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Now that I’ve reconnected with Alize, the weight of my two-day insomnia starts to settle on my shoulders. I can deal with this—whateverthisis—when I wake up. She’s safe for now, and tomorrow I can work on regaining her trust.
The quicker I do that, the quicker things can get back to normal.
I can finally give her the relationship she wanted.
The bright lights and noises inside the House do nothing for my foul mood. I plow through a group of brothers standing in the hallway. Hopefully, my rooms are far away enough from the din that I can put in my earbuds and go straight to sleep.
I climb the first set of stairs two at a time though my legs burn.
The tiredness starts to hit me all at once. How did I not realize I felt this horrible? There’s an ache in my bones, and a dull headache gathering behind my eyes. My stomach is a raw wound, stinging and constricting upon itself. The last time I ate was also the last time I slept.
I should get something to eat, but a warm, soft bed seems more appealing now.
Soon, I’m hobbling down the breezeway toward my room. The walkway is dark—there are no other rooms up here but mine—and despite my dulled senses, I feel the need to take my gun out of my waist, just in case.
My instincts were right.
Two shadowy figures come into view, one leaned against my door, the other blocking the path beyond it. I’ve got the closest one in the scope of my glock, milliseconds away from pulling the trigger when my eyes adjust to the darkness and I recognize who they are.
“Fuck,” I curse, lowering my weapon. “Why the fuck would you guys stand here in the dark like creeps?”
Vance is standing in the hallway, his muscled arms folded across his chest. He looks like he’s just come back from soccer training—his dark hair is spiky, the sides slick and sticking to his ears. He’s dressed in a sleevelessSaint Frederic Devilsjersey that shows off his full sleeve of tattoos, and a pair of soccer shorts.
Unlike him, Ezra looks like he’s just rolled out of bed—the way he always looks. His tall, sinewy frame is leaned against my door. His dark, coily hair is loose in a tangle of wild curls, and he’s dressed in a long-sleeved jumper with gray sweatpants. Even in the dull light, the silver piercings in his nose and ears glint menacingly.
Quite the pair, they are.
Too bad I don’t have time for this.
“This was the only place we’re sure you would show up eventually,” Vance mutters, looking me over. “Where we could talk in private.”
Talk.
Instantly, I’m on the defensive. They waylaid me just to “talk” to me when they both have my number and we’re all on the Kingmaker Council? This is starting to feel like some sort of an intervention.
Ezra pushes off the door, standing to his full height. He’s the tallest of the three of us, but sometimes it’s easy to forget with how laidback he can be. “What the fuck’s going on, Alex?”
“I don’t have time to talk about this right now,” I say, starting to move toward the door.
Ezra shifts to stand in my way.
“That’s too fucking bad,” he says. “You don’t have a choice.”
Vance steps in closer, so the two of them are crowded in front of my door.God, this is so fucking annoying.I step back. “Can we at least sit down inside?”
They look between each other then step aside. The two of them follow me into the living room. I settle into one of the armchairs, Vance takes the other one, and Ezra sinks into the sofa.
They’re both wearing this fucking pitiful expression.
“Well, what do you want?” I look at my watch. It’s minutes to nine. “In case you haven’t noticed, I need to fucking sleep.”
“Oh, we’ve noticed,” Ezra says with a frown.
He pauses, looking me over like he’s trying to weigh his words. These motherfuckers have been my friends for nearly half a decade, and we’ve never had a problem talking to each other—even about the hard shit.
“Come on, just spit it out,” I hiss.
It’s Vance who speaks. “What’s up with you and Allie, man?” he says. “First, you’re on a bender because she’s broken up with you, then we get told she’s broken the Treaty and the whole fucking school starts preparing to kill her, and now you two are engaged?”
