Page 28 of Hide and Seek

I nod. “Game on.”

He grins and flips one of the knives in his hand. “Draw, or no draw?”

“Both, obviously,” I say with a smirk.

“Then why don’t you be a dear and get the holsters?” He rolls the handle of one of the knives over his knuckles. “I don’t think we want a repeat of when Xave was showing off and tried holstering his blade in his sweatpants pocket.”

I snicker and head over to Jace’s wardrobe. “I mean, I wouldn’t say no to watching you slice the side of your pants open and completely miss your shot like he did.”

Jace laughs. “The pants thing was hilarious, but he really shoulda just called it a fail instead of pretending like nothing happened and trying to make the shot anyway.”

“At least his miss was as epic as slicing his pants.” I flip open a box at the bottom of his wardrobe that holds various holsters and our practice blades. “Imagine not only missing a throw at ten feet but also completely missing the target.” I grab the ones I’m looking for and snap the box closed. “That’s so much worse than having to spend the rest of the day with your pants flapping in the wind.”

“I’m never going to let him live that down,” Jace says after I’ve closed the door to his wardrobe. “I’ll retell that story with my dying breath just to be that bitch.”

I toss him one of the holsters. “It’s what he deserves.”

Jace catches it with his free hand. “Ready to get your ass handed to you?”

“Yup.” I wrap the belt of the holster around my hips and snap it closed. “Just like I was ready to get my ass handed to me at the cliffs yesterday. Question is, can you actually deliver, or are you the one who’s going to be handed your ass?”

“Keep sassing me, and I might miss on purpose.” He waves the knives at me. “Pull a Xave but without the pants slicing and more twin stabbing.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” I make a “hurry up” motion with my hand. “Are you conceding already?”

“Fuck no.” He tosses the belt so the end snakes around his waist and catches it with his free hand. “Now get your phone out so you can time my magic,” he orders and snaps the clip closed.

“So bossy.” I pull my phone out. The way he put the holster on was impressive as fuck, but I’m not about to tell him that.

“Not my fault you need micromanaging.” He slips the blades into the holster and faces the target. “Are you ready? Or do I need to time myself too?”

“All good?” I ask.

“Obviously.” He shoots me a flat look.

I lift my phone. “Best of three? Killshots, the four corners, then colors?”

“Sounds good.” He shakes his hands out. “On your count.”

“Killshots first.” I let my thumb hover over the button to start the timer. “Go,” I say and hit the button.

The knives fly out of Jace’s hand, and I stop the timer as soon as the last one is in the air.

“Four point seven,” I tell him.

He makes a face. “I can do better.”

“Yeah, you can,” I agree.

Jace mumbles something, but I’m only half listening as I retrieve the knives.

He’s wrong about Myles. I’m not getting invested; I’m just interested. And the only reason I’m interested is because Myles is the most confusing person I’ve ever met.

I can usually clock people’s motivations within a few minutes of observing them, and it’s never taken more than a couple of days to figure someone out and get a feel for what kind of person they are and if we can trust them.

Myles is different. He’s like one of those puzzles he has displayed in his room: complicated and interesting, but that’s all it is. He’s a shiny new toy, and once he’s not shiny and fun anymore, I’ll get bored, and we’ll deal with him however we have to.

This really isn’t a big deal, and Jace is freaking out over nothing.