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“Oh my god,” Sy’s voice echoes down the hall.

“Shut the fuck up!” Nick snaps back. “Did you see that thing? It was fucking huge!”

A moment later, Nick and Sy appear in the doorway. Nick’s jaw is clamped tight, eyes darting back toward the hall. Sy is bent over in a state of barely contained laughter.

“Jesus Christ,” Remy snaps, lowering his gun. “You almost took a bullet.”

“Seriously. The last thing we need is another stabbing,” I add, taking a breath to settle my racing heart and put the blade away.

Remy narrows his eyes at Nick. “Was that you screaming?” He pauses, then adds, “Like a girl?”

“Shut up.” Nick glares at him while glancing back down the hall. “You didn’t see that thing.”

“He thinks he saw a rat,” Sy says through a gasp for air, while he shakes his head at his brother. “At least he didn’t piss himself.”

“Oh.” Remy scratches his forehead and nods. “Gotcha.”

“I never pissed myself,” Nick says defensively. “That was spilled beer.”

“Of course,” Remy says, sharing an amused look with Sy.

“What’s going on?” I ask. There are times like this when I see how deep their bond is, how far they go back. They know everything about each other, good, bad, and embarrassing.

“The great Nick Bruin is scared of vermin,” Sy says simply.

“I’mnotscared.”

“Sure you’re not.” Sy rolls his eyes at his brother, pushes past him to wrap his arms around me, and lifts me off the ground. “Hey, baby.” He kisses me like it’s been a month, not three days. “Missed you.”

“I was just surprised,” Nick continues to argue, pushing him out of the way. “Those nasty fuckers carry diseases and you just know they’ll eat your eyes out if they get a chance.”

“When would they get a chance to eat your eyes out?” Sy asks. “You were walking down the hall.”

“How did you find us down here?” I ask as Nick kisses down my throat, sending a ripple of goosebumps down my arms.

“Tracker,” he says, pulling back and running a thumb over the spot. “It’s accurate as fuck.”

I used to fight against the tracker, but after Laura’s disappearance, and spending time down here, yeah, I’m okay with my men knowing how to find me.

“Should’ve known we’d find you surrounded by lots of words,” Sy says, thumbing through a stack of old papers. “Find anything interesting?”

“Don’tget her started,” Remy says, lowering himself into a wooden desk chair that creaks under his weight. I don’t miss the way he gently holds his side. “It’s all murder and conspiracy theories.”

“When were you planning on telling me about this building, anyway?” I ask Sy, happy to change the subject.

He grimaces. “Yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean to exclude you. I was just processing everything, I guess.”

“It’s okay,” I tell him. It’s been a wild few months for all of us. “It’s a cool place, and it definitely came in handy this weekend.”

Nick smirks. “You mean it makes a perfect loser’s den?”

“I may be injured,” Remy says, jabbing an inked finger in his direction, “but I will still kick your ass, Bruin.”

“The apartment needs some work, but it’s comfortable. There’s a nice view of the city, and there’s plenty of room.”

“Big enough for the four of us?” Sy asks, catching my train of thought. I love the clock tower. It’s cozy and more of a home than the cold house I grew up in, but we can’t stay there forever. That building belongs to DKS and my men are about to outgrow it.

“Maybe with a renovation,” I consider. “Saul put some work into the kitchen and main suite, but there’s more room than that. At least a guest room, maybe an office,” I raise an eyebrow, “or a library. Archie would love the windows.”