems that knock to the head did lasting damage.
Link grabs a beer from the fridge, but instead of passing it to Atlas, who extends his hand, he opens it and hands it to me.
“Thanks!”
I take a sip. And choke on it.
“F-fucker!” I cough out the word, feeling the vibrations inside me, regretting the decision to give away my knife.
The beaming smile on that asshole’s face is a dead giveaway to his friends that he’s behind what just happened.
“I’m taking her away for a while,” Atlas says.
He snatches the beer from my hand, putting it on the counter next to us, as he takes a step forward, forcing me to retreat.
