Page 113 of Desperate Victory

Across the room, Levi frowned as he glanced toward Ezra and me.

“Look, I don’t care who you are,” Theo snapped suddenly, charging forward until he was chest to chest with Milo. “You can say you’re a fucking royal ass prince, and I still wouldn’t care. I don’t have a family. I don’t want a family. You can get fucked if you think I’m just gonna buy your bullshit and go back with you.”

Hostility wreathed the room around them. Theo was tall, but he lacked Milo’s bulk. Pretty Boy’s face must have given Theo confidence though, because he was all wild challenge and asking to have his ass handed to him.

“Theo,” Levi said into the charged silence. “Let it go. You don’t have to like him—but so far, they’ve done everything they said they would.”

“What? They rousted us and dragged us to some rental apartment in the city? That doesn’t mean much.” But he backed off from Milo. For his part, Pretty Boy hadn’t said a word. Instead, he studied Theo and the kid shifted under his scrutiny.

“Actually,” Bodhi said into the quiet. “The only promises we made were you would be able to still see Andrea and we would figure it out.”

Theo turned that contemptuous look toward Bodhi and I sighed.

“Kid,” Ezra said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “I cornered the market on shitty tempers and letting my mouth write checks the rest of me wasn’t ready to pay. Shut up while you’re ahead. No one says you have to like us or the situation. No one says you have to trust us yet, give Milo time, he’s probably one of the most trustworthy guys I know. But stop being a dick to just be a dick.”

Blinking, Theo jerked his head to look at us. I had a feeling he’d forgotten that Ezra and I were here.

“Who the fuck are you?” The demand almost made me laugh.

“A bigger dick than you are with a lot more practice. So zip it. Take the win, get a shower and go to bed. We can argue more about this later today.”

“That was almost mature,” I murmured.

“Keep it up, Kotyonok,” he half-growled under his breath.

“Promises, promises.” I hid the words behind my coffee and took another sip. As it was, I leaned on Ezra and soaked up his nearness.

The standoff lasted another thirty seconds and Theo backed down. Again. The kid was a fighter. Like his siblings, he was fierce and ready to fight for what he believed in.

Now, we just had to teach him he wasn’t alone anymore.

“Fine,” Theo said. “Where is my room?”

“Upstairs,” Milo said evenly. “Second door on the right. It shares a bathroom with the fourth door on the right. That’s Levi’s room.”

“Great.” Theo spun on a heel and stalked up the stairs. I was kind of impressed that he didn’t stomp his feet. Then a door slammed. Well, so much for that.

Milo dropped his chin and shook his head. His long sigh spoke to how exhausted all of us were.

“Theo’s… Theo doesn’t mean anything.” Levi offered. “It’s just, he’s had a harder time than some. Kostya was his best friend.”

Kostya. The missing kid.

“We haven’t stopped looking for him,” Bodhi said.

“What about when we leave to go back to the States? That’s what you’re planning, right?” The demand lacked Theo’s animosity. Levi just sounded worried.

“We can keep people on it,” I said. “We will keep people on it.” Margareta had her people looking. “If we find him, you three will be the first to know.”

Levi cut a look to me and Ezra again, his frown tightening and then he nodded slowly before he glanced at Bodhi. “I’m going to sleep now…”

It wasn’t definitive and despite the fact he didn’t seem to be asking, there was a hesitation and question in the air after the statement.

“Get some rest,” Bodhi told him. “We have time. We don’t have to solve everything tonight.” Once Levi was upstairs and we were alone, Milo sat abruptly like someone cut his strings.

Ezra kissed the top of my head as I began to pull away. Pretty Boy needed me. I crossed the room to where he was and he dragged me into his lap. I even shared my coffee.

Bodhi brushed his knuckles down my cheek and Adam eventually descended the stairs. The five of us should probably go get some sleep. But none of us moved.

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