Page 55

Lucky

Kindness should cost nothing.

When Jayk and Eden leave, we all breathe out, the cautious tension deflating like slow-release balloons, and I laugh softly.

Beau smiles ruefully at me while Kasey runs past with a bar of chocolate in her hand, shouting excitedly for Ava.

Dom has to swerve back to avoid her running right through him as she leaps onto the porch.

Some civilians are up, chattering, and others have started turning in. A few more climb up onto the defensive platforms, watching the Reapers, who don’t seem to be doing much of anything. Which is good, since I really don’t feel like getting up any time soon.

Jasper is lounging on the porch, and his careful expression finally falls away as he looks up at Jayk and Eden’s window. His lips tighten in displeasure.

Called it. Self-sacrificing sadist at it again, setting himself to a nice, slow simmer.

“How bad did that one hurt?” I ask, only half-teasing, and he blinks, tearing his gaze away to give me a wry look.

“Less than it could have, I suppose.” He sighs, stretching out one leg, then shoots one last dour look at their window. “But ask me again tomorrow. He might have done well with us tonight, but he’s still on my last nerve with her—and my patience isn’t unlimited.”

The new, stinging welts on my back tighten as I roll up onto my side. “Beg to differ.”

A smile ghosts his face. “Beg all you like.”

Beau groans, running a hand down his face. A rogue flower pokes up behind his elbow. “Jayk is killing me, too. I still owe him one for kicking me out.”

Dom snorts. “The nads hit wasn’t enough?”

“That was an accident ,” Beau argues hotly, then grins. “Almost entirely, bless his heart.”

I laugh, but my gaze slips back to Jasper. After the fight this morning, I wasn’t sure if he’d be able to let up on Jayk—even if he was twisting his notebook over Jayk’s soft and squishy parts last night. I know how cold he can be.

Jasper wasn’t cold tonight, though.

I smile, watching him laugh softly at Beau.

Jasper is warmer every day.

“Well, whether it hurt or not... it was very gentlemanly,” I tell him softly, and his eyes flick up, sharp and surprised.

He searches my face, like he doesn’t know what to make of me.

“Are you proud of me then, my Lucien?” he murmurs.

I toy with my cup on the grass, enjoying how he’s looking at me. Enjoying his my s and the night and how his skin always looks like pearls under moonlight.

“Yeah, I’m proud of you,” I tell him, and the clear amusement rising in him is equal parts indulgent and gently emotional.

I might even enjoy that the most.

But even while he’s making me want to kick my feet like a lovestruck schoolgirl, I find my eyes drifting up to the window.

I just wish Eden were still here. I kind of even wish Jayk stayed, too.

We all did this. We should be celebrating together.

In fact, if I had my way, I’d pull out the damn grappling hooks right now—fine ass gentleman I am or not.

Because honestly, while I know Jasper is patient, and honorable, and dignified , and I really am super glad he’s taking the high road and all.

.. Jayk is not any of those things, and he’ll take a dump on a high road before using it.

Love is a battlefield, baby, and you’ve got to be in the war to win it.

Jasper’s gaze flicks back up to the window again, irritation simmering across his expression, and I smirk.

It’s probably fine—he’ll boil over sooner or later. And in the meantime, I guess I’ll just have to bravely bear the burden of helping him work out his frustrations.

Check. Mate.

Who the hell said I don’t know how to play chess?

Dom settles back against the porch, looking between us then exchanging a silent amused look with Beau that I don’t miss. I roll my eyes.

“Okay, it’s fine. Don’t worry. I’m proud of you both as well. That was some best behavior magic tonight from everyone. Did you see Jayksey’s lil face?”

“That pure and total panic at the most basic human kindness?” Beau mutters caustically. “Yeah, caught it.”

I grimace. I’m so nice to Jayk. Why is he always so surprised when I’m nice?

“Did you see Eden’s face?” Dom counters, absorbed by the contents of his cup. “It meant something. We should be patient with him.”

“I vote that we have fun with him,” I remark.

Jayk could use a bit of fun.

And what’s more fun than a little friendly competition?

“You’ll do it at your own risk, Lucien. I won’t have Eden mad at me because you want to beat Jaykob at his own game,” Jasper tells me tartly.

Beau rolls onto his back, staring up at the thick clouds. “He’s like her, isn’t he?”

There’s a pause as we all look at him.

“In what way?” Jasper asks.

