Page 158 of After the Burn

That did it.

A laugh escaped Adrian before he could stop it, and I threw my hands in the air. “Unbelievable.”

He turned away, coughing into his fist in a pathetic attempt to recover his dignity. “I’m not laughing at you, baby.”

“Really?” I rolled my eyes, not believing him in the least.

“No.” His shoulders shook once. “I’m laughing because I walked in and found two grown-ass men practically holding each other upright while you apparently delivered a lecture on the structural superiority of a vagina.”

Lucas made a choking sound, and Beck bent over again in hysterics.

I glared at all three of them. “This is why women will eventually rule what’s left of civilization.”

Adrian finally regained control and crossed the room to me. “I never doubted it.” He leaned down and kissed my forehead. Then his gaze shifted to the dead rotter. “The building’s clear, except for that one.”

I pointed toward Beck and Lucas. “Good. Because these two are currently useless.”

“Only temporarily,” Lucas managed.

Beck wiped tears from his face. “Give me a minute, and I’ll pussy up.”

All three of them lost it.

Men.

Seemed the apocalypse didn’t change everything.

Wren appeared in the doorway with Rory tucked close to her side, Mojo clutched under the little girl’s arm, and Max pressed against her side.

I feared I’d lost my dog to Rory, but I was okay with it. Maybe the old boy could offer her some comfort after her mother’s loss.

Wren looked from Beck to Lucas, then to me. “What did I miss?”

“Nothing,” all three men said simultaneously.

I smiled sweetly. “A discussion about anatomy.”

Wren’s eyes lit up.

Beck immediately straightened. “No.”

“I haven’t even said anything.” Wren put a hand on her hip.

Colson ducked through the doorway behind her and took in the room in one slow sweep, his gaze stopping on the dead rotter, then on the men’s tear-stained faces, then on Wren in question.

She shrugged. “I don’t know either.”

Finley came in last, and Rory moved to his side. He put one hand near her shoulder as he moved through the room, positioning himself between her and the rotter without making a production of it.

He moved to the old mattress and cleaned it off, then sat Rory on it. She curled her legs beneath her, and Max immediately followed, settling beside her. She leaned into him and relaxed for the first time in hours.

Finley looked around. “This will work.”

His voice was dead. The only thing keeping him among the living was the need to look after Rory. If that hadn’t been the case, I was sure he would have followed Harper to the grave.

Adrian opened one of the filing cabinets. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”

The first drawer held yellowed paperwork and mouse nests.