Page 125 of Blood So Brutal

We only shut up when we heard the rustling of movement on the roof behind us.

“Do you think they’re sleeping like that?” Jessiah whispered, though not nearly quiet enough.

“Wouldn’t surprise me if they were,” Wolf replied. “Rummy is just as insane as Huntyr. They probably slept like that every night in Midgrave.”

“I can hear you, assholes!” Rummy yelled from beside me.

I laughed then, a real laugh. A laugh that filled my whole stomach. A laugh that wasn’t covering dread or fear or grief.

“No offense,” Wolf replied. “Can you two maybe not sleep with half your bodies over the edge of the roof?”

Rummy and I looked at each other a second longer before crawling backward a few feet in unison. Wolf approached us and threw me a blanket. “Take this,” he said. “We’re all sleeping here tonight.”

Rummy quickly covered both our bodies with the thick fabric. Wolf sat himself down a few feet to my right while Jessiah settled on the other side of Rummy.

“Are they always this clingy?” Rummy whispered.

I nearly snorted. “Actually, yes, they are.”

“I prefer the term protective,” Wolf grumbled.

“Or stoic,” Jessiah chimed in.

Rummy and I both laughed again. I knew the two wouldn’t leave us alone for more than a few minutes, not when we were entirely surrounded by vampyres.

But even though it was dangerous, even though I spent my entire damn life learning to hate these people—to kill them—I felt safe, safer than I had in my entire life.

Because, vampyre or not, these wereourpeople. Rummy’s too. Jessiah’s. Wolf’s.

I pressed myself close to Rummy’s side, letting my heart fill with this moment.

Tonight, we were safe.

Even if just for a moment.

The sun had yet to fully rise when I blinked my eyes open.

I was no longer sharing a blanket with Rummy; rather, I had rolled to my right and somehow ended up splayed over Wolf’s chest.

His eyes were still closed, but the second I tried to gently lift myself away, his hand around my waist tightened, trapping me to him. “Not so fast, wife,” he mumbled, eyes still closed. I felt every vibration of his groggy voice. “I’m keeping you here forever.”

Rummy had our blanket to herself now, though she ended up much closer to Jessiah than before.

“The sun is rising.” I returned my attention to Wolf. “We should get up before the others start to wake.”

He growled his objection before pulling me even closer, nuzzling into the mess of my curls. Fuck, I could have stayed there all damn day. Weeks, even. Months. Here on this roof with Rummy, Jessiah, and Wolf was everything I ever needed.

The people I cared about were safe.

And they werehere.

For now, at least. I pushed myself up and ignored Wolf’s groan of protest. We were safe, yes, but that wouldn’t last. Not without preparing to fight.

Wolf followed me off the roof and down the stairs to meet the rest of the waking crew below. I spotted Voiler instantly, speaking in hushed tones to a couple other women I hadn’t met yet, and Nathan, who I was beginning to recognize as one of Wolf’s trusted leaders in this rebellion.

“Rise and shine!” Nathan greeted us as we approached. “You two sleep well?”

“Like a fucking rock,” Wolf replied from behind me.

---