“I always knew Jayk had a chip on his shoulder, and that he was kind of an asshole who just wanted to be alone.” Beau tucks his arm under his head. “I guess... I never thought maybe he just didn’t know how not to be.”

That sits between us for a while, long enough for the chattering to get quieter around us, and for the Reapers’ campfires to begin to go out. Mosquitos buzz around, but I still have knots of lavender in my hair, and I tuck some into Beau’s pockets when he starts slapping himself.

He mutters under his breath, and I lay back beside him to look up at the clouds too.

The stars peek out between them as they shift and swirl into Santa hats and misshapen dogs.

The breeze smells like trees and woodsmoke, and something about it feels like being a kid, when everything was grass and friends and sky and stealing as much time as I could before my parents would come and chase me home.

And I just... I want to keep it.

So, I ask the question I’ve been wondering since the Reapers showed up on our doorstep.

“Do you think we could do it? If we had the Reapers with us, do you think we could get the Sinners off our ass?”

Beau scoffs next to me, his head turning in the grass. “Two days and you’re already jumping into bed with them?”

“Hey, don’t ally-shame me,” I complain, and Dom snorts, kicking one foot back against the porch to steady himself. “Come on, you have to see it—these aren’t bad guys. Alastair would have tried to rip our lungs out for that raid, not started body shots.”

From farther down the porch, there’s a burst of laughter, then a surge of hushed conversation I only catch snippets of.

“ . . . No . I mean . . . I don’t know!” Jennifer begs off.

“ . . . oh, please . . .”

Jasper’s voice drifts over their distant chatter.

“If we don’t give in to their demands, we could very well starve, and they would let us.

Does that make them good? To put a price on another human’s safety?

Particularly when it’s a price these women aren’t comfortable paying?

Is it good to leverage their strength over people who need their help, too? ”

“Aw, now, who doesn’t?” Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Beau sits up.

“It’s end of days. Safety is a commodity—clearly, or the Reapers wouldn’t be begging for our help.

Safety, food, resources. Everything is tradable.

Or steal-able, like we proved today. They’re not running a charity.

” Beau shrugs. “They made us an offer, same as we did with Eden.”

Dom shoots him a look. “They have us under siege.” His mouth tightens. “And our offerwas...”

Beau leans forward. “It’s barely a siege.

They’re not getting their panties in a twist about our little side quest tonight, so it doesn’t seem like they’re really intending on letting us starve.

They’re desperate, Dom. I think I’m with Lucky here.

They don’t seem like bad people to me.” Beau’s mouth lifts sadly on one side.

“Maybe we’re all just too cautious now. It’s hard to trust that anyone has good intentions.

Or as good as intentions get these days, anyway. ”

Dom stares at Beau, his face grim and unreadable, and I sit up, too, feeling weirdly trapped by this line of conversation.

“Yes, our intentions...” Jasper’s head tips back, and his quiet voice is heavy.

“I don’t know, Beaumont. I’m not so sure the measure of a person should be taken by their intentions.

And I’m not at all sure that the similarity between our actions and the Reapers’ means they’re good.

” He’s looking up at the stars, his face troubled.

A rogue lock of hair blows loose over his forehead as he sighs.

“Perhaps it only means that we haven’t been. ”

An uneasy jittery energy flicks through me as I try to work out what he means by that, because... I mean, he can’t think that we’re bad. We did our best to help people, from Day Death and on—and it usually ended up with us getting fucked over. We tried.

I think of Eden the first time I saw her, her feet bloody to the ankles.

Needing help.

We might have taken care of the men on her tail, but.. . yeah. Not exactly Prince Charming behavior.

I duck my head, guilt squeezing me in every pore.

Beau is clearly fighting with the same feeling. “It’s a different world. I’m not saying we haven’t made mistakes. We have. But... we learned from them.”

“Did we?” Dom asks, his mouth tilted bitterly. Night wind lifts his hair. “Then why are we making excuses for the next people doing it? Jasper’s right, intentions mean shit. There’s a right and wrong, and it’s the same before Day Death and after.”

“Dom—”

“No, Beau. Innocent people—good people—get fucked by that new world bullshit logic. They shouldn’t have to trade, or kill, or steal to be safe.

That used to be our whole job, to make it so that they didn’t fucking need to do any of that.

” A muscle in his jaw tics, and he looks away.

“I forgot that. I got... it just got too hard to keep playing the hero. People can be so disappointing.” His voice roughens.

“And it’s so hard to win when you’re the only one playing by the rules. ”

Slowly, I lift my head to look at him.