Fighting Shadows (On the Ropes #2)(26)

“Was he pissed?” Flint asked.

“First, he was relieved. Then he was mad, and then . . . he handed the phone to Eliza.” Quarry stopped and blew out a loud breath. “She was pissed.”

I should have looked away.

If I could go back in time, that might be the exact moment I’d go back to, and in that alternate universe, I would have immediately looked away.

At the mere mention of Eliza’s name, I was forced to witness something utterly painful. I watched the gorgeous man I’d just been flirting with shut down. He didn’t say anything or even flinch. But as if he had been hit by a massive wave of destruction, he disappeared right in front of my eyes.

His mask and attitude snapped firmly into place. “Well, good. You deserved it.”

I wasn’t a fan of this version of Flint, but I was determined to lure the other him back out.

I had to.

“Okay, Q’s a jerk. Moving on. Since we’re here, you wanna watch a movie?”

“No,” he answered. “I want you guys to leave so I can go to bed.”

Okay, so maybe luring him back was going to be a little more difficult than I had originally thought. But I was up for the challenge.

“Oh, so I had a dream that it’s going to storm tonight. You wanna go outside and watch the clouds roll in? We can even make a bet on who feels the first raindrop. It probably won’t be you since you wouldn’t be able to feel it on your legs and half your face is covered with hair. Ya know, less surface area and all. So I’m going to put my money on Q.”

Both Quarry and Flint turned to look at me as if I had suggested sitting at the base of a volcano.

“What?”

“Right. You had a dream or you watched the weather this morning?” Flint snapped.

“I had a dream, thank you very much,” I sniped back, lifting my eyebrows to pointedly note his attitude.

“The rain better hold out for a while longer. We have over a hundred dollars’ worth of spray paint in the car,” Quarry said as he pushed the table out of the way so he could flop down on the couch.

“Spray paint?” Flint questioned, swinging his gaze between us.

Quarry propped his feet up on the table. “Tell him, Ash.”

I was going to kill that kid. A long, torturous death where I squeezed lemons into his eyes and made him recite poetry. I shot him an angry glare he seemed immune to. Then I made a mental note to talk to him about getting one of those force fields it seemed I would need if I was going to pursue Flint.

And I was absolutely going to pursue Flint Page.

I’d made that decision about two point one seconds after he’d dived out of his van in an attempt to protect me.

Me.

A girl he barely knew, yet a girl he was willing to do anything for to ensure my safety.

He could be broody all he wanted, but I knew deep down that an amazing man existed.

I smiled tightly. “We . . . um. We were just gonna go tag a few buildings.”

Flint narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. I recognized that look. He was about to shift to full-fledged *.

“Quick! Take cover, Q. Incoming!” I yelled, diving behind the chair.

The room filled with laughter, but judging by the lack of my moan, none of it was Flint’s. I peeked around the chair to find him sitting as stoically as ever.

“Oh, come on, Wheels. That was funny.” I stood back up and walked toward him.

He cracked his neck, and the muscles in his jaw twitched. “Stop calling me Wheels.”

“Maybe Legs, then? It doesn’t really fit, but I like the paradox.”

His eyebrows almost hit his hairline. “Paradox?”

“Yeah, it means contradictory to what—”

“I know what it means. I just didn’t figure you did.”

“Wow. Judgy McJudgerson strikes again,” I deadpanned.

“I didn’t mean . . .” he started only to stop and huff.

“Right. Well, anyway. Yes, I’m taking your brother out to tag a few buildings, but before you get all preachy on me, they are being torn down next week. No harm, no foul.”

“No harm until you get arrested,” he bit back.

“Oh please. No one cares about those buildings. Besides, Max and Donna said they’d pull lookout in exchange for some burgers. Don’t you worry about a thing. I have it all planned out up here.” I pointed to my head. “If you’re worried, you could always come with us.” I bounced on my toes and waggled my eyebrows. “You know, just to make sure we stay out of trouble. I mean, I totally understand that you’re allergic to fun. But you could always pop an antihistamine or something.” I tossed him a smile, which went unreturned.

When he didn’t offer any kind of retort, I did what I did best: I kept talking.

“Also, I would like to formally retract my earlier statement. You can keep the beard.”

His dim eyes perked the slightest bit, and a tingle traveled over my skin.

There he was.

“How generous of you.”

“It really gives you a certain worldly, terrorist feel.”

“Perfect. That is exactly what I was going for.” He smirked.

Sarcasm wasn’t what I wanted, but it was a step in the right direction.

“I now believe it’s actually the bad attitude holding down your hotness. I think if you just stepped up your happy factor a smidge, you could really be a ten.” I was trying so hard not to laugh, but a small giggle escaped before I could catch it.