10
Kaige
Leaningagainst the metal frame of the fire escape, I stretched my arms above me and contained a deep sigh. After the events of the last week, I wanted to take a nap, preferably for several days.
It didn’t help that I barely slept most nights. Sometimes I never bothered going to bed, because when I did I just kept tossing and turning. The hammock in the yard was a better bet to get in a few winks, but I wasn’t tired enough to resort to that yet.
I lit the joint I’d rolled before climbing out here and took a long drag. The pungent smoke immediately tingled into my lungs and loosened my muscles.
The thought of the meeting we’d just had niggled at me, but what could I contribute to our plans against the Steel Knights? I was more brawn than brains. The others would come up with an effective strategy to take down Colt.
No, it wasn’t the lack of answers that bothered me most about the meeting. Why had Wylder been laying into Mercy like that? The sense that I should have spoken up for her more itched at me, but it’d made so little sense after he’d finally accepted her into our group, I hadn’t been sure if I was missing something. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Whatever it was, I hoped that they’d be able to sort it out, or at least that Mercy could knock some sense into the dickhead. I hadn’t liked the way he was talking to her at all.
Just as the evening darkened completely into night, a faint mew reached my ears. I grinned and fished the bag of cat treats out of my pocket. When I rattled it, the stray tabby I’d gradually made friends with came scampering up onto the fire escape landing near me. I tossed her a couple of treats, and she snapped them up, purring loud enough to wake the dead.
A window slid open farther down the landing. Mittens startled but then went right back to purring when she saw who it was. Somehow she’d warmed up to Mercy in just a few minutes when it’d taken her months with me.
But then, maybe I couldn’t blame the cat for that. Mercy leaned out, strands of her dark brown hair falling loose from her ponytail in a way that made me long to brush them back behind her ear. And then kiss her. And then a whole lot more than kiss her. This woman was the most perfect combination of beautiful and kickass I’d ever met.
Right now, though, she looked like she might be considering kicking my ass. She paused, worrying at her lip, which drew my gaze straight to that lush mouth. I yanked it back to her eyes before she caught me leering. “Hey.”
“Hey.” She glanced around. “I—I just wanted to get a little space. I’ll leave you to it.”
“No, no, there’s plenty of space out here,” I said before she could duck back inside. “Look at me. I barely take up any!”
I spread my arms, showing off my expansive chest and shoulders—we both knew I was actually the biggest guy around here now—and Mercy’s lips twitched with a smile like I’d hoped they would. Her gaze stayed wary, though. “If you’re sure…?”
I guessed we hadn’t been on the best of terms lately. Which was my fault for flying off the handle at her over stupid Gia’s lies. I restrained the urge to grit my teeth in frustration at myself and beckoned her out. “Absolutely. And I know Mittens could use your company too.”
She looked down at the cat who’d started rubbing herself against the window ledge, still purring, and laughed. “Well, I can’t turn her down.”
As she clambered through the window, I moved to crush my blunt under the sole of my combat boots, but Mercy stopped me, reaching for it instead. “Can I have a drag of that?”
I raised my brow. “This is pretty potent stuff.”
She just scowled and made a gimme gesture, so I handed it over. I expected her to cough, but she took a long, slow drag and hummed contentedly. I really should have known her better by now.
“You know, no other woman could have managed to stick with us for as long as you have,” I had to say. When she raised a brow, I added, “I don’t mean anything sexist by that.”
“Women are much stronger than you think,” she said with a faraway look.
Something about her tone made my gut twinge. “I’m sorry for how I acted before,” I blurted out. “For how angry I got and how I talked to you after Gia made her accusations. And all the other stuff. You didn’t deserve that. I mean, it’s impressive that you were strong enough not to let it faze you too badly, but you still shouldn’t have had to put up with it.”
Mercy shrugged. “Your first loyalty is to Wylder, and you were following his orders, defending him when you thought you had to. I didn’t enjoy it, but I’m not mad at you over it.”
That was a relief. It didn’t feel like I’d said enough, though. I groped for something else to say that might completely fix things between us. “I shouldn’t ever have called you weak, that’s for sure. Just because of that one thing with the freezer—I mean, we all have at least one weakness.”
Mercy cocked her head. “Oh, yeah? What’s yours?”
I gave her a crooked smile. “I can’t sleep. Why do you think I down all those energy drinks? Gotta keep myself alert.”
“Did you ever think it could be that all those energy drinks are what’s stopping you from sleeping?”
“People might have mentioned it once or twice,” I muttered, and reached to take the joint back. “But if I don’t have any, then I’m sluggish and I still don’t sleep. So I’ll take what I can get.”
She hummed to herself. “I don’t think that’s quite on the same level as melting down over small spaces.”