It would’ve been unsettling if I hadn’t been more amazed at it, but then we were going down a back alley. I recognized Zeke’s fraternity house. It was lit up. There was a fence, but you could see people walking around the backyard. The second floor had lights strung around the bannister. Almost every room was lit up as well, but when Blaise parked next to a back shed, he said, “Ironically, this is their study night.”

Then he was crossing the alley and going to an opening in the fence.

Cross stayed back, turning to me. “You stay here.” “What?”

He touched my stomach, holding me back. “I mean it. I’ll be safer going in with Blaise.”

“You’re drunk. That’s why you’re saying this.”

“No. If Jordan and Zellman show up, tell them to hang back.”

“You know they’ll be pissed, knowing we figured out they came here without us.”

“Cross!” A hiss from just inside the fence.

He began backing away from me, heading for Blaise. “Tell them. We’ll deal with that later.”

This wasn’t the first or second or even sixth time that I’d been kept out of the action lately. I was starting to get annoyed. The old Bren was getting annoyed, too, and that wasn’t good for anyone.

Chapter Twelve

CROSS

“I swear to God, Blaise. If you—”

He glanced back, hissing. “Shut up.” A savage wave with the back of his hand and he was leading the way. He moved by the back of the fence, making his way to the house as if he’d done this a few times. He was keeping low and remaining cautious, but still moving at a good pace.

I’d forgotten how big their backyard was. For a frat, it was huge.

No one was back here.

Blaise stepped up on the back porch, but he didn’t go for the main door. He headed, instead, in the opposite direction. Suddenly, a big window popped open and Blaise hauled himself inside. I climbed through, noting afterwards that it was their back bathroom.

The door was open leading to another room, and I heard more hissing.

“This is not cool. You…I’ll do this shit for you. Your brother, no way. No the fuck way.”

“Calm down.” Blaise was placating Zeke.

“I mean it, Blaise.”

“Dude. You knew this night would come. What’s your issue?”

“My issue is that this flew with the house once and you had them by the balls. This time, it ain’t the same. Nothing’s the same. You’re going to ruin this for me.”

“Harper’s ruining this for you.”

“Me or him. Choose.”

I froze, just in the bathroom.

Blaise laughed that off. “You or Harper? That’s not even a question.”