I doubted the latter, considering how different they all were in coloring and build, but it was a way to frame the question without outright asking, Who the fuck are you and is this an attempted kidnapping?
Well, maybe not just attempted considering I was here in their apartment with no definite way out. My gaze flicked briefly over to the windows. The one near the punching bag and another in the kitchen area were as high as the one in my bedroom, but big enough that I thought I could leap through one pretty easily… if I got the chance.
“We’re kind of both,” Blaze said, still grinning. “And we work together too.”
Huh. “What kind of work?” I asked in a getting-to-know-you sort of tone.
“Landscaping,” Julius said smoothly, and Blaze snorted as if something about that answer was funny.
“We’re very good at it too,” Garrison said, giving Blaze’s stool a teasing kick. “Every place we work on we leave looking much better than before we got there.”
I took in the amusement now dancing in Blaze’s eyes and the other men’s impenetrable expressions and wondered what the joke was. But at the same time, I couldn’t help noticing how easily they interacted, building off each other’s responses, even Talon nodding at Julius’s statement. I didn’t see that kind of camaraderie often.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt it with another person myself. Even with Noelle, who I’d spent way more time with than anyone else, I’d always been tense around her, driven by the need to meet her expectations and the wariness of what would happen if I didn’t.
No, she and I had never been friends. I’d trusted her with my life, but I’d still had my guard up, presenting myself the way I knew she’d want.
Would I ever get a chance to work with a team like this now that everyone who’d had a hand in raising me was gone?
An unexpected twinge ran through my gut. I swallowed hard, willing the bloody memories of the carnage away.
“I hope that taking care of me hasn’t interfered with your work,” I said, putting out another feeler to test their reaction. “I wouldn’t want my stupid accident getting in the way of your job.”
Julius waved his hand dismissively with the same assurance he’d had from the first moment I’d smacked into him. “It’s no problem. We’re on our weekend right now.”
He was obviously the leader. The others followed his cues.
I tapped my lips. “Right. That’s why you were out last night when you saw me get that fender bender. Where were you going?” Julius had already told me there’d been a party, but I wanted to see if his story would stay straight.
Talon moved closer with controlled strides that were closer to a prowl. He frowned as he reached me, his shoulders squaring and his cool eyes flashing. It was obvious what his role in the group was: the intimidator.
“I’d like to know what you were doing in that part of town,” he said.
If he thought I was going to cower in the face of his flex of power, he had the wrong woman. I raised my chin and stared straight back at him. “I’m pretty sure I asked you that question first.”
His voice lowered into something closer to a growl. “A lot of shady shit happens in that neighborhood. You’re in our apartment—I think we have a right to know what we’ve dragged in here, even if you needed the help.”
I bit back a snappy retort about how I hadn’t asked for their help, and in fact I’d told them to leave me the hell alone. If they didn’t know why I’d been driving that way, did that mean they didn’t know where I’d come from either? Was it the cash and the jewelry they’d spotted on me that’d made them bring me here, and nothing more than that?
Julius had seemed to indicate that he was accepting my story. Maybe he would let me walk out of here if I said I wanted to.
Before I could decide on my response, Garrison walked over almost close enough to touch me, bringing a whiff of cinnamon and musk with him. “Okay, enough badgering her, Talon. She’s been through some shit. Cut her a break.” He turned to me. “Don’t mind him. He gets a little overprotective of our space. I’m making hot chocolate—would you like some?”
Hot chocolate? An eager jolt ran through me so abruptly that it took all my effort to suppress my outward reaction. My mouth was watering in an instant.
I’d actually never tasted the beverage before, but my favorite part of every birthday was the chocolate bar that Anna would bring alongside my dinner. That was the only time Noelle had approved of the treat, saying it was all empty calories. And these guys had it lying around their apartment, just casually downing a cup of it here and there like it was no big deal.
“I would,” I said, schooling my voice into a neutral tone. Might as well get one benefit out of this crazy situation. “Thank you.”
Garrison went back to the stove. He set out a second mug, sprinkled a packet of powder into it, and poured boiling water from the kettle to prepare my liquid gold. Blaze beckoned me over to the stool across from him, which wasn’t especially close to any of them and should allow me to keep all of them in sight.
I hesitated for a second and then walked over to take it. Better there than staying beside Talon the guard dog.
Even if that guard dog came with the most impressive set of muscles I’d ever laid eyes on.
I told that part of my mind to shut up and perched on the stool. Garrison poured a dollop of cream into both mugs and then set them on the island, one a little closer to me. He raised his to his lips, watching me through the rising steam. “It’s just instant stuff, nothing fancy, but I like this brand.”
As if I cared about fancy. It was chocolate—I was already sold